New parties, old parties

 It looks like the UK is getting a new political party. And I can see why people came up with that. In the olden days, you would have Labour and the Tories and there would be a clear difference between them. Since Labour has been elected into power for the first time in many years, we have had to conclude that the difference is now small.

I expected Labour to make changes. Get rid of the two child benefit cap, get rid of the laws that make almost any protest illegal, that sort of things. But what they did was leave these things in place, and instead push through reductions in benefits for disabled people. What is that about? Since when is Labour the party of wringing out the poor and kowtowing to the rich? 

It is not, of course, as if Labour and the Tories are the only parties in town. There still are the Lib Dems and the Greens. But I could imagine that someone like Zarah Sultana thinks the Lib Dems are not left-wing enough, and maybe she thinks the Greens think too much about the planet and not enough about humans (even though they, of course, depend entirely on the planet). I don't know! Speculating here.

I do think that Labour has sort of lost it credibility now. But I don't think that credibility is necessarily lost forever. Parties are not static. And I don't know what the effect would be of a new party. In a way it could split the left vote, but what leftie is going to vote Labour these days? Still; few new parties get out of the starting blocks properly, and even fewer manage to last for years.  But I can only wish this new party the best.

I thought it was striking that this happened in the week in which I found out that Dutch Labour as I knew it doesn't exist anymore. In the last election, they formed a so-called list combination with a Green party (‘GreenLeft’). And when early in the week I was having dinner with Jaco and Marjan I asked them if they knew if they would do the same thing for the upcoming elections. And they told me they had actually decided to merge! So in a way, neither of these parties still exists. I was a bit ashamed that I had missed that, but it turned out that it had happened really recently.

Logo of the combined parties

 

I really wish this new party all the best as well! And I think their future looks a lot more rosy than that of the new British party. After all, they are just a combination of two dyed-in-the-wool parties for whom the autumn elections are most certainly not going to be their first rodeo.

Time will tell how this all pans out. What will the situation be by the end of the year? How will the newly merged party have done in the elections? Will Starmer still be Prime Minister? Will the new British party be gaining momentum, or will it already have fizzled out? Will the Labour back benches have managed to bring the front benches back into line? It is anybody's guess!

TNH: summit of Cynhorion

Yes even more running posts. I was starting to feel it myself! I had got out of my car on the usual meeting spot and I was yawning like a hippo. I could still feel last night's race. And the track training of the day before that.

Dyfed, who normally organise these nights, had been elsewhere, and he had cryptically said on social media that it was Girl Power night. Which woman would organise it? It turned out to be Jen, who often runs with her black Labrador. The dog was there too. And she is less secretive than Dyfed, so she just said we were going into Maesgwm, and then over Moel Cynghorion. I was not sure if we would go over the top or just skirt the flank, as we had done a few weeks ago.

Another lady who was here was Megan. I hadn't brought her prize! The one she didn't expect, so hadn't waited for. I had biked it home with me the night before. I knew it was chocolate and a voucher, and I was afraid that she wouldn't be there, so I would leave the chocolate in a hot car, and reduce her prize to an unrecognisable blob.

There was some murmuring about bailing out earlier. I was still tired from last night's race, another lady was tired for other reasons, and a third would soon be travelling and still had to pack her bag. She didn't want to be home too late. 

We ran into Maesgwm. It was a bit grey! The weather had been all over the place. But at least it wasn't stupidly hot.

One lady who had struggled to keep up turned around there. She wasn't even one of those who had been murmuring about bailing out earlier. The rest just kept going!

Approaching the top of Maesgwm

I had expected we would just head for the summit here, but I was wrong. We dropped down to the Snowdon Ranger path and followed that until we approached Bwlch Cwm Brwynog (the pass of the valley with rush); there we headed up to the ridge. I was really feeling it! Iolo, who had come eighth yesterday night, totally didn’t, and was cheerfully running up anything thrown at him. Alright for some!

Ascending to the ridge

It had been absolutely worth it. The views from the top are gorgeous. And the skies were dramatic, which made it even better. And the past down is quite good so I wasn't even that slow descending back into Maesgwm.

On the ridge

About to do the main descent 

From there it was downhill all the way, but on good paths, so I didn't struggle to keep up. Along the way I suggested to Megan I just hang her prize from my front door. I know that on her way home, she passes my house by about 50 meters; if she makes a one minute detour she can just pick it up. 

When we were back at the car so I wanted my recovery drink, and my drink, and the sandwich I still had in the car, but Megan drove off quickly so I cut things short to get home before she would be at my door. And the scheme worked.

I was pretty tired by now. In 3 days, I had biked 81 km with 1245 m of ascent, and run some 31km with 717 m of ascent. I was really glad I didn't have any running in the diary the day after! I think my running coach would not approve of this overload. But I'm sure that with a bit of rest I would get away with it!

Celebrating the summer in Welsh

 

There is a community of Welsh speakers among the academic staff in the university, and we don't meet up very often, but it does sometimes happen. Mostly, that takes the shape of meetings of the Welsh National College (Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol), but sometimes there are socials, too. And the lady who carries the lofty title of Dean of the Welsh language of the College of Science and Engineering, the very down-to-earth Stella, had organised a summer celebration. The idea was to go for a walk first, then either coffee or food in one of the university cafes.

I decided to go. It's nice to go for a walk with people! And I wanted to keep in touch with this group. So I showed up at our meeting place and so no one. I was already checking the invitation on my phone when Mollie appeared. I was in the right place at the right time! And not much later, Stella herself appeared.

A few more people appeared. Katherine and Neil from Natural Sciences, and Ed from Education (nominative determinism?) And we decided to head for the nearby Roman camp.

It wasn't very eventful, but it was such a beautiful day! Always nice to flaunt some sunny pictures on this blog. At the Roman camp, Neil already had to leave, but he is an Eryri Harrier, so he could do that rather fast.

View from Roman Camp

The rest of us proceeded to the Pier. I was a bit sad we just walked past an ice cream booth. But Stella knew she had to keep going. There were people who hadn't wanted to join the walk, but wanted to join for the coffee or food afterwards. So we had to be back in time. 

On the pier

It was really nice to just walk, and talk Welsh. I don't think I had ever spoken Welsh with Ed and Katherine. Now I have! And I had spoken Welsh with Mollie and Stella many times, of course, but that doesn't mean I'm tired of it.

When we got back to the university café (late, of course) I decided to just head for the office. I had stuff to see to. But it had been very nice!

Felinheli 10k

Another post about running? Well, yes! There's just a lot of it going on at the moment. And the reduced pressure at work allows it.

I had another midweek race; this time, it was the Felinheli 10k. I had not done it before. But I quite like these races you can just do after work. And closer to the time I saw it had a nice route: over Vaynol estate. 

Given that it was Felinheli I could go on bicycle. It's only some 20 minutes from work. And then 45 minutes home. So I got changed in the office and headed that way. Given I was on bike, I had no parking trouble whatsoever! And with 350 runners registered, I suppose many people couldn't say the same thing.

A quiet part of the festival/race terrain

I did my usual pre-start regime: get my number, drink some water, go to the loo, do a warmup, and appear at the start. It was a hot day. I had decided to run without anything: there would be a water station after 5 km. That would have to keep me hydrated. It would be nice to not run with compression belts or vests!

I was aiming for a time of about 44 minutes. Maybe a bit more. My personal record is 43:37, but that was set at a rather flat course, and I had been really going for it. In this race, there wasn't really anything at stake for me. I hadn't done it before, so I was going to set a personal course record anyway. And I had no expectations regarding medals. If you have done a race before and ended on the podium, you are quite motivated to push it hard the next time as well!

We set off. Initially, the field was quite busy. And soon we were on the coastal path. That has lots of potholes, so you had to be vigilant. That sort of path is easier when the field has spread out a lot! But we were working on it. 

Close to the start

I was going slower than my intended overall pace, but well, this was the uphill part of the route. I was just making sure I stayed close to Arwel. And I was enjoying the shade we generally were in. 

When we reached the end of the estate we got onto roads, which initially even went downhill. That sped everyone up! Including me. I ended up overtaking Arwel. And I saw fellow harrier Megan in the distance. She runs in my category! So that makes her someone I really want to overtake. And it looked doable. 

Caught overtaking Arwel (also in Eryri vest)

There was a water station just beyond 5k. I saw they handed out little plastic cups of water. That would barely touch the sides! But it would have to do. I think I managed to drink about a third. The rest splashed all over the place! 

We then headed back to the estate. And on its outskirts I managed to overtake Megan. Success! I trundled on, and got to where the road went noticeably downhill. It was gradual enough for me to not get cautious. I legged it! The kilometres zipped past.

I could see Eryri Harrier Claire in front of me. She wasn’t very far, but neither was the finish. I decided not to go chase her.

You can tell I’m tired by this point

At some point I passed a sign indicating there were only 200 m left. I was glad they had put that up. The race ends in some sharp corners, so you couldn't see the finish, and sound didn't travel freely either. I came around two of the corners and was almost there. And then I saw Harrier Rhian behind the barrier. She was screaming her lungs out! And waving a cowbell around. That was lovely. It gave me energy for a last sprint. And I could see I had done it within 45 minutes.

Finish pic

Behind the finish there were people handing out bottles of water. I really needed one! And they were also handing out fruit. That was nice. I went for an apple and a satsuma. And I went to my bike to get my recovery drink. When I had downed that I joined Rhian, who was cheering with her friend Helen. Together we cheered on more people.

At some point I got a bit cold. It was past 8 pm. I went to my bike to get a jacket. I also checked my result: 44:52. And 6th woman. I was proud of that! There had been 159 in the race. I could also see I had a category win. That meant staying for the presentation. But I was very aware I also would have to bike home! I was about 45 minutes away. And I only had a few jelly babies to keep me going. After the Llanrug race I hadn't made the mistake again of eating too much too closely before the race. So I decided to go back to the fruit people and request a banana. They were happy to oblige! And I also went to the loo.

With Rhian and Helen I cheered on the later runners. And when the organisation started to back up the course, I went to I knew the presentation would take place. The lady who had won, Emma from the Cybi Striders, had also won the Bethel 5k. She is fast! 

To my surprise, they not only had prizes for the first person in each category, but the top three. I got my prize as the fastest woman over 40, and also the one for Megan as she had already gone home. She lives close by so I could deliver it. Then it was time to go home.

Presentation pic

It was a beautiful evening so biking home was quite nice. And I even got honked at by one of the Thursday runners, Iolo, who had also been in the race. A bit of a long night but worth it! 

Weird dead tree on the way home

Trying to log Track Tuesday

The previous time I attended Track Tuesday, I decided I really should find out how to log the individual laps. How can you tell you are improving if the only thing you have is the total distance you have covered in the entire session? Chris mentioned that my watch has a track run option. So I figured that would be the way to go. I didn't bother finding out about the details, I must admit.

The track 

When the track session happened (two weeks later; I didn't want to do track training in a week I had both the Bethel 5k and the Snowdon Twilight), we would first do a mile at full pelt. The trainer was clearly inspired by the attempt of Faith Kipyegon to break the four minute mile barrier. And I had decided what speed I wanted to run at. My watch would tell me if I was on it! But then when we started running I realised my watch was telling me things I didn't understand. I started pressing some buttons but that didn't help. I chose to run on feeling. I had no idea how I did!

After the mile we had a bit of a break, and after that we would do ten 400 meter laps. I tried to kick some sense into my watch. It wasn't budging! Whatever buttons I pushed, the screen seemed frozen. In the end I did manage to shut it down.

When it came back on, I decided to just put it back on normal running mode. So I have only a limited idea of what my laps (the ones after I managed to get my watch working again) look like, from how Strava recorded them. Not as laps, but you can see the running and resting in the pace graph. One thing I can clearly see is that I tended to start too fast and then trail off. And that is pretty much what I was trying to avoid. With more data you know what pace to go for. Oh well! Next time maybe…

The training was still fun. And it was quite cool, with some light rain. Good running conditions! 

My next goal is: go home and ask YouTube how do I make the most of my watch. I'm sure it can explain some way of logging the laps. And then next time I might be able to get slightly more information out of it, preferably in real time…

Marshalling the Holyhead Mountain race

My rule of thumb with racing is: if it has nasty off-road downhill sections I will marshal it, and if it doesn't, I'll run it. Snowdon Twilight didn't have any downhill so I ran it. The day after, there would be the Holyhead Mountain race, and that does have scary downhill bits, so I volunteered to marshal that. I figured I would be very tired because of the race the night before, but I should still be able to make it to wherever my marshalling station would be. 

I had not received any communications about it so I assumed they didn't need me. Until I woke up on the day before. I had a message from the organiser: Katie. Was I still available? I hadn't planned anything else, so I said yes. And that night I saw her in person: she was also running the race. Not only that; she won it! Excellent performance.

On the day I drove up to the Breakwater Country Park. Given that we only ran half the distance the night before I was quite fresh. Once there I encountered some stress; it is paid parking, but the machine only accepted coins, which I didn't have. There was no pay by phone code displayed. I knew I would have to get to my marshalling station, so just hoped for the best. If I would get a ticket I would try to fight it. I don't think in 2025 you can have coins as the only available payment option! 

I found Katie, and she gave me a hi-viz vest, and a little map. She had circled where she wanted me to stand. And she said the route was marked with ribbon. I didn't get a radio or anything, but I did get her phone number for in case. Suppose you  get a runner with a sprained ankle; you can't sort that on your own, but I would be able to contact her. 

I walked to North Stack, and from there I navigated to my post. The ribbons went off the main path, onto something narrower and steeper. That would be easy to miss! I understood why she wanted me there. Now I needed to wait for the first runner. Because of the layout of the terrain I would only be able to see them if they would be really close.

Ribbons marking the route. North Stack is just behind the hill.

It wasn't cold, but it was quite windy! There was also quite a lot of fog. Typical Holyhead weather. I remembered I had once done a race here, but a different one. That had been sunnier, even though it had been in January!

After a while the first runner arrived. An Eryri Harrier! I pointed him but he had to go, but he wasn't having any of that. He said the route went straight ahead. I was confused. If that was true, why were the ribbons going the other way? I phoned Katie. No answer. Then other runners arrived. They, in contrast, were convinced by the ribbons, and happily trundled up the steeper bit. I dropped Katie another voicemail. I was starting to feel confident the first runner had just been wrong. At least he hadn't strayed from the route very far.

After a while, Felicity appeared. She said she was sure she was the last runner. I wished her a good rest of the race, and figured I would walk back to Race HQ, over the route the runners had taken to get to me. If Felicity was wrong and there was still someone else, I would meet them. And I could make a start with removing ribbons.

Selfie while walking back. The fog is lifting!

Back at HQ, Katie was at the finish, with some other marshals, timing the runners who were coming in. I had a chat with her and with some of the finished runners. There was Harri of Parc y Moch fame, and Rhian who runs Track Tuesday, and had also run in Bethel. It turned out there had been quite a lot of confusion about the route. Katie thought she had set out the route to the same way as last year, and had probably told the runners that. But she hadn't quite remember it correctly; hence the confusion at my marshalling station. Last year, apparently the route did go straight ahead. And there were a lot more confusing points in the race. Later one of the other marshals appeared (he had been the Harrier at yesterday's finish who told me it was indeed the finish) and he said the runners were coming at him from three different directions. Oops! Maybe next year use more marshals. 

When all the runners were in, Katie did the presentation. This also came with a little bit of controversy; the man who had finished 4th was a bit miffed he hadn't been given a prize, even though he knew that numbers 2 and 3 hadn’t done the whole route. Due to a navigation error they had accidentally cut off a corner. He then also got a prize. 

Some of the runners turned out to have been ex-students of ours! That was cool. And there also were three cute dogs. 

After the presentation we took down the Eryri Harriers gazebo. And then it was done! A successful race I would say. Not flawless, but successful. I could see myself marshalling again next year…

Snowdon Twilight

As soon as I heard about the Snowdon Twilight race I wanted to run it. A race that only goes uphill! That's perfect. And there's not many of those. Last year I tried to register for it, but I failed. I suppose I was just googling for Snowdon Twilight, but it didn’t seem to have had its own website. You had to find it on its sister race’s site: Ras yr Wyddfa. I didn't look there as that was not the race I wanted to run.

This year I spotted a call on the Eryri Harriers Facebook page for marshals for the Snowdon Twilight. So it was run! And there was even a link! I registered like the clappers. I can do my marshalling duties some other day.

Later when I checked the practicalities I noticed the site said ‘the final Scott Snowdon Twilight race’ and started to worry. Was this going to be the last one? Shit! But at least I would get a chance to run it once. And we had recce’d it on a Thursday night, in a heatwave.

When the day came I left work early. The race would start at 6 pm, and registration would close at 5:15. My running vest was ready with the compulsory waterproofs and head torch. I had put on my running bra in the office, and put my running shorts on underneath my trousers. That way I went to Llanberis. When I got there, I noticed one of my tires was floppy. I sorted that out first! Then I went to get my number. I immediately got the race T-shirt and a coaster. They clearly want that out of the way as soon as possible…

I also asked race organisation veterans Ann and Sharon if it was true that this was the last one. They said it was the last one sponsored by Scott. If the race would find another sponsor, then they supposed it could just keep going. I have no idea how difficult that is! The upcoming trail race also used to be sponsored by Scott, but then swapped to Xterra. It is clearly a thing. But there are no guarantees.

I also heard that we were not going to run to the top. The weather was too bad! That heatwave in which we had done the recce was a distant memory. I hadn't seen that on social media. I am clearly noteworthily bad at locating information about this race. A pity about the short race! But understandable. There are wind conditions in which you just don't want to be on a peak. 

I had a little warmup, went to the loo, and then went to the start. There we got a little race briefing. And then they set us off!

The first bit, on asphalt, is actually quite tough. We do that every week in winter. I know exactly how steep it is! But soon after that we got to the actual Llanberis path. It is nice to get off the asphalt. And for most of the way, it isn't actually very steep. It just is always uphill. I just got into a tempo that suited me, and plodded through the rain and the wind. It was rather bleak weather! And when we got to the first gate I was actively shouted at. The Edwardses, a prominent Eryri Harriers family, were out in force and cheering on all their fellow club members. That was lovely! I think I suddenly went twice as fast.

Running through the fog. Pic by Ian

And onwards. Pic by Ian

The field was quite spread out now. I could see a bloke in orange in front of me, and I seemed to slowly gain on him. Further ahead was a woman in a stripy top. At some point I overtook the bloke in orange. And I started to wonder if I could take on the lady in the stripy top as well.

At some point I started noticing people already coming down the hill. That was expected; the briefing had been to finish, not linger, and just return to HQ. They were shouting encouragements, but I had to make sure I kept an eye on where my feet were going. The path is very rocky and uneven in many places. So I couldn't pay that much attention to them.

More fog, and the man in orange now behind me 

I had understood we would be running until the second underpass. There is quite a steep bit before it, but the very last bit is not so steep, so there you could just run off the last energy you have. I knew I was not that far off the steep bit when I managed to overtake the stripy lady. And then there were lots of people by the path. What was going on there? And there was some sort of tablet set up. I suppose I might have been a bit stuck in my convictions. Once I think we run until the second underpass I might be good at ignoring evidence to the contrary. When I passed the tablet (which was, of course, the chip detector) I saw another Harrier standing there, who hadn't been that far ahead of me. I figured this was actually the finish already. He confirmed that. And he said that the bloke doing the briefing at the beginning had said so, but I hadn't recognised the location he had mentioned. Oh well! I had clearly finished the race now. I could have thrown it all into a final sprint, but I had been saving my energy for later. It didn't matter. There would have been one bloke I could have overtaken. But I'm not generally racing against the blokes! The women are more important. And I had got the stripy lady.

I had a little breather, took a finishing pic of myself; with difficulty, as it was so wet; and I put on another layer. Then I set off back down.

Finished!

The glamorous finish line setup

I am very slow on the downhill so many people overtook me. That is fine! I also sometimes almost got blown off my feet. I was glad they hadn't let us run all the way to the top. I imagined it would be really difficult there to stay upright.

I also walked up for a bit with one of the marshals: Felicity, who had done the one Wednesday training I had attended. Back at HQ I made sure they registered I was back of the hill. Then I went to dump my running vest, get my jacket and my bag, and return. I figured they would do the presentation soon. Hence that I did not bother doing a more thorough job putting on dry clothes. I was completely soaked! But I could have my recovery drink and some other sustenance from the bag.

There were many Eryri Harriers winning prizes. Unsurprising! But I cheered for everyone. And I didn't think I had performed very well myself, but I was actually called forward as I had been the fastest 40-something woman. Yay! (When I checked I saw my category was only 3 people, but hey ho. Stripy woman was one of them!)

When the prizes had all been given, everyone went home, including me. I looked forward to getting out of my damp outfit. And apart from that, I can only hope that some other sponsor appears. I would really love to do this race again! Especially if it goes all the way to the top! I will have to keep my fingers crossed…

Goodbye to Vahid

I supposed the whole reason my colleague Vahid features on this blog is that he is leaving. He wanted to take off some of the highlights of North Wales of his list before starting his new and permanent job in Bristol. And that is why we went doing Crib Goch. We didn't do any other trips in the weekend since. There was always something getting in the way. But time wasn't waiting for him.

His new job has now started. So we had a small goodbye ceremony for him on his last official day at work. There were scones and lots of hugs.

He is actually making the transition in a gradual way. He is not quite upping sticks. We will still see him in the coming weeks to months! So I hope we can fit in another hike before he really relocates to the south-west. Stay tuned…

Rubrics

I think everyone who works in higher education has come across rubrics. They are matrices with all the marking criteria on one axis and the marks you could get for it on the other, and then all the cells filled out. So, for instance, for an oral presentation you might have the ‘delivery’ marking criterion, listing that in order to get 100% for that, you need to speak clearly and engagingly and with appropriate vocabulary and suchlike. And if you get progressively less clear, engaging, etc., your mark will drop via 80% and 60% towards a fail mark if people can’t hear what you’re saying, your sentences are mostly consisting of ‘ehm’ and ‘like’, and you’re boring everyone to death. And then that for all criteria. You easily end up with a 8x 6 matrix, and 48 cells to fill out. 

The sheer number of cells to fill would already put one off. But I have a bigger problem with this. It tends to be easy to fill out the extremes, as there are not many ways in which you can be either totally exemplary or totally rubbish. But there are so many ways in which you can be in between. Just take, for example, the introduction to something like an essay. A perfect introduction, in my view, first provides some background to the topic, gives its relevance, and then formulates a clear research question including how it will be answered. The background should be sufficient to make the reader understand the research question. And then all of that needs to be well-written. 

What about a lower scoring introduction? That could be limited background, spurious relevance, unclear research question included how it will be answered, and all that not very well written text. But it could also be that it has excellent background and relevance, beautifully written, but there is no research question formulated. Or everything is present but it is written in such wonky language it is very difficult to follow. Or so many other permutations! And that is my problem with rubrics. And that's why I am reluctant to use them.

 

An example rubric, from Gutiérrez and Juárez-Peñuela, HOLOS 2019

 

Every year, the students want more guidance on what is expected of them. And every year, the external examiners say that we should use rubrics. And now I have given in. I have been writing rubrics for my entire dissertation module. They are a bit conditional! I use the words ‘may’ and ‘might’ more than average. Because you just don't know. The background might be insufficient. The research question might be badly formulated. Or maybe they are both only just ok. You don't know!

You could argue that that just means I need to have more categories in my rubric, but could you imagine? If you specify everything in such small compartments? You would already need five categories for the introduction alone. How many would you need for the abstract? The results? Discussion? I don't think it would be workable. So I did what I think is right. I will try to find a volunteer to go through them to see if they can suggest some improvements.

And once I started, I suppose I should go the whole way. And make them for all my assignments. It sort of means I won't have to be bored this summer! Even though there was no fear of that anyway…

Bethel 5k

I was looking forward to the second of the two 5K races in the club road championships. The first one has been fun, but I had made two mistakes: one was to eat too much too late, and the other one was to set off too fast. And if you can try to improve only if a few weeks later that's nice.

This time Chris was also going to run it. So we travelled up together. I don't think we've raced each other before! And he has local connections. We drove to the village, and he parked in front of his mother-in-law's house. And we went to say hello. She was really nice!

As it was registration on the day only I figured we shouldn't linger. Chris's mother-in-law even offered to drop us off at the start, which was at the edge of the village. That was really kind of her! And then we could get registered. And then we still had enough time to go to the loo and do a bit of a warmup. And chat to other runners. If you race loads, and you do things like the Tuesday Track and Thursday Hill, you get to know quite many of them!

Then it was time to line up at the start. And we were off. And in the first kilometre or so, I really made sure to keep an eye on my watch. My aim was to run about 4:15 per kilometer, but in the beginning when you are still fresh it can be tempting to go faster. I didn't want to make that mistake again! So in the beginning, I was making myself slow down a few times.

Before I knew it, I already saw the first runners come the other way. I had expected the turn around point to be at 2.5 km, but that wasn't how it turned out. It was not a there and back; there was an extra loop at the end. But a turning point always gives you opportunity to cheer at other runners, and to get an overview of the field. There was a bloke running with a buggy in second position! That is impressive.

On the way back I started to struggle. I wanted to keep up my pace. But it was a challenge! I was counting down the kilometres. And wasn't quite sure what sort of loop they would have added to make the course 5k long. But at least the field around me was stable. Nobody seemed to be in a position to overtake me. And I did manage to overtake a few people in the last mile. There was a bloke who did attempt to get past me shortly before the finish, but that didn't work. And with my very heavy breath I finished! It was within 22 minutes, but I was not sure by how much. Faster than Llanrug, anyway.

On the way back. The bloke in black wouldn’t manage to get past! 

I now wanted water. And my recovery drink. And cheering for the other runners. Soon enough, Chris appeared. Together we cheered on a few more people, but then Chris wanted get his recovery drink as well, which he had left in the car. I wanted to know if I had a category win, but it looked like they would only find that out when they would compile the results. I think they were timing it Parkrun style: one person notes down the running order of the race numbers coming in, and another one writes down at what time the first, second, third etc runner come in. Only afterwards will they then combine the two lists. And only then will they combine the times and the race numbers with runner information, such as name, gender and age. 

Dyfed and Rhian were doing the timing, and they said there was going to be no presentation. They had just handed the first three runners of either gender their prizes and that was it. Okay then! I could go home. I headed for Chris's car. 

Back at the house we reported back to Chris's mother-in-law. And the cat showed up. She was really sweet! So it was mainly Chris doing the reporting, while I was petting the cat. A fine distribution of labour if you ask me. And then we went home. Time for a shower! And my next race would only be two days away…

The next day I found out I had done it in 21:29, almost a minute faster than Llanrug. And a lot more consistent. My fastest kilometre was only six seconds faster than the slowest. In Llanrug that had been 33 seconds. 25 if you take don't compare the fastest km with others that had more uphill. Clear improvement! 

Strava said that was my third best time on the 5k. My best and second best time had been in the two 8k Borders League races I had done. One of these had been pretty much flat as a pancake. The other one had had 98 m of ascent, so also of descent, and I suspect my fast 5k time incorporated the descent. I don't know how (or if) you can make Strava tell you that. On the flat course, my time according to Strava had had only been two seconds faster. So I suppose this was pretty good!

Quality assurance

Such a catchy title! And it is also a very catchy topic. At the end of the academic year, we have to engage in a quality assurance process, and reflect on all our teaching. We have to reflect on how the changes we made last year worked out, how things went this year, and how we are going to improve in the next year. And then our Director of Teaching and Learning will take all that information and feed it into one big quality assurance document for the whole School.

We are working with the metrics of all modules, as I recently already discussed within the context of our exam board meetings, and also the module evaluation forms the students are asked to fill out. And it is difficult to get the majority to do that. I suppose everyone on the planet gets requests to give feedback on absolutely everything all the time! And quite often you get the impression it is only those who have an axe to grind who are motivated to fill out the form.

Altogether I do think there is a fairly high level of arbitrariness in the process. If you check, for instance, how the resources offered have been appreciated through the years, the fluctuations can be massive, even if the actual resources haven't changed. And, of course, you also just get different preferences; it is quite typical that you get one student saying they want more of a thing, and another student saying they want less of the same thing. Then you basically can’t do much other than just what you think is right.

An entirely different issue is that typically, students want more guidance in their assignments. But if you give them as much guidance as they would like to get, you are basically doing the work for them. Our degrees have to be worth something. So even if all the students are anonymous in that they want more guidance, you can only take this so far. 

In spite of the arbitrary nature and lack of statistical robustness, sometimes there is feedback that is just very useful. Things you hadn't really thought of yourself. That is where the process is at its most valuable.

I've filled them out now. I saved them all as drafts. If I still think of something to add that I still can. And when the deadline approaches I will just submit them all with a mouse click. That's another job done for this summer!

A Climate of Truth

I should now know how to thrive in the Anthropocene. Last year, there was a public lecture with that title, by Mike Berners-Lee. I was a bit unsatisfied at the end of it, but his lecture had partially been a plug for a book that was about to come out. He said that if people wanted to know more, they could just read the book. You can put a lot more information in one of those than you can in a one hour lecture. So I ordered the book.

I've read it now. Does that mean I know how to thrive in the Anthropocene? Well, not really! He does provide an easy checklist at the end of the book, after he's explained in detail what he thinks is wrong with the world in what could be done about about it, and you can just start there, I suppose.

This checklist is six pages long. I can't repeat all of this! But he starts with politics. And I've been trying to vote in people who are kind to the planet since I was 18. So far it hasn't really worked. And I think most people I know vote along these lines as well. I don't think I live in a diverse world!

Next is media. He says you have to be very careful about which media you trust and fund, but my choices tend to get his OK. 

Then he gets to work. Here he turns a bit Rutger Bregman: he figures you should use your talents and energy for the good of the world. So don't get sucked into finance or corporate law or that sort of destructive jobs. I suppose that working at the university and telling young people about climate counts as the sort of job that at least tries to make a difference.

Next is activism, volunteering and giving. I try to do all that as well! I support a number of charities that I think actively try to make the world a better place, and I am active in the local sustainability movement. It hasn't quite had Greta Thunberg levels of effect, but well, most people are not Greta Thunberg.

The second last one is sustainable personal lifestyle. I actually sometimes get some shit for that! But I do my best. I take the train to get to the Netherlands, and I bike to work. I am a bit infamous for my cold house. 

He ends with: look after yourself. He says "enjoy and appreciate life where you can, because there is no point saving a role that's no fun to live in."

I suppose it was to be expected that me reading this book would be him preaching to the converted. Is there anything new in there? I suppose the most novel thing he does is bring out social pressure and calling people out. That is so un-British! He wants us all to give people who don't do what this book advises you to do a lot of stick for that. I'm not quite sure if that would help. Will they not just dig their heels in? And quite a lot of people live in social bubbles. I suppose I have "lefty" written on my forehead, so I am not likely to have friends who read the daily mirror, watch GB news and vote Tory or worse. So there won't be many people I could call out. But I will keep his words in mind next time I do hear a rightwing voice.

Even though I am not British, I am a bit hesitant about the calling out thing. I suppose you need to know when and how! I vividly remember calling out the misogyny in the underground community. That didn't work at all. I suspect it made things worse. You don't want that to happen if what is at stake is the planet. But I suppose someone needs to do it. Someone needs to start. Societal change does happen! The example I always use was that when I moved to Amsterdam, it was decidedly uncool to have light on your bike. When I left Amsterdam, it had become decidedly uncool to NOT have light on your bike. Did people call each other out? How did this change happen? I actually don't remember! But this is the sort of thing that we need to see when it comes to the planet. Flying for frivolous reasons is still socially accepted. Buying loads of stuff you don't need is still socially accepted. Having a regular bath is still socially accepted. Voting against the planet’s interest is still accepted. So many things are still socially accepted. And it takes us to hell in  a handcart.

Anyway. The next thing I should do is lend this book to someone on whom it might have a positive effect. I will keep an eye out for opportunities! It is a good word, so let it spread. Maybe it is not too late...

Camping with Kate and Bryn

I hadn't seen Kate in a while. We both wanted to do something about that, and she suggested we might make that an overnight thing. That sounded like a great idea! My tent hadn't been out enough yet this year. So far only with Henco and Maaike. But then the country entered a heat wave, and we had to seriously consider how we would make that happen. Bryn is not made for hot weather.

The day before we decided that we would leave on Saturday late in the afternoon, when the day would have cooled down a bit. We could camp near where she lives; she had a beautiful location in mind. We had been before. And the next day there was rain forecast so there was a little risk of the dog overheating.

I drove up after lunch. We first had a cup of tea. That was fine with me! I still felt a bit tired. And the weather was all over the place. Hot sunshine one minute, rain the next. At some point we decided to go to the local shop so we could festoon our cup of tea with something nice. It also meant we could try out the weather. It was definitely still too hot for black labradors!

By 5 pm we decided we could change it. We drove up to Cwm Penmachno, and from there we walked. It was still a bit warm, but doable. As soon as the path came close to the river, Kate had the dog play around in the water for a bit, to cool him down. And then he was fine. And quite soon we got to our destination.

Cooling Bryn down along the way 

It is quite a magical place! It is a remote area of the Rhiwbach quarry, with some flooded mine workings in the woods, and with spoil heaps and some ruined buildings on the other side. We look forward to getting into the water ourselves, but we were barely there or a cloud came over the hills. And it was not stopping! Soon we were in fog. We hadn't expected that! At least none of us would get overheated now.

Notice or tents in the distance

We walked around the area a bit to spot the best camping places and then pitched our tents. Then I wanted to get into the water Kate wasn't sure. And right by where our tents were, the water was very shallow, so safe. (flooded mind workings can be very dangerous because they are often very deep, so very cold, with very steep sides. On the side, that wasn't the case.) So I got in and realised just how shallow it was. It was nice though! That inspired Kate to go as well, so she headed for the water while I started cooking. I had put on most of my clothes. I was glad I had brought them.

Dinner duties

When Kate got back she did the same. And we had a little sip of whiskey. We put Bryn on a lead as we were afraid he would knock over the food, set himself on fire, and eat something that would be unhealthy for him. It would be entirely in character. But with him at a distance, dinner was soon ready.

After dinner we had a cup of tea and a little walk, and then called it a night. We are both early sleepers! And the dog was up for it. It was his first camping trip since reaching adulthood and he was probably tired. So much excitement.

Leaving traces

I didn't sleep well, but I don't know why. My tent was comfortable! And my sleeping bag was good for the temperature. But sometimes one just doesn't sleep well. At some point during the night I went out for a wee. There is something about beautiful places at night. That was just enough moonlight coming through the clouds to show the surroundings! 

In the morning I could hear a lot of rain falling on the dent. Oh well, we had expected that. And when I opened the tent I saw the full girl still there as well. But I got out and made breakfast. We didn't really linger! We knew we were close to Kate's house, and we could get another coffee in comfort there. So after some porridge and two marks of coffee I packed up. When we set off again. It was foggy, but not raining, when we walked back. It was all right! And when we got staircase she offered to make pains au chocolate. She had barely eaten breakfast, because she had counted on doing that at home. She had only brought some porridge oats, but not even powdered milk, let alone raisins or sugar girl or whatever, so it wasn't very tasty and the dog ate most of it.

Damp breakfast 

Going home 

The pains were lovely! And so was the additional coffee. Bryn was too tired to make any valiant attempt to steal any of the food. But after a few coffees I decided to go home. More things to do!

It had been a nice little adventure! I had never camped with a dog, I think. And I like these mini adventures when you're away for less than 24 hours. In cooler weather we would definitely have set off earlier, and in dry weather we probably would have lingered longer. But as it was, we had been completely away from normal domestic life, and had slept in a stunning environment. A big success as far as I am concerned! And we also had enough time to catch up on everything that had happened since the last time we met. Totally not a weekend as I had expected it, but a good one!

English Stonecrop in bloom

 

Module websites already in the make

I was just looking for one of my module websites when I realised that sites for next academic year are already up. That is amazing! We can already start populating them. And I suppose we shouldn't prioritise it; the first thing we need to do is rounding off the old year. There is a deadline for processing the feedback we have received on our modules from the last academic year, and officially declaring what we are going to do with it. But I always want to have my dissertation module website up and running as early as I can. So we haven't even had the last exam board meeting yet, but that website is already mostly there! 

 

I want to try to get that sort of stuff sorted fairly early on in summer. And then there is not much stress towards the end. That would be nice! Stay tuned to see if I manage…

Thursday Night Hill: race recce

I had seen on social media that this week's Thursday Night Hill session would start in Llanberis again. And then later there was even information about where we would go: a picture of a triangulation pillar appeared. I took that to mean we would go up to the summit of yr Wyddfa (aka Snowdon). That is quite a run!

What I expected we would do is that we would bushwhack to the summit, and then run down the Llanberis path, which is quite civilised. Dyfed is not one for taking the well-trodden paths. Except at the end of a long run when people are tired and it is getting dark.

It was the hottest day of the year so far, and that means something in mid June. I had put the big water bag into my running vest, and I made sure I had a lot of jelly babies with me. Not everybody had seen the post about the trial angulation pylon. Not everybody was prepared!

When we set off it became clear we were actually going up the Llanberis path. And I figured it was a recce for the upcoming race! The next week, the Snowdon Twilight race would take place. It's basically is a run from the village to the top, over that very path. And after you have finished on the summit you have to get down as well, of course, but that is not part of the race.

There it is, in the distance 

I might not have pointed out on this blog that I managed to register for this race! I had tried last year, but failed miserably. This year has gone better. I am very excited about this!

I wasn't overly keen on recceing this race on the day as hot as this one, but then again, it could be just as hot on the day of the race itself! So I had better be ready for that. 

I was drinking like a fish because of the searing temperatures. But I seemed to remember from my hike with Vahid that is water along the way. I really hoped I was correct!

The first part of the path is quite easy going. We got to Halfway Station without problems. But there were already a lot of people worrying about water. However, we continued going, and before we move underneath the train track I heard a trickle. That immediately got my attention! I traced it, and filled up my bottle. I felt a lot better. Not very much further there was actually water right by the path. My bottle was still rather full, but I had a big gulp of fresh water, and threw a lot of it into my face and neck. That was lovely! I had been a veritable sweat waterfall.

Soon after the underpass the path gets so steep you can't run it. And after that there is another easy stretch, that leads all the way to where the bath from Crib Goch/Miners’ path joins. And from there it is only the steep bit to the actual summit.

Not far now

By the time we got there, temperatures had dropped to a rather pleasant level. Thank God! We took some pictures and admired the view. There was also some filming; there was something going on I didn't fully understand, but which had something to do with an upcoming wedding by people Dyfed and his wife Rhian knew. 

On the top

Me just below the summit

Then we started the way down. I knew I was going to be slow! And I also knew I was going to fill up my water bag again on the way down. And it was lovely to have a new stock of fresh cold water, but everybody else has finished from site. When I trundled further down I found Dyfed waiting for me. That was kind of him!

Together we went down further, and we had a stop by the café by the path. The person running it had left the door open so people could get some bottled water. Not everybody wants to drink water from the hill, and there might have been people who didn't even realise there was water available. Some people were very thirsty by now!

Waiting for a straggler 

From there we headed straight for the cars. It had taken us some two hours to get to the summit, and more than an hour to come down. Normally, we only run for two hours. People were also hungry. And everyone was a sweaty mess.

I had imagined we would end up in the lake after the run, but it was so late that everybody basically jumped into their cars and went home. And that included me. It was bedtime!

As the traffic trouble because of the tunnel fire hadn't quite been solved it took me longer than normal to get home, but it wasn't too bad. And then I ate some bread, I had a shower, and went to bed. I was tired! And that would stay that way the whole next day. 960m of ascent on a scorching day is not to be sniffed at! But I am now better prepared for the race than I was, and that’s great.

Tunnel fire causing gridlock

The main road in and out of North Wales is the A55. If something goes wrong with it, the area is in trouble. I remember one Christmas period when it was so wet that it flooded. It also flooded the secondary road: the A5. Oh dear! Luckily that was sorted before I tried to return home from the Netherlands. 

I also remember that someone high on drugs once stole a car and crashed it in one of the tunnels. Chaos ensued! 

With that in mind it is remarkable that when I glanced a headline about a vehicle fire in the Conwy Tunnel I did not think too much more about it. I just got through my working day and then set off towards home. 

On a small country lane I ended up in a traffic jam. A van tried to get past a car, and that only just worked. And on both sides there were vehicles waiting. You never get that much traffic there! Still I didn’t put 2 and 2 together. 

Unusual levels of traffic on the little country road

I proceeded to Bethesda. And the through fare was gridlocked! It wasn’t so bad for me, as I could also use the pavement, but the motorised vehicles were pretty stuck. I put this on the local chat, and Martin then pointed out that must've been because of the tunnel fire. Of course it was!

Too much traffic in the village. Picture by Chris Owen.

It turned out that a crane lorry had caught fire. Luckily, no one was hurt, but the tunnel was now closed in both directions. And now all the traffic was trying to find alternative routes. And then you are quickly reminded of that we are on the route between London and Dublin. All the lorries that go to, or come from Holyhead normally use the A55. And now they were trying to squeeze through the village!

Susan was actually on annual leave, so she didn't have to negotiate the traffic. Martin later mentioned it had taken him 1:45 hours to get home. That is so frustrating! It should be half an hour. Colleagues living even further east seem to have taken 3:45 hrs to get home.

I sort of figured I had hit this traffic at rush hour, and that later on it wouldn't be so bad. And I had to get to Llanberis in the evening, for the Thursday Night Hill session! By car.

When I had to leave I pointed my car in the land inward direction, but traffic was stationary. And then I figured I might as well go the other way around, and that was fortunate; the road was clear in the other direction. And it was such a long run I was fairly certain the problem would be solved to such an extent I would be able to get home without trouble, but I was wrong. I approached the village from one side, thought the better of it, went to the other side, and then had to stand in a traffic jam for a bit. I had decided that if I would approach the A5 and it would be gridlocked I would just drive to the vicinity of my house on a parallel road and just park up, walk the rest. But I didn't need to.

As I'm writing this, half of the tunnel has now reopened, so there is one lane of traffic in either direction. That's better than nothing! But it is still very detrimental to local traffic. I hope inspections will reveal that the actual tunnel hasn't suffered any significant damage, and that they can reopen the entire thing soon. It is a bit of a bottleneck, and the area is just not the same if it's not fully functioning!