I set out feeling really positive today! I felt good and I planned to run 22 miles for the bigmoose ultra fun run. I’d signed up for the half-marathon in Bute Park but I prefer hills and they encouraged people to run a “virtual” race if they couldn’t make the actual event.

Ten minutes in and I fall over on the Glamorganshire Canal upper path! Thankfully, I was barely running so I just fell on my side like a sack of spuds. I landed on my arm so I quickly got up and realised there was no serious damage done. I told myself I was lucky to get a painless fall out of the way so I could enjoy the rest of the run. (Ominous foreshadowing…)

I decided to start with some easy flat miles as this was my first attempt at this distance. As I approached the first climb in Morganstown at six miles I worried I’d started too fast. I decided to take the hills very slowly and see how I felt when I got to the top of the Garth.

The Garth was very still and it was getting hot so I was glad I’d put sun cream on and had plenty of water. Things were going great at 2 hours in and I was looking forward to the shade of my favourite woodland.

I was scampering down through Garth Woods and suddenly lost my footing. I was going at a fair clip and suddenly panicked that this could be bad! I managed to turn my body into some sort of roll and I was back on my feet. I have no idea what happened but, again, I couldn’t feel any pain and I was still moving. I stopped briefly and noticed a bloody graze on my knee but no other damage. I was so relieved that I could continue but still worried that I’d done some damage that would surface later.

My legs were still functioning so I headed up Craig yr Allt. I clipped my toe another couple of times so I’m wondering whether I’m just not used to my new Peregrine 14s. They’re still causing a bit of discomfort on my heels when I’m climbing but then feel lovely on the flat.

One person commented on my bigmoose t-shirt, which was nice. I’m sure I would’ve loved the atmosphere in Bute Park, and I probably wouldn’t have fallen over, but I’m pleased to have supported their work in a small way.