First Saturday of the month is my turn to marshal at the Abingdon parkrun. This means getting out of bed at 6:30, earlier than I would if I was running as us marshals need to be at the start for 8:15 so we can get sorted out and in position. No chance of a lie in anyway as we are chicken sitting (careful how you say that) for a neighbour across the way and the girls, who have just been relocated from back garden to front and are still a bit insecure, are making a right fuss and I drag myself over to see to them before they wake the whole street. I think they just want letting out of their inner sanctum so they can have the freedom of their outer compound and scratch up the lawn. I collect the 2 eggs for Jane, as a vegan I won’t eat them but I’m not going to let that stop me looking out for the birds’ welfare.

(Next day edit: Sunday morning I have to get up at 5:30 to go to shut the girls up – just in time to see a fox wandering along the bottom of the road. Foxy gave me a dirty look and scarpered, I left the chickens couped up for another 2 hours but they stayed nice and quiet. I guess I need to listen closer to what they’re trying to tell me.)

So it’s on the bike and off to Abingdon where we meet at Rye Meadows, Andrew is Race Director this week as Lucy is away. I’m to be Marshal 1, my 3rd time marshalling and a different station each time which makes it more interesting. The whole set-up is very well planned with each marshal having a kit with the appropriate arrows and markers and also written instructions and a map showing where everything goes. I check my bag and remember to put my hi-vis waistcoat on then set off for my post making sure I’ve allowed enough time to get everything done then get in position.

First I tie back the gate by the lock, then push a peg into the grass and attach a marker arrow to it. I install the 3km marker where the grass starts but don’t need to tie back the 2nd gate which looks to me like it’s not been closed for a long time. Then onwards past my position to place another arrow and the 1km marker then back to my station with 10 minutes to spare. I’m based where the path runs closest to the Thames river which coincides with a tricky dip in the path and, I notice, a cut off tree root poking several centimetres out of the path where the ground has eroded round it. I tie a bit of red/white tape round this as it’s hard to see and could trip someone.

Five minutes to go so I play with the self timer on my camera phone. I guess they’ll be a couple of minutes late starting anyway but as I’m only about 800m from the start I want to be ready for the rush.

First runner to pass me is Richard Kemp who finished first in last weeks parkrun with a time of 18:08 (while I was in the process of running my slowest yet at 24:32). Another chap on his shoulder and a couple more behind. I cheer them through while warning them to watch their footing. Closely spaced runners pass me in single file, I recognise many from previous runs. As I cheer and warn I notice my heart rate rising and breath deepening as I catch some of that running vibe. A chap with dog on lead and small daughter out front. The last few already getting some space in between them, some taking it easy, some maybe tackling there longest distance yet, some trying to recover after going off too fast. Then Rose the tail-runner. I relax and try to calculate how long till the leaders pass me on the second lap.

Hardly 5 minutes and Rich Kemp is approaching again, running very gracefully on the uneven ground he reminds me of a gazelle on a wildlife film. I give him a clap and he thanks me with hardly a hint of huff and puff. Maybe 20m behind the chap in 2nd place passes and a similar distance again to the third. No lead bunch this week, short of mishap or sudden energy bursts I suspect the top finish placings are already sorted.

Runners are well spaced out now and the sweat and strain of the first lap is showing through. A few are taking walk breaks. Not dad, dog and daughter though who are keeping up their steady pace. I try to offer encouragement and get a surprising amount of smiles from hot, exhausted faces. No one trips on the root or slips into the river which is a relief. Those at the back might be having to keep going twice as long as Rich at the front, it’s not the easy option being slow. The tail-runner passes accompanying a walker and that’s my signal to start packing up.

I follow them and collect the furthest markers, it’s good to see the back marker is now running, the walk was just a break. I retrace to the lock and the lock keeper hands me the rope from the gate, I wonder if he’ll tell me off for tying it back when it has a notice on asking people to shut it but he just thanks me for coming back to collect it. A few ladies and a chap jog over the lock followed by a grinning chap built like Rambo. He tells them to stop, stretch and concentrate which they do. I realise this must be the ‘military fitness’ thing I’ve heard about, looks sort of fun. I stop to pack all the Marshal 1 kit away in it’s bag and explain about the parkrun to a curious passer-by who says she’s a runner and sounds really interested.

A bit of drizzle now and I jog back to the finish picking up the damp maps and stuff from the start on my way past. There’s been a bit of a problem with one of the barcode scanners meaning the finish order has had to be recorded by hand but otherwise things have gone well. I make a point of telling Andrew about the tree root and he knows exactly where I mean. Then it’s back on the bike, passing the military fitness folk who are doing press-ups in the middle of town, and I’m home in time for elevenses with my legs feeling much fresher than this time last week.