If you’re out and about enjoying a bit of fresh autumnal weather, do you ever ‘stream’ (yes, I know, a modern term following the demise of the good old tape cassette et al) songs to inspire you along the way? How about Walk this Way (Run DMC, 1986), Walking on Sunshine (Katrina and the Waves, 1983), or maybe Walk like an Egyptian (Bangles, 1986), or as close as a North Yorkshire resident can? How about if you think one day, you know what, I’m going to dig out my old running trainers, dust them off and up my game? Now you’re in a completely different realm. Born to run (Springsteen, 1975)? OK, a bit obvious maybe. The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner (Belle & Sebastian, 2001), a bit more obscure. Run Baby Run (Sheryl Crow, 1993)? I leave it at Run to the (Howardian) Hills (Iron Maiden, 1982). I’m sure when Steve Harris wrote the heavy metal classic, that’s exactly what he was referring to! A bit of food for thought and completely unrelated to the next section.
Last month at Easingwold Running Club, we tackled a new concept for Thursday night running. Head Coach, Andy, alongside Member’s Secretary, Claire, came up with a new idea for keeping us all fit, and boy did it work? Orienteering! 8 groups comprising of 6 participants were split again into pairs. Tabs of varying colours and numbers were distributed in advance around the town and beyond. Green, yellow, orange and red. Green tabs were located closer to the centre, whereas red ones were located much further out, up to 1.5 miles away. Yellow and orange tabs, somewhere in between. Colours were given a point weighting depending on their distance from base. Each pair within the groups were selected based on their predetermined go-to running paces, making the teams as even as possible. After the line-ups were announced and ten minutes of top secret route planning was complete, off we went. 50 minutes to collect as many tabs as possible. What ensued was nothing short of manic. Folk headed off in what appeared to be all directions, determined to do their bit for the team and bring home the trophy. Only one tab could be submitted to base at any one time and after 50 minutes and 48 shattered contenders returned home, it was done! Any one returning beyond the 50 minute cutoff had their final entry struck off.
Now I’ve briefly explained, this is my opportunity to say sorry to any local residents who happened to be out, only to witness random couples donned in hi-viz and head torches, running around like headless chickens. Apologies for any confusion / distress caused!
At the end of the night, once the winners were announced, (following independent adjudication of course), it was asked if the orienteering night should become a regular fixture, it was met with a resounding “yes”! A huge thank you and well done to all who made it a great success. As was mentioned at the end, “put people in teams and the competitive instincts really come to the fore”. Personally, I think it was the carrot of chocolate prizes on offer at the end! For your information my team battled super-hard and came in joint second. No chocolate treats for us! There’s always next year.
To finish this latest column, locals with a beady eye may have noticed that Easingwold will be hosting its very own fully licenced and distance certified 10k event in July next year. At the beginning of the summer holidays, July 27th will see the race form part of a family fun day. This is great news and will add another string to the bow to what is the outward facing life of the town. Check out www.woldclass.co.uk/easingwold10k/ for more details. You’ll see more about this in the coming months from your very own, Easingwold Running Club.
Keep on movin’ (Livin’ Joy, 1996) and see you next time.
Rich Freeman, Publicity Secretary
Photo: The winning team on orienteering night
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