Wow. 19 runners. What do you call this many runners? A mob? A posse? A horde?

A horde of runners gallivanted over to the beautiful Ashton Court estate on Tuesday. A longer run than usual, this mostly off route was easy for the first 2 miles… but then we hit a classic long Bristol hill which left most of us a little breathless! As we recovered at the top, next to the manor house, we met up with Neil from the Avon Invasive Weeds Forum, who had our task for the evening – pulling up, mashing, and generally destroying the evil and invasive Himalayan Balsam.

The posse of runners had only 20 minutes to try and obliterate this pervasive plant, and thus, annihilation did commence. Such a simple task, but strangely rewarding and squishy.

Ashton Court is famous for the herds of deer that live on the grounds. Deer carry deer ticks, which in turn can carry Lyme Disease, which is not fun if you get it. As we were close to the deer areas, we had a good check once we’d massacred the Himalayan Balasm and once tick free, started to run home. As a serious aside, do check for ticks if you’re out in the countyside – here’s the best advice about how to remove them: http://www.tickbitepreventionweek.org/removaltweezers.html

On our journey back, the front runners scared a cute little bank vole as we ran past, and the groups split in to two near the end of the run – the faster group and the steady group (it’s not slow, it’s steady - aka aerobic aka good fat burning!!) , and we met in Millennium Square. From there, we started to cool down jog up to College Green where we had a good stretch in the evening sun. As always, a massive well done to everyone who came, and a warm welcome to all the new members of our mob! Just under 6 miles? DONE!