H is for Henley its hill and Harry
After a month off from the normal Saturday routine, I have two PR letters still to fit into my Challenge sequence this month, and Christmas Eve took me over the Thames to Henley. It’s comfortably within cycling distance from home to the start, but it did mean leaving just before daylight given the fact that it was the shortest day earlier this week.
The unexpected bonus was that I got to see the Christmas lights within my local neighbourhood as I set off.
Henley is an iconic town for cyclists, given its crossing point over the Thames. The glacial formed valley is a perfect V shape at this location, meaning that whichever direction you take there’s a hill to climb immediately — Remenham to the south or Greys to the north as a gateway to the Chilterns that lie beyond.
The town also holds fond memories from a triathlon perspective as some ten years ago it hosted an Ironman distance event called Challenge Henley. I took part in a relay team, doing the marathon leg in a personal best time. We were doing loops through the town, across the bridge and around Temple Island Meadows — which was pancake flat.
What made that day iconic was the finish funnel. The pre-race briefing had said that there was an area where your fellow relay partners would be waiting, and that you could all cross the finish line together. As I approached on my final lap I spotted the Katie (who done the early morning swim) and her husband Barry (who had absolutely nailed the 112 mile bike leg). I had plenty of family in the crowd, and what my two year grand daughter Lara had noticed was at this location kids were being passed over the barriers to finishing competitors. She always was a confident child — even at that age — and as I slowed down to join Katie and Barry, I was handed Lara, who crossed the finish line in my arms. The photo of the three of us competitors with Lara as the centre of attention was priceless. It’s no surprise that ten years on and now she is also doing Parkrun.
Anyway back to the present and whilst the forecast has suggested mild conditions, what I had noticed pedalling over to Henley was that there was a chilly mist hanging the Thames, giving quite a nip in the air. It was therefore not a surprise when I arrived at the sheltered venue to find that there was a frost on the field.
I was greeted by my son Harry who was keen to take the opportunity to play a part in my Alphabet Challenge. It was his suggestion — from reading the blog — that the letter H was the best time to do that. And it was his first ever parkrun, so there’s another first timer to our running community. He was very active and fit as a teenager and into his early twenties — as a Les Mills class instructor — but a combination of young family commitments and working shifts has meant that he’s doing less at the moment. But I sure he will get back into it, even if running might not be his first choice activity.
As a parkrun it was quite a toughie to compete in. It’s a two lap course, with a sharp incline “the Henley hill” at the end of the field, then a muddy track along the ridge before a slippery descent to the fourth side of the rectangle following a narrow track alongside the field.
Even with trail shoes, it definitely wasn’t a day for a fast time given the undulating and uneven terrain. I finished in position 32 — and first in age group — in 28 minutes, with Harry a few minutes further back. He had set a very achievable time goal which he comfortably beat.
At the end, having donned some warm layers, we had the obligatory selfie, before I pedalled back home. We meet again on Boxing Day for family festivities — Harry wondered how much he will ache?
