Castell Alun catchment run

Another reprise of a favourite long run, by way of marathon training. This is a tough 32km circuit with 2000ft of climbing as it heads over Hope Mountain in both directions. I felt reasonably good, however, and finished in 2.27. It was windy throughout, with rain at times, and that really slowed me on the climb from Leeswood to Treuddyn.

Parisian run

An early morning run through the streets of Paris: it doesn't get much better. I left the hotel at Place Cambronne and followed the line of the railway to cross the Seine and head to the Trocadero. From here, it was up to the Arc de Triomphe and then, as it got light, I pelted down the Champs Elysees all the way to Place de la Concorde. I last ran here in 2009, the opening mile of the Paris Marathon. Then it was back along the Seine to the Eiffel Tower and hotel, where my companions were still sleeping. This was the best of three short Parisian runs during our minibreak.

Conwy Mountain fell race

Race: Conwy Mountain race (5.5m/1900ft)
Time/Position: 54.34 (20th from 94)
This really was a last minute decision. I had done a hardish run last night and was planning to rest up in advance of Sunday's Village Bakery half. But I heard that it had been cancelled, despite the fact that the wind was scheduled to ease. By contrast, the Conwy Mountain race was scheduled to start at the height of Storm Dennis, and there was no question of it being cancelled - such is the cultural difference between the two branches of the sport. I have always enjoyed both, but sometimes the contrast is stark! The wind howled as we set off for the long climb up the bridleway towards Allt Wen, a path I know very well. It was a crosswind fortunately, although as we emerged from the woods it barrelled into us and made life hard approaching the summit. The steep descent towards the A55 was then very muddy and slippery, and the 62mph tailwind for the next section wasn't all that much help, as it was so fierce that it drove us into the scree and made it hard to stick to the paths. It did help for the ridge across to Mynydd y Dref, though. I was well down on the last time I did the race (2017 - its first running) and this got worse with a very slow, slippery descent all the way down to the road before the brutal final climb below the Notice Board crag in torrential rain. Ended up well over four minutes down on 2017, and 13 places lower, although the weather and the bigger championship field offered some explanation.

Clywedog trail run

I was scheduled to return to Long Mynd Valleys today for the first time since 2009, but Storm Ciara put paid to that: 60mph+ gusts. So I sought shelter, repeating the Clywedog Trail run last done in November 2016. This worked fairly well, although the weather was predictably appalling at certain points. From Minera, a vicious headwind combined with flooded paths to make a very wet start, although the plan did work well initially in the sense that it was genuinely sheltered. This changed as I entered the Erddig grounds with the storm at its height - howling wind and torrential rain, some big trees down. At Kings Mill, the end of the trail I doubled back but then decided it would be prudent to avoid the woods on the return. Instead I took a sweeping loop on roads to Rhostyllen, and then the climb contouring Esclusham to Minera. The roads were all flooded - thigh deep in places - and the weather was horrendous throughout, a real soaking.

Wirral Traverse

This had been lurking at the back of my mind for some time as an interesting long run. It worked well, and I set off from Kinnerton Old Road in dank and drizzly weather. Through Hawarden, then down to the Blue Bridge which leads to a long and tortuous section through the Deeside Industrial Estates. I'd done this on a bike with M and the Scouts a few years ago, which helped. It is a relief to gain the duckboards adjacent to the Dee Estuary and finally start to head in the right direction. You can really get a nice rhythm going, past Burton and Neston - all very peaceful away from cars. Then a little detour inland to gain the Wirral Way, which is a tad dull in places with trees on both sides. Several sections are recognisable from races like Thurstaston MT and the like, and it was all very wet after recent deluges. I got to West Kirby in less than 2.20, and carried on to the golf course for the full trip, before meeting Kate for the completist walk to Hilbre and a picnic.

Chester Parkrun

'Race': Chester parkrun
Time/Position: 19.03 (6th from 419)
A huge field for the Parkrun, which takes a different route to the one I was familiar with, heading across some narrow tracks. With such a big field, this was hard to negotiate and I felt tired throughout after a fair amount of recent running, with a bad choice of footwear making things worse (heavy trail shoes).