Nick Beer 2026

I like the Nick Beer 10k! 80% of the route is going around the Orme, which is beautiful. And I got a category win last time. I won’t deny it; I like winning things. So when you could register for the 2026 edition I did.

In autumn, I ran the Conwy Half Marathon with Neil’s niece. She really wanted him to register for that race in the new year. He was hesitant. He had never run a race! And half marathons can be a bit daunting. So I suggested he try the Nick Beer. It's half the distance, and you cut out the dull bit through Deganwy. He agreed, and registered.

Now did the day approach we would for the first time run a race together! We would go together from his place. We could just walk from his house to the start; that was only 15 minutes. No parking stress!

We got our race numbers, went one last time to the loo, dropped our bags at the bag drop, and were ready to go. I lined up near the 45 minute pacer. I didn't know they would have pacers; this one was no one other than Tinka, very fast Dutch lady who had won it last year. Neil lined up a lot further towards the back. He aimed to do it within the hour.

I knew doing it in 45 minutes would give me a good chance of getting a category win. I didn't know if I could do it; after all, I was only six days after a blood donation. I also knew I wanted to beat Richie. I had done the previous time, but there was no reason why I should not try to do it again! After all; before that, he had beaten me twice in a row.

When I was lining up at the start I was beckoned by Harrier Tony, who wasn't running himself as he had a cold. He wanted to do a club picture. I couldn't really hear what he said because of the loudspeakers, but he gestured in some direction. I headed there and couldn't find him. I had gone to the wrong place! And even though in total there were some 20 Eryri Harriers running, he had to make do with one picture of two Harriers at the correct location, and then another picture with me and Dylan (who I had accidentally found) in the wrong location. Oh well! 

Attempt at club picture, with Dylan

I went back to the start and found myself between Richie, who said he was also aiming for 45 minutes, and Olivia, who had kept me off the podium at the Snowdonia Trail 10k in summer. That had been the race we had been kept waiting for hours; I spent most of that time talking with her, or dancing with (among others) her. I knew she would run away from us quite soon! But it was really lovely to see her.

When we started I saw not only Olivia, but also Richie run away from me. But I kept the possibility open that he had started too quickly. I might catch up with him later on!

It didn't take me long to also lose Tinka. Oh well! Going too fast in the beginning never benefited anyone. I trundled on. She didn't get too far away from me; at least not initially. And around the 3 km marker I overtook Richie. A good sign, but it ain't over until it's over. And I made my way to the highest point by the café. And there I expected to speed up.

The wind had other plans. The forecast has been southerly winds, rounding the tip of the Orme gets you in their zone of influence. And boy did the wind make itself known! I don't think anyone was speeding up. Everyone was battling against the wind. But after a while, the route goes down, and then the wind doesn't matter much anymore. I was unusually comfortable on the downhill. But even so, I did see Tinka increase the distance between us.

At the bottom of the hill I mainly just consolidate my position. I didn't see any women near me that looked 50+ so whatever position I was in with respect to the other people in my category, this was probably going to be it. And Richie wasn’t in sight. 

Some 1.5k to go

There was a young woman near me, and when we together came past the 9 km marker, where there was an actual chicken among the supporters, a spectator shouted at us that they thought we were 7th and 8th woman. Another spectator nearby thought we were 5th and 6th. We didn't know which one of them (or either) was right, but I at least had faith we were in the top 10. That was pretty good!

The young lady ran away from me and I didn't have a problem with that. I just tried to keep going at my place to finish. I could see I was finishing a few seconds after 46 minutes; fine with me! Slower than last year (45:22) but I was happy with it. I needed a breather now. And after the finish I saw Olivia and Tinka. Olivia had come second!

Finish! 

I tried to look on my phone where Neil was; we were sharing location. I didn't have signal! I went to the finish to see if I could spot him, and then I suddenly had signal. He was still some distance away, so I went to get my bag. I was keen to put on a warm jumper. Then I went back to the finish, where I didn't have signal again. I just kept my eye out! And then I saw him.

He looked a bit tired, but he smiled when I shouted my encouragements at him. And when he had come past I went looking for him behind the finish. Location sharing was useless there, but I found him. He was satisfied with his performance! Well within the hour. I was glad. I had been wondering if maybe I had inadvertently pressured him into registering for something he wasn't keen on. But I think he didn't regret it. 

We headed for the George hotel where prize ceremony would be held. And somewhere along the way I had enough signal to check if I was going to get one. I was! I had my category win. With a time of 46:06; almost 3 minutes faster than the next one up. And faster than the 40+ and 45+ winners. And I was 8th woman. This year had just been slower than last year, probably because of the wind. And the ceremony would start quite soon.

In there, Olivia found me, and we discussed how it has gone. And then the ceremony started. I took pictures of her, and Neil took pictures of me, and everyone was happy. The bloke who had won in the 60+ category was called Nick Beare! Everyone enjoyed that. And the bloke who had won in the 65+ category was none other than Eryri Harrier Dylan. We category winners got one of those runner packs with sports drink tablets and gels and a water bottle and suchlike. I had won one before. 

Top 3 ladies

The 50-55 category winners

When that was done we went back to Neil's place. We were both hungry by now! And I was glad we were both happy with our results. I'm not sure if he’ll ever race again but he might! The Conwy Half though? He sounded highly unsure of that. But who knows. And I was high on two category wins in the two (non-Borders League) races of the year so far. I hope to get more! 

More cat developments

Cats like sharpening their claws, and mine is no exception. She has a scratch post in the downstairs bedroom, which I have already had to refurbish several times. And in the living room, I just wrapped rope around the banister of the stairs: instant scratch post! She really likes both. And I had never refurbished the one in the living room (quite unlike the other one). But I decided it was time.

Before

It's actually made up of two bits of rope; the lower and initial one, which is sisal as I know it, and the upper one, which is a later addition, which I think is jute. I tried to have both the same, but the shop just didn't have sisal in stock. 

It is almost exclusively the lower rope she uses. So when that was pretty much worn through, I decided I might just as well move the other one down. So I did.

After

I hope she likes this rope as much as she did the other one. She has already used it! And it might be a bit more hard-wearing. If she doesn't like it, I might have to just find an alternative use for this rope, and get some sisal when I can get it. Time will tell! 

Race confusion

The Borders League fixture after Pensby would be in Wrexham, on March 1st. But then it wouldn’t. Wrexham council was going to be difficult and maybe the race would be cancelled. And then it was sure it would be cancelled. And then it was actually on; just not in Wrexham. It got moved to Birkenhead. 

In the meantime, I had noticed the Anglesey 10k/ half marathon were on that day too. That was tempting! I hadn’t run it in a while, but there was a new route. Maybe give it a go? 

And when I was already registered for both other races I suddenly saw the Sbrint ‘Stiniog race announced. On the same day! I had really enjoyed that race the year before. But this date was getting crowded now…

What am I going to do? Well, I think Sbrint ‘Stiniog is out. It's a great race, but I have my club allegiance to drag me to the Borders League, and the fact that I've paid full price to drag me to Anglesey. We'll see which of these two forces is stronger! One thing I know; if the Eryri Harriers would not be willing to car share too Birkenhead, I am not going. Then it will be Anglesey! I am not going to drive for three hours on my own for a 35 minutes race, and not make the tiniest difference to the club ranking anyway! The club ladies have never fielded enough athletes this entire season, so we absolutely have penalty points coming out of our ears. It is already not recoverable anymore. But if they would be willing to share transport then I'm not sure… time will tell! 

Cat quirks

Three years ago, I bought my cat a heated mat. My house isn't kept at a particularly high temperature, and cats like their comforts. So if she would just have her own mat, she could always be nice and snug and warm. And she liked it! The instructions say cats shouldn’t lie directly on top, so I keep a towel on top of it.

Of course there are times when she boycotts it. She is a cat, after all. But that never lasts long.

Then came the fateful day that the electrician drilled into the water pipe. When water started gushing out of the wall, he quickly looked around, saw the towel, and asked if we could use that. I figured we could. I have more towels. Surely it’s the heat that is crucial, not the towel. 

When the electrician was gone I put a different towel on her mat. But she didn't want it lie on it now. Oh dear! Cats can be so particular about things.

After I'd washed the original towel, I put it back. Maybe this would placate her? A towel that at least looked (actually was) the same as the original one, be it that undoubtedly, it now smelled differently? But she still wasn't having any of it.

The pipe incident was in December. It is now mid-February. And she has now finally accepted the towel! I am glad. Cats… 

More running after blood donation

Since I became a proper running nerd, I have been very conscious of the effects of blood donation. For two weeks afterwards, I just can’t get up hills. I still go, though; blood donations save lives and running up hills tends not to. 

This February I had a Monday morning session booked. I came in, did the questionnaire and all that, and soon was called into the booth where they check your iron levels. They start with a finger prick. When the lady measured my iron level she said it was a bit low. There were two things they could do now: one was to send me home, and the other one was to take some blood from my arm to do a more precise measurement. Maybe I was still above the threshold!

I won't lie; part of me hoped I would just be below it. Then I could keep all my blood. And that would definitely yield a better result in the upcoming race! But as I said; blood donations save lives. Running races does not. So they took blood from my arm, and lo and behold, I was just above the threshold. They could take a donation.

In a way, that was quite a bad outcome. If they are going to take blood anyway, it's better if your initial iron levels are very high. I figured I would be extra lethargic after losing half a litre from such a weak  starting point. But let's have it!

When they stuck the needle into my arm, the blood wasn't flowing as it normally is. I tend to be done in five minutes. This time they struggled to get a full donation out of me in 15 minutes. But they just made it.

The next day was track training. I told the people in my group I was going to be a bit slower than the previous week, for reasons of the blood donation. The week before I had gone for 4:20 per km; now I would aim for 4:25. For people who don't do track running; this seems so trivial, but believe me: there is a noticeable difference. People were okay with that. Many of them! When I started pacing on the track I tended to have four or five people behind me. This time I had line behind me that was at least 100 m long. Crazy!

The track session actually went perfectly fine. That was nice. But of course there are no hills on the track. The proof of the pudding would be the Thursday Night Hill session.

When I have donated blood I make sure to not run first part of the route, which is in a way a warming up, on the flat. I headed straight for the hill. This is an accepted practice; that first leg is never done by everybody. And when I got to the top of the first hill, I started making my way down before the main group did. And then from the second hill, I just did what everybody else did. And it went fine! Strava said afterwards that I had even done two of the sections unusually fast. These were not the big hills, though. But it was a good sign nonetheless!

At the top of the first hill

I don't know how this all works. How can I be so unaffected by a blood donation if my initial iron levels were so rubbish? I have no idea! But I'm not complaining. I might not even do too badly in the upcoming race, less than a week after donation!

Lots of academic integrity meetings

Well! As I write this I have done the last meeting about academic integrity with students in my diary. I had 16 of them this calendar year so far. That’s a lot! And I’m sure it’s not over yet; people are still marking, so new cases may still come in. But at least I have now dealt with everything that has been raised with me so far. 

It’s a bit bleak; only one student was totally exonerated. Two got a warning. Two got a penalty of <100%. And the rest all got 0% for the assignment in question. And this means I only penalised about 2% of undergraduates, but still. A lot more than I hoped! And of these 13 penalties, 11 were for inappropriate use of AI. And I don’t know, of course, how many I don't catch. This is quite a big thing! 

I have also done the second sitting of the University panel. They even asked me to chair. Why not! We have clear guidelines you can follow. And they've already asked me about my availability for March. I think it is fair to say the University also has quite a lot of work with this academic integrity business, and so far it looks like quite a lot of that is also associated with AI…

Goodbye John

It's February; we have a new Head of School. John has handed over to Stuart. And given that he has been in the school since the eighties, and had been HoS for six years, there was a goodbye do. I didn’t expect much, but I trusted he would get a present (there had been a collection) and would say some words. And I gathered some collaborators would say something too. 

Was I sad or keen to see him go? Well, a bit of both. He was the man who tried to make me redundant. But he was also the man who (after initial discouragement) supported my promotion to Senior Lecturer. He was in the EDI committee, but there his role seems to mostly have been to push back. He saw no point, for instance, in the students being allowed the option of giving their pronouns on their University profile. So a bit of a mixed bag! 

We piled into the room. There were some faces from the past there! Several people who had retired before him had come back for the occasion. Several of these were actually former heads of school.

There was tea and coffee and lots of cake, and it all started with a bit of mingling. John, who normally is wearing a smart jacket, was this time in a fleece. He has already adjusted to the change in circumstance! He just mingled in my direction when some colleagues were going to have a little presentation. John said he was nervous. The first page of the presentation just had his official profile picture on. Nothing embarrassing about that! But he said he was nervous about but would come after that. I doubted anyone would have any compromising pictures of such a straight-laced man. But maybe I was wrong!

I was wrong. It started with quite old pictures of a rather casually dressed John, still with his dark hair, when they were discussing his early career. Not that there is anything wrong with having our car and being casually dressed. This was just a side of most of us didn't know. Sometimes the speakers interrupted their presentation to read the message of old colleagues of John’s from that time. 

The pictures got wilder than I thought. There was one that even had to be censored! This clearly featured John straight out of the shower on fieldwork with a towel only covering his front. One would hope that this day and age, people wouldn't take such pictures anymore. But this looked like the 80s and things were different then.

We got some insight into John’s diving habits as well. By training, he is an anemone and tropical coral specialist, and his research involves of a lot of diving. He is also very prone to sea sickness, and under the illusion that you can communicate with other divers underwater by talking.

Ronan presenting slides

I thought it was a good balance of paying tribute and taking a little bit of the base. And then the tables turned. Now it was John’s turn. 

John focussed on his successor. He conjured up a big cardboard box that said Head of School survival kit, and he started to unpack it. He warned Stuart you need quite a lot of attributes to be a successful Head of school. He started with his sartorial choices; he said you really need to look smart as a HoS. Stuart got a crisp shirt, a Bangor University-branded tie, and a tweed jacket. He also gave him a pan and brush; a HoS needs a tidy office. And pompous books in the book cupboard. And a big notebook. And thick skin. And more. It was actually very well done! And Stuart was a good sport. 

John also got presents: among other things, a bottle of Pimm’s in a personalised box, and framed images of his allegedly favourite invertebrates from his various study sites (which he had to identify at species level). He was chuffed.

The man who had actually hired John back in the eighties had the last word. And then bottles of bubbly (both with and without alcohol) were opened. 

Five Heads of School in one picture! 

I left quite soon; I had Welsh class to attend. But a fair number of people went to the pub. One assumes John’s wife was driving back! I think he had a good goodbye. And I am curious to see how the first all-staff meeting chaired by Stuart will be…