Running in the Rain

... it's good for you, honest!

Thanks to Petr and Petra and to Charlie Richardson for organising and planning today's event. Unfortunately, no one can organise the weather and it was an evil day for running in. Hopefully the runners spared a thought for the helpers, many of whom spent hours getting cold and very wet outside. (Thankfully I was one of the lucky helpers who got to sit in a tent.)

So, why is it good to run in the rain? Here are a few (personal) reasons. Before I start, I should add that I was just walking in the rain today and didn't go round a course so feel free to take my reasons with a pinch of salt!

1. It makes you appreciate running in the sun!
2. When you come to a big event and it's raining, you now know that you can manage in the rain and (hopefully) that it isn't too bad once you get going
3. Good strength training: as those who ran today will testify, running uphill through mud definitely takes a lot of leg strength
4. It's refreshing - after a week spent in a stuffy office, getting rained on can be very pleasant
5. You need to adapt your map reading and your route choice in heavy rain - you need to think about runnability (especially along wet, very boggy New Forest rides!) and this may have changed because of all the water and things will simply look different when they're flooded
6. The post-race shower/bath, cup of tea and piece of cake feel so much more satisfying when you've been out in the wet and cold.

So, with 6 reasons to go orienteering in the rain, you'll now be really disappointed if the sun comes out at the next event!