Up the revolution

At the risk of trying to dream up torturous analogies I think it's vaguely fitting that my first hill race in months was Wed night's Red Moss Revolution, a 9k event organised by HBT taking in some lovely scenery and hills, a very deep bog and a lovely flat finish. Revolutionary in literal as well as figurative terms: firstly, it was good to be back racing again, despite feeling very apprehensive. It reminded me how much I like other runners, what a decent bunch of like-minded, straight-talking, optimistic and unaffected people they are. So, it has helped get the wheel of running-desire turning again.

In terms of the race itself it's a tough little course with a good mix of road, trail, climb and flat. I was on the home strait - about 3/4 mile of good, flat, runnable surface - and really looking forward to the flat, fast stuff when all of a sudden I turned my ankle and found myself in an undignified heap. Still, within minutes the adrenalin kicked in and I managed to finish okay, with grass rash and a bloody knee to show for it. My ankle was impressively swollen within an hour but now is almost back to normal size. Wearing a dress to work when you've got cuts, scratches, midge bites and the faint trace of a large '20' written in black ink (DIY numbering system) makes for an unorthodox image.

So, good to be back running again and amongst friends. Hence the title of this post.