Adam in Runderland

I've made it an aim this year to break my PBs at all distances. I managed my 5k a few weeks ago. Next up was the marathon. With summer coming up I had to get in quickly or wait until the autumn. As my fitness is at a good level and you never know when you may pick up an injury I signed up for the Kempton Marathon on May 29th. A risk of heat, but a pancake flat course. On the day is was cool but sunny. I arrived at the Kempton racetrack early and picked up my number, handed in my bag and grabbed a coffee. There weren't too many people around considering there were three events taking place, a 10k, half marathon and marathon. At 9.15 we were invited to assemble in order of estimated finish time. A man dressed as a traffic cone attempted to motivate us all by playing Agadoo which failed dismally. We all wanted to get going rather than dance. We set off and it was a relatively clear start with less than 500 people taking part. I soon found myself behind two men running at a consist...

 

You don't have to go to the big cities to see good street art. Having toured the street art scene in Belfast I had a few hours to get out while down the road in Bangor and see what it had to offer. More than I had anticipated. This sleepy seaside town is more than a sleepy, seaside town. This is the natural beauty of the place. And here is a selection of the street art to be found there.

Belfast. The Troubles. Loyalist. Republican. Division. For many years this was the image of Northern Ireland. Sadly it led to the loss of many lives and the stirring of hatred, distrust, blame, revenge and bigotry. I'm not educated or experienced enough to comment on any of this. I am thankful that some sort of peace has come. However, the evidence of how recently this conflict raged is still there for all to see. Among the wonderful creative pieces of modern street art you can still see the political and historical messages painted on walls across the divided communities of the City. Here are some images. Please forgive me if I have misconstrued any of these. I felt two emotions on seeing these. One was a sadness that these murals help perpetuate the conflict, if not on the streets, then in people's hearts and minds. The other that hope that these days will not return, and that on that day I could run safely between areas flying the red, white and blue Union Jack and areas wit...

A weekend in Northern Ireland. A chance to see the local street art in Belfast , more in Bangor , sectarian street murals and, as my visit to Belfast was at a weekend, the opportunity to parkrun there - yes it is a verb too. It would be my 295th parkrun, but the first in Northern Ireland. There are seven to choose from and I selected based on aesthetics rather than number of attenders or how fast the courses are. This meant I had a choice between Colin Glen and Falls. I plumped for Falls as it was scenic and hilly - I like a hill. My aim that day was also to climb Divis, a 1568 feet high hill overlooking the city. The choice was to do Divis first before parkrun, or after parkrun. As I wasn't bothered about doing a fast parkrun, and as rain was predicted later in the morning, I headed to Divis at 6.30am. I snuck out of the shared Hostel dorm as quietly as I could manage while they all slept off their hangovers. The route took me out to the north-western edge of Belfast, along the S...