Snapshots of normality

One of the things we really missed during all the COVID madness was the normal round of running events. Parkrun was cancelled, as were all the races we’d normally have gone to. It was a joy when parkrun was finally allowed to restart in July 2021, and later in the year, there were two big races to look forward to. The first of these was the Southampton Marathon in early September. As usual, I went along with my camera to take photos. Runners do like to have their photographs taken so these events are always busy occasions for me. As it turned out, this one was busier than I could have ever expected.

It all began fairly normally, if getting up at an ungodly hour to watch people run 26.2 miles can ever be called normal. It was a chilly start, but it had the promise of a very warm day. This is not good news for marathon runners. I took the usual pre race team photos, plus a couple of the stragglers who missed their spot. Then Nicole and I wandered up to London Road to get ourselves a coffee and find a spot to watch the runners coming past. The spot we picked turned out to be a prime position in more ways than one.

Then it was all about the normal process of trying to spot red shirts and capture the runners as they came past. No one was expecting any wonderful times because of the heat but most of them looked as if they were enjoying themselves. My main worry at this point was missing any of them.

Then things went a bit awry. A runner coming towards us looked to be in a bit of trouble. He stumbled and fell. Right into Nicole’s arms as it happened. He had obviously underestimated the heat. He wasn’t a local runner, we didn’t know him, but obviously we weren’t about to just leave him on the ground. Water was offered, a first aider came to check him over. He sat for some time drifting in and out of consciousness and sipping water. Then Commando and Rob appeared, having finished their race and begun wondering what had happened to us.

The runner was still trying to recover at this point. He desperately wanted to finish the race, especially as there were only a few hundred yards left to go. He wasn’t really in any shape to run though. Commando and Rob sized up the situation and decided to help him cross the finish line. So, arm in arm, the three of them walked the final yards, to loud cheers from the watching crowds. Then, while he was being checked over again in the first aid tent, Commando ran off to get the fallen runner’s medal and goodie bag. It hadn’t turned out to be quite the race any of us expected, but we later found out the runner, whose name was Joe, made a full recovery and was very grateful for that helping hand over the finish line.

Hopefully it was some consolation to Joe that, despite everything, he was not last over the finish line. That honour went to the inimitable Annie, along with tail runners, Mark and Kim. Annie is a local legend, being of a certain age, but appearing at all sorts of events from the Southampton Marathon to the regular cross country races. I’m not sure where she gets her energy from but I wish I had half of it.

The next big event in the running calendar was the Great South Run on 17 October. It saw us driving through a misty morning towards Southsea and a glorious sunrise. Commando and Rob were pacers for this event. Usually this would mean a VIP changing room in Southsea Castle but, due to COVID restrictions we weren’t sure if that would be the case this time.

As it happened, we were allowed into the VIP changing room, but Kim and I decided to wander off to get a coffee instead. Who wants to hang around with a load of runners getting changed and talking about PB’s and minute miles after all? Eventually, after what seemed like several hours hanging around, but was actually only two and a half hours, it was time for everyone to head for the start pens. This was where my photo taking duties began.

As always, there were interesting non Hamwic runners that I couldn’t resist snapping. The first of these was Lord Nelson. The Great South Run is always good for the fancy dress runners and they always make me smile. They also make me wonder what it must be like to run ten miles in a weird costume.

Amongst all the runners there was something else that caught my eye. A group of marshals in green bibs were going around picking up rubbish. When I saw the words Recycling Marshal, I was intrigued, so I asked them what they were up to. Apparently, this is a new initiative to pick up all the discarded plastic bottles for recycling. It seems like a step in the right direction to me.

By this time it was eleven o’clock so we thought we’d better find a place on the course to catch our runners coming past. The corner by the Jolly Sailor pub always seems like a good spot, so we dashed across Southsea Common and found a space in the cheering crowds. The first runner we saw was a dinosaur, a very speedy dinosaur. By now the sun was high in the sky and the day was turning out to be much warmer than we’d expected. I couldn’t help thinking that running in a dinosaur suit must be a touch on the hot side.

Between us we managed to spot quite a few of the Hamwic runners. Those red shirts really do stand out. So did the bright red post box running past. How on earth he could see where he was going is a mystery. Not far behind him was Wonder Woman, at least I think it was Wonder Woman. I must admit to being slightly distracted by her wonderful hair. My photograph really doesn’t do it justice, the beautiful corkscrews were all different shades of gold, brown and red.

We had a chat with some more Recycling Marshals and then Commando came past. He looked very comfortable, given the heat, and as usual he stopped for a quick kiss. Hopefully, I’m the only woman he stops to kiss in the middle of the race. One of the runners following him was another dinosaur, or a woman riding a dinosaur. The sudden influx of dinosaurs may have had something to do with a controversial statement made by a certain politician about women’s rights a couple of weeks earlier. I wonder if he realised his unkind words were going to start a trend?

Now both Rob and Commando had gone past we decided it was about time to head for the finish, or at least back to the VIP castle changing room to catch up with the finishers. As we made our way through the crowds I couldn’t help thinking we were missing a trick somewhere along the line. What we really should have done is rent one of the flats overlooking the course and sat on a balcony in comfort with a nice cool glass of something in our hands while we watched the race go past.

We got back in time to see the ultra fast pacers all changed and ready to go home. Then Rob arrived looking very cool and collected for someone who’d just run ten miles with a great big flag on his back. While we waited for Commando to arrive we watched a police dog cool down in the fountain. I must admit I was tempted to join him at that stage. It really had got very hot.

As usual, we had a bit of a wait. This was not because Commando was especially slow. He hit his pace time to perfection as ever. Afterwards though, he hung around chatting for ages. They say women like to talk but I can tell you runners, at least Commando and Rob, can give any woman a run for her money in that department. Finally, he did return, and after quite a bit more talking, we finally set off across Southsea Common to find our car. After almost two years of lockdowns and cancelled events, it finally felt as if life was returning to some kind of normality.

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