Chris Heggs
The penultimate Challenge of the sophomore season saw 47 of the Totley mob jadedly don their finest fern for an ill – advised trudge around the undulating, but ultimately lovely surroundings presented by wonderful Manor fields park.
From the off, the maverick Peter Dooley decided to subvert the system by refusing to wear any green, claiming that his personal beautician had advised that green did not complement his skin tone, minus one point for you Dooley!
There was a bit of effort put into running around and around, but if we are honest, we were all there for one reason and one reason alone, to celebrate the amazing Bryony and her milestone achievement in reaching the impressive feat of 250 parkruns.
Hartley, in aberrant behaviour, did not take the opportunity to open the boot of her motor and tout her ever growing supply of Totley branded merch (I believe at the time of writing you can still pick up a quality sherpa blanket for a knock down ‘green Friday’ price of £18). Instead, the Hartley clan arrived in force and provided much needed post – jog goodies. Well done to you Bryony, it is always a pleasure to run with you and here’s to another 250!
An opportunity for baking? Yes please! If you listened carefully, you could hear Anne Hegarty whipping out her baking paraphernalia in the days ahead of the challenge. Once again, Anne succeeded in creating a source of delicious, sweet goodies. Thank you, Anne, for your continued service.
Without doubt, the pairing of the round saw a titanic battle between Rory Wall and Caryl Hartwright. Caryl’s strategy of pushing Rory into a bush somewhere on the course proved to be ineffective as Rory eked out a 0.65% age grade win, but it took a new PB to get there
Both runners managed extremely impressive age grade rankings of 73%+, just wow!
For the grand finale of the 2024 Challenge, we return to our spiritual home of Millhouses Park on 14th December.
I hope to see you there.