Mud and monsters
Winter is a tough time to motivate yourself to run. The days are often grey, wet and windy. The streets are full of grumpy people and leaf strewn puddles. The lure of putting your feet up and eating something warm and comforting is tough to resist.
However, once you manage to lace up your running shoes and start your watch perceptions are soon altered. If you accept that you will get wet, muddy and cold, those things don't bother you as much. In fact they become part of the enjoyment of the run.
Today was one such day. I hadn't been out for a few days and was feeling that stuffy, lethargic sense of ennui and listlessness. I was determined to hit the trails and run in and through anything that I encountered. I would embrace the mud. I would fight the wind. I would appreciate the season for it's uniqueness.
My thoughts turned back to the heatwave we experienced just four short months previously. The forty degree heat, the impossibility of running through that thick, hot air, and how I longed for cold day. That day was here.
My route began on the Waterlink Way in Bellingham. This flat, straight path linking Catford and Sydenham runs alongside the Ravensbourne River. I started as I meant to go on, choosing to run on the grass and mud rather than the pavement itself. I was wearing road shoes so it was a battle to keep my feet from sliding away beneath me. This helps to train and tone those muscles that don't get used on a regular run.
Emerging in Lower Sydenham, I headed uphill through Sydenham itself, past the shops and cafes, and over the bridge at the train station. From here the road curves and rises towards Crystal Palace Park. The 219 metre high transmitter guided me to the top of the park. Entering through the side gate, I was able to get back to the muddy trails, darting through the woodland that has grown up along the outer reaches of the park. Here a bed of leaves inches thick provided a gentle landing before allowing my feet to sink gently into thick, squelchy mud.
My calves were already covered in dirt, and my shoes were unrecognisable from the original luminous green colour, now a deep chocolate brown. Dodging rocks, jumping over roots, ducking under branches, it was a full body workout, my core seeking to stabilise me as I slipped and tripped down the hill towards the lake.
A giant dinosaur looked out from its island and held me in its gaze. Another stalked nearby while prehistoric fish the size of boats dived through the water as giant crocodiles bared their teeth. These are the famous Victorian dinosaurs of Crystal Palace. Built in 1853 to help people learn about the extinction of the dinosaurs they appear strange to the modern eye. Much more has been learnt about the form of these incredible beasts over the last 170 years. Looking at these sculptures is like watching an early episode of The Simpsons. You can recognize the characters, but they look....odd.
I splashed past, making no attempt to avoid the puddles. I was the only person about so no danger of splashing anyone and my feet were already soaked. I began climbing back up the steep hill and passed what remained of the Lightopia festival. Every Christmas light sculptures are arranged in the park and illuminated for the public to visit. Illness meant our tickets went unused, but this gave me a chance to see what had been on display. Fantasy animals, sea serpents, hearts, mushrooms and the Clangers were just some of the exhibits.
Back at the gate I left the park and followed the Green Chain Walk to Sydenham Woods. I passed a strange cupboard built against a wall. A secret entrance to a subterranean world? Maybe I'd been playing too much Minecraft recently.
You can almost miss the entrance on the main road opposite several imposing mansion houses. I entered through the kissing gate, the light fading slightly as I descended the steps leading into the heart of the woods. Despite the lack of leaf cover, the high branches crowding overhead created an atmosphere that was slightly claustrophobic, but almost womblike in the way it surrounded me and held me in its presence.
Immersed in the trees, robin song resounding, the squelch and pat of my feet on the soft earth, I was free for that moment. Time had no meaning, any demands on my time and attention were pushed to one side. I was fully present in the now and it felt great. I had no direction to head or route to follow, I just decided at each trail head whether to turn or keep going. Always moving forward. Sometimes choosing the broad path, at others pushing through the undergrowth where small animals had left a narrow trail.
Eventually, and inevitably, I soon lost my bearings. I just kept running until I recognised a small pond that provided a clue to my location. Heading roughly the way I new would lead to an exit I soon emerged by the disused railway tunnel, headed up and over the bricked up rail relic and climbed to the far gate from where I had entered.
Now caked in filth I was again in urban London, but not for long. A quick skip across the South Circular brought me to Horniman Museum and grounds. The Green Chain Walk continues alongside the park. Normally this would be my route towards Camberwell Old Cemetery, but I noticed a gate in the fence I had never seen before. A sign explained that this was the Horniman Nature Trail. I couldn't resist exploring and passed through. It felt like I'd entered the wardrobe and appeared in Narnia. A beautiful path opened up bordered by white flowering plants, fallen tree trunks covered in fungi and ending with a pond and log pile. All it needed was a Mr Tumnus and Reepicheep to pop up.
On exiting the wardrobe...er gate, I ran through a housing estate to Honor Oak. I climbed One Tree Hill and admired one of the best views of the City before descending and making my way back through Croft Park to Ladywell for a well deserved Oat Latte.
It's a truism that you never regret a run. Regardless of the season, the weather or your state of mind, it's good to get out. However it helps if you decide to make the most of it. Any of us can find reasons to be critical and pick fault with what we experience. The key is to decide beforehand to see the beauty, to relish the challenges, to overcome the apathy and ultimately, for that run, to be present.
