These are a few of my favourite things!
Last month, I took part in the inaugural wine dash which was organised by Dove House Hospice. I was drawn to the event as it was going to tick another tourist parkrun off (the event was a Saturday, so of course parkrun was on the cards!) and the event name itself mentioned two of my favourite things – running and wine. So here in my words are what I thought about our trip to Hull.
Our Saturday started in a fairly normal manner, the alarm sounded and that meant we had to get on our running gear and get in the car to parkrun. The only difference so far was we were without Finley (as the Wine Dash was for over 18s only) and it was super early so we could get to Hull in time to line up at Humber Bridge parkrun start. We arrived with 25 minutes to spare to find problems parking as the main car parks where closed in anticipation of the Humber Bridge Half the following day. We ended up being pretty tight for time and had more than a gentle jog to get the start (it’s the first parkrun I have been to where I couldn’t see any other runners making their way to the start, but I understand this was down to the parking changes).
We arrived just in time for the countdown, 3, 2, 1, go – we were off! We’d missed the briefing, but as we had started at the back took the decision to follow those in front and hope they knew where they were going. Thankfully they did and 3 laps later we finished the course (a lovely one and if you are a bridge fan like me, then this one needs to be on your list!)
We stayed to talk to some of the local parkrunners including a fellow Virtual Runner who shared a very inspirational story about her daughter and virtual running (I LOVE it when people come and talk to us – hi if you’re reading!) Then we went off to find some breakfast – it is only right to line the stomach before a glass of wine (or four as promised), right?
On we went to South Cave, Yorkshire – a beautiful picturesque area near Hull for the Wine Dash. We checked into a local pub (it was where we were staying, not for more alcohol!) and then took a short, but very hilly walk to the event HQ. The event was held at a local vineyard (which after talking to many locals, even they didn’t know it existed!) which was on the top of some fairly steep inclines which at the top offered some cracking views!
So we arrived and were greeted by the very friendly charity team. We completed registration and we told we could start making our way around the course at our leisure. I liked the fact that although there were allocated times, this was not about a mass start, but more about finishing the course and enjoying the 5k (and wine!) So we were off, with a lovely downhill start to the first wine stop. Every km, we were met with a table and a couple of volunteers. Each table/area was themed with a country and for there we could savour the delights of that country’s wine (a sample size taste of both red and white from every country was offered) and food (country themed such as pizza from Italy and crepes from France).
During our 5k, we jogged (it was too hot, hilly and too much wine slushing to be running) through Spain, Italy, France, Australia, finishing in Yorkshire. Maybe it was the wine, but I can safely say I have never visited so many places in such a short distance. France was my favourite visit from the country selection it was in my opinion the best wine and food. But they were all great and I would highly recommend this type of event for something different. You will need to consider this is definitely not a race (although we were one of the fastest finishers) and i’d recommend taking water to ensure you keep your hydration levels up. The course was fairly challenging too, it wasn’t flat but the views and things we saw along the route more than made up for this!
On finishing, we were greeted with a glass of fizz (this time a full size glass and not just a taster) from the vineyard itself and in place of a medal was a packet of wine gums and a coaster – very nice touch! We had a great time – really enjoyed doing some different in an area we didn’t know too well. It turned into a running weekend to remember. We did say, it would have been amazing with a group of friends, maybe that is for next year…
