The route
Did this sign make me redundant? No.
Knowing HBT like I know HBT, I decided to pack my club vest with me on the “off chance” that something would go awry and I would be required to run. Wise decision. The day started to plan, I assumed my position at a turn on the race route. At first I thought that my role was redundant as I was standing next to a giant arrow that pointed the way. Turns out I was needed. Despite the big arrow, I had to point a few runners who were about to miss the turn and point them in the right direction. One runner did something totally weird and did a U-turn which I was not expecting and not ready for, and I had to shout after him. He’d have realised his mistake pretty quickly anyway as he hit a dead end. Anyway, I stood on my corner with my yellow vest, arm outstretched pointing the way, and occasionally shouting some encouragement.
The view from my station
Then…inevitably…one of my club mates (Dave) who had earlier ran by me at speed, jogged up to me and asked if I would mind awfully running a leg of the race if he took over marshalling duties from me. And that’s how I found myself running around Livingston. I didn’t do very well and completed the 5k leg in a poor 21:56. I was running for the club’s B-Team so it didn’t really make much difference anyway, and I tried my best on the day so I couldn’t do any more. Despite the poor time (and some later confusion about which leg I had ran), it was a fun experience none the less, and I saw parts of Livingston I had never seen before.
Maybe I’ll give Livingston Parkrun a go one day.
My reward
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