Running and Camping and Showing Some Art

It’s been a busy old month at Chez Beckford. Between projects and challenges and the daily grind, it’s been hard to find a moment to sit down and record it all, but things are finally starting to slow down, so here’s a quick roundup of what’s been happening.

Running for MS research

I mentioned in my blog post on running with Lucy that the reason for all that dashing about was to raise funds for MS research. Every year for the past 4 years I have joined in the challenge to complete at least 50kms over the month of May and get sponsored to do it. Last year I upped that to 100km, and this year I managed to cajole my mum into joining me. Well, it didn’t take that much convincing, to be honest. Mum has a fair few friends and acquaintances who have some connection to this debilitating condition, so she was only too happy to join in the challenge. Together we covered more than 200km in May and managed to raise €567.00, for which we are both very thankful to all of the lovely people who sponsored us. Next year, we’ll be back for an even bigger challenge!

Lucy and I run our first trail together

As part of our running adventure, I also booked us in for our very first trail run. I’ve been running trails on my own for a few years and absolutely love the challenge of running on tiny pathways through woods and fens. The Netherlands and Belgium have some great trail running routes, but it does usually mean having to drive quite a distance to get to them. This time, I found a trail run for people and their four footed friends run by an organisation called Canitrail NL. They organise a number of events out in the east of the country in a beautiful area called the Veluwe. This time it was a 6.7km loop around the grounds and through the woods around Castle Rosendael, an old estate of some former aristocrat.

The only snag was, the event started at 6am. And it was two and half hours away from home. So, we made it a double whammy of firsts and I introduced Lucy to my other love, camping. I found a wonderful little campsite about 20 minutes from the event where pets were warmly welcomed, and booked one night. We left home on Saturday and made our way east, arriving at the campsite in the afternoon. I got the tent up while Lucy watched me doubtfully from the comfort of her donut in the back of the car. She found the whole thing very suspicious. Then I enticed her in to the tent with some snacks. She was a little hesitant, but once she discovered the comfy airbed, all worries evaporated and she settled in for a snooze while I unpacked and got everything set up.

Once that was all sorted, I looked up a local walking route through the woods and we set off for a pre-dinner hike. It was magical. We were all by ourselves in amongst the trees and spent a delightful hour and half rambling around, looking at trees and moss and picking our way around large puddles.

Returning to the tent, we had our dinner, prepared for the next day and turned in early. What I had neglected to factor into my plans, though, is that while I might want to go to bed early, the wildlife does not turn in until the light fades. Bird song is pretty loud when it’s just a tent covering between you and the rest of the world. Added to that, I pitched the tent next to a field with horse who had a cold and sneezed loudly and periodically throughout the night. The most restful of nights, it was not. Still, I managed to get enough shuteye, so I wasn’t too groggy when the alarm went off at a quarter to five the next morning.

A quick drink and a light snack and we were out of the tent and off to the event on time. In fact, we were even a little early!

As it was Lucy’s first trail, I had decided to book a slot for the easiest trail, the Sniffing Route. This meant that if Lucy wasn’t up to running the whole way, she could stop and smell all the smells and we wouldn’t get in the way of the more athletic participants. My caution was unnecessary, as it turns out.

Because we were early for our start time, and the majority of the experienced crowd had already started, we were able to get on the trail almost immediately. And what did I discover? Lucy is a natural trail runner! I hardly needed to follow the signs given, as she quickly picked up the scent of the runners who had already started and figured out that we needed to follow that route. She was focused and consistent and we were able to keep up a good pace all the way around the trail. It was fantastic! The gardens were full of interesting follies and wiggly pathways, and the woods provided all sorts of fun terrain to test your footing and coordination.

We finished the trail in a respectable 53 minutes and had a lovely post run snack at the castle where we also received our medal. I must add here that the organisation of the event was worth every penny of the entry fee. The breakfast buffet for the dogs was incredible, and Lucy was very grateful for the fresh chicken broth and yummy snacks. I, on the other hand, enjoyed my veggie muffin and a delicious cup of coffee.

All in all, it was a great little trip and we will definitely be joining the new season in September. Now that the weather has turned humid and muggy, we can’t get out for long runs quite as often, unless we get up before the larks, so we’ll have to wait for cooler weather before we start long distance training again.

My first art show

After all that activity in May, it was time for something a little more cultural. Back in April I was invited by a local artist to participate in the annual village art show that takes place during the first weekend of June. This year we had a bumper crop of artists at the show and it was wonderful to be a part of such a creative and talented group of people. We had everything from portraits and landscapes, to sculpture, jewellery and abstracts. It was a feast for the eyes and the soul.

I spent April and May working on pieces for the show and had a total of 15 works to display. I also made up some prints for people to buy, if they so wished. I had a great couple of days meeting and speaking with lots of wonderful people, and even sold some prints. A successful weekend indeed.

But most of all, I was inspired to start working a very different series of paintings, so don’t be too surprised if you see a bit of shift in direction 😉

So there you have it, all the things that have been keeping me from scribbling and typing. Luckily, with those things off my plate, and work slowing down, I can get back to the words for a while. The last couple of chapters of Reaper Girl need to be completed, and I have a number of other scribal projects to get underway. No rest for the inspired, hey?

Until next time!