In 2022 I had the parenting moment I'd dreamed about. I pinned minipixie's first race number onto his little shirt. Kids age 6 are permitted to race FRA Junior races, and our local Lantern Pike Dash allows any age kids to run , accompanied by an adult.
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| Here he is with his wee running clan from Glossop and Hadfield |
We also took him to a local Junior Parkrun, 2km around a well-marshalled course in Brabyn's park in Marple Bridge , as well as occasional Mum/son runs around the fields and sometimes the fells at weekends. As 2023 arrived, I got injured and oddly, that changed more than just my own training plan
A week before Christmas I took a standard spin up to Wormstones one evening and came back with a sore heel. A few days later I couldn't walk on it - Plantar Fascitis had come to town.
This photo was Christmas Eve 2022 - he'd asked to run a "lap or two" of Parkrun (5k version) with us in festive attire so we obliged .Fox completed his second full parkrun, and slept in til 8.30 on Christmas Day 😄
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| mind that T-Rex lad! |
I was very down in the dumps about what's probably one of the most feared foot injuries, and then we all caught Covid again for the holidays. This time it was even worse than last year and I was wiped out for almost a month, and very miserable about it too. In Feb I gingerly began a recovery plan for both foot and in general, with 1k jogs around the local rec. Then it dawned on me that I had a perfect training partner. So at weekends when he wanted to, we ran together. Without planning to , I was building a race fitness base for my son whilst trying to keep my own training intensity down to a manageable (pain wise) level. I had no great aims, just to be able to run as far as possible without hurting. in Feb it was 5k, in March it was an hour, by April I did the Kinder Downfall race (hurt like heck by the end but really enjoyed doing a classic route)
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| up to the cabin and back - march 2023 |
In May I asked the small boy, now 7, whether he'd like to try some "real" kids fell races, the FRA English Junior Series. He did. I couldn't take him to the required 4 fixtures to qualify in his age group but I knew we could enjoy a bit of real racing. My highlight was our trip to Ambleside one weekend with a stopover in the delightful YHA Windermere. The race was super well organised and the little ones (under 9 age group) got to run on a "real" high fell complete with kit -another emotional parenting moment in fellrunning when my son presented at his first FRA kit-check..! By July, he had completed more races than his Mum. [3 I think..] We pegged a BOFRA race in the Dales onto the end of a half-term trip to Scarborough and got the BEST kids running photo of our family album
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| Kettlewell U9s race June 2023 |
As my own fitness very slowly returned, I found myself favouring events and trips which had kids races. We both raced at Lantern Pike Dash of course, but my injury scared me out of doing any of the summer "family style" fixtures. He wants me to come to the school charity jog soon, to "run more laps than Mr Doyle " ...!
What I love about his racing is that he's proud of his run, wherever he finishes in the field. He isn't that suited to the shorter distances which the rules limit his age groups to - he happily runs 3-5k on the fells with me, so he's not warmed up by the end of the 1k the kids fell routes offer. Not to worry, he loves to cheer on the other kids and help his dad with his camera during the other groups races. I know that in a few years, he'll not want to follow his mum's hobby. So for now I am happy to be chaffeur and kit carrier if and when he likes to race, and sacrifice some of the events I would usually like to run.
And me? I am over the injury ,it took 8 months or so. I'm running in the FRA Relays and have signed up for a winter of "chasing teenagers round the park in the hail" aka "cross country league"
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| Family club vests at Glossop Parkrun |
