From the pre-dawn magic of Mallorca to the post-dusk danger of Didcot. Note to self: if you have a 2 hour run to do don’t wait until 20:30 before setting off. But alas, we had 16 K to run and through procrastination (a BBQ and 3 episodes of House) we left late and unprepared.

“Don’t worry, it’s summer”. We told ourselves. “It’s light until like midnight… Besides the path is totally even and straight.”

We were headed to Little Wittenham and back – about 14 K but we can make the rest of the distance up around the Ladygrove Loop. It follows national cycle path #5 past a few fields growing rape seed and the two picturesque villages of Long and Little Wittenham where the charity Earth’s Trust is based. (FYI: We are signed up to their 10 K run on 6th of September because how could we not with it being so local and for a good cause?).

Anyway, about 4 K in, Andreas, my boyfriend, may have mentioned once or twice about the setting sun and should we be worried(?). What can I say, he was right. The sun was already edging towards the horizon and the shadows of the trees were long and ominous – but in my mind, we had already committed to this route – so regardless, Little Wittenham was being run to. It was still light. There was a path. No traffic. A straight line.

We reached Little Wittenham and our turning point to head back which is when I joined Andreas in being worried about the setting sun. Thus far we had been running “away” from the sun and so its decent was not hugely obvious however now we were chasing it. My brain helpfully thought up a montage of every vampire story I have ever come across and fictional soundtrack to match. It didn’t help that our running backdrop had changed into something worthy of an apocalypse movie. The skyline was murderously red, the clouds were looming – practically scraping the hilltops, the silhouettes of carefully planted trees looked like tombstones lined up to play witness to our doom. To top it off I had definitely seen three or four big black crows earlier whom would probably peck out my eyes if given a chance.

I have occasionally been accused of having an overactive imagination.

The only saving grace was that the moon was not out. The last thing I needed was the addition of werewolf tales to my building horror monologue. Of course later on, when the sun had set proper and I was finding my way by closely following flashes of Andreas’ white trainers in the gloom ahead, I did think some moonlight might have actually helped a bit. Instead of being worried about vampires I was now mostly worried about tripping and twisting an ankle. The mere mention of running injuries terrifies me!

Anyway, a few tentative but accident free kilometers back to Didcot later and we were on the illuminated Ladygrove Loop for the final 2 K.

In the comfort of your own home, freshly showered, snacking on a nectarine and wondering if Netflix might have “From Dusk Til Dawn”, it’s hard to remember what all the fuss was about.

Week 3: Total mileage for the week was 32 K (19.9 miles), total running time was 3:40