h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I hope you aren't sorry you went. I have a horror of running and to do it with a team of others depending on you is particularly scary. Great job telling us your experience. I think that you had better take steps to ensure better toilet facilities so you don't get sick.

That is a tale and a half indeed... Endure is the word...

Definitely sounds like someone brought a bug with them and the condition of the facilities meant it spread nicely

Nasty about your knee, too, on top of your worry about your ankle...

I hope you're better now. Extra congratulations for doing so well with added obstacles - a well deserved medal

I'm in awe - not my idea of fun, although I am enjoying doing 1k in parks when the weather is favourable (like today). Excellent write-up

I am amazed. Not only by the variety of insanity you get up to, and the amount of mayhem you leave in your wake...

...but by how much fun it was to read about.

Thanks for giving us the Inside Story.

The organisers have made a lot of comments stating how they acknowledge the problem and are planning on doing things differently next year - they seem desperate to make the event a success, and this is still only a fairly new event that's been going for maybe 4 years? They know if the problem isn't fixed next year then they'll have lost all credibility, so I'd happily consider returning next year.

I've just had a camping & walking weekend this weekend, which went well without any injury problems (except for those sadistic gnats who always bite the exact spot on my ankles that they know my boots will rub against) so I'm happily back to normal. Now that I know what the problem is (apparently I have hypermobile joints, so that instead of my ankle and knees etc being held firmly in place, they can move out of alignment) I'm hoping I can prevent the problems from recurring.

Since I wrote this, Parkrun now has officially added VI Guide as a volunteer role, to encourage more visually impaired runners to participate in grassroots running.

<BB<

'Hypermobile joints' - aha, I know what that is. It's why I'll be walking along and suddenly fall down because my ankle went sideways...

Up in the hills, we just call it being 'double-jointed'.

Alas, I've none of the advantages of being double-jointed, such as being able to randomly contortion your body into disconcerting angles just to freak out your workmates…

<BB<

Yeah, my elbows go places they aren't supposed to go...and I daren't wear sandals in public....yes, I CAN write with those toes, wanna make something of it?

But I'm grateful for the 'hypermobile' term. I can use that now, it sounds much classier...