Run 43. It’s Showtime. 1/10/2019.
Having done my past three runs in “regional” locations it was time to do a city run. And what better way to integrate from the country to the city than to run to the Royal Melbourne Show. This is billed as the event where country meets city.
Well into Spring by now and temperatures starting to top 20 degrees. Given I sweat a bit when I run I always wear a hat to avoid the sweat getting into my eyes. But today I decided to see if reducing the weight of my attire would speed me up. The reality is I forgot my hat and had no choice. Any weight advantages were quickly forgotten as the inconvenience of wiping sweat in my eyes took over – lesson learnt.
Nice night for a run and with parking for the show inside the Flemington racecourse, it gave me the opportunity to meander through the massive car park area that will become a corporate tent city for the Spring carnival in less than a month.
Made my way to one of the showground entry points to grab a selfie. Finished a loop of the area and headed back towards the city. It’s an occupational hazard to avoid the mess left by some dogs on the paths in Melbourne, and sometimes they are not easy to spot. But at the show, there are plenty of horses and the mess that they leave is a bit easier to spot. As I cut through the horse float parking area, it was like dancing through a minefield.
Easy run in a time of 1:52:51 – but the learnings are accumulating.
My Three Learnings
Hats matter. Never leave home for a run without one.
Sweat and eyes are a bad mix.
Horse droppings are a significant obstacle.