Running the Breeze

Do you get lost heading down to the local shops but want to improve your navigation skills so you can take part in some of the more challenging fell races? Maybe you run and want tot try something new? Perhaps you took a navigation course before GPS had been invented and want to keep the skills up. Orienteering is the answer, and I have finally got round to giving it a go and I think its a great sport that more runners should try.

When my alarm chimed at 6am I was already half awake. I would love to tell you it was because I was excited. It was the day of race three in the 2018/9 Start Fitness North East Harrier league and to be my first of the season! I love every aspect of cross country, the team camaraderie, the challenging courses, and especially the mud. No dear reader, it wasn't the excitement that woke me up long before dawn; it was the rain hammering on my bedroom window! Normally I would hop out of bed and think, "Great, this is proper cross country weather!", but normally my alarm would be set much later in the day. The race was to be put on by Gosforth harriers with support from Heaton Harriers, and my club, Tyne Bridge Harriers and I had volunteered to help with setting up the course. To get it ready for the first junior race at 12pm we had been told to arrive at Gosforth Racecourse for 7:30. I'm always quite well organised for cross country, with my bag prepared the nigh...