Don't panic. This is not a geek's guide to running rather me unable to resist a pun. Popped out yesterday for a pleasant evening River Loop run (which, my Garmin tells me is 2.58 miles, with about 100m of ascent/descent). It starts with a run above the river on a narrow wooded path with overhanging trees. There was an incongruous purple tent snugged down close to the water. (I hope they had their midge flap shut or else they'd've had a tent full of zizzlies). The route then breaks out onto glorious fields, with Potter Fell on the skyline, full of sheep and, WHAT!, suspiciously large excretory dollops. Oh no. They farmer's only gone and put cows in the field. Now, I like sheep. They nibble the grass smooth, have cute lambs and they run away from you. But cows are different. Their hoofprints make the ground all hummocky and difficult to run on, they run alongside you in a stampeding way (I was on a run once when, in a parallel field, this daft cow ran along with me and ran right through a barbed wire fence. It ripped the posts out of the ground and trailed the whole thing with it until it stopped, bemused) and they have the unerring ability to drop their plops right in gateways and the foot of stiles. Sure enough, they bounded along gaily with me until I escaped over the stile in the wall and continued up the hill. The rest of the run was uneventful, though beautiful. It was clouding over which somehow made the bluebells shimmer even more brightly, even though they are going over now. The spikey white flowers of the wild garlic were in full bloom and the smell was enough to put you in mind of lamb chops.Once back home I discovered a little anklet of insect bites right round the tops of my socks. They itch like hell as I sit here typing this. Still, I'm not grumbling. There's a lot of runners who'd love to have such a cracking run on their doorstep. And I did it at a 9.57 pace, so it was a nice 'recovery run' after the ghastliness of the intervals.Smiley rating 7.5/10
Just remembered another cow/runner story. A guy at my old club (Macc Harriers) got badly injured by a wayward bovine on a run. Broken ribs I think. Anybody else got any animal tales? Maybe next time I'll tell about the time I got pummelled by a reindeer....
now you've asked yes. i was running into work along cloudside when i cam across a bull on the lane. hed obviously got out of the field where his lovelies were by mistake and seemed a bit pissed off by his stupidity, particularly when he copped his big brewing eyes on me and the pooch. our only way round him was to get in the actual field he'd come out of but as soon as his girls saw me and pooch they tried to catch us up as we legged it down the field. seeing the commotion the bull followed suit down the lane. there was nothing for it other than to turn and run at the cows, shouting and waving my arms to shoo them back to where they'd come from therein sending the offending bull back up the lane. it worked out and me and charlie scaled the wall and headed down the lane on our way. what a cuffufle.
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