{"id":239,"date":"2025-11-23T14:58:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T14:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ridesstridesandvibes.co.uk\/?page_id=239"},"modified":"2025-11-23T14:58:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T14:58:35","slug":"%f0%9f%8f%83-tal-19-mud-memories-bacon-baps","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ridesstridesandvibes.co.uk\/?page_id=239","title":{"rendered":"\ud83c\udfc3 TAL 19 \u2013 Mud, Memories & Bacon Baps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Some runs are about medals, PBs, and Strava bragging rights. TAL 19 is different. It\u2019s a day to remember Talan Penny<\/strong>, who passed away aged just 19 from Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). The run is a living tribute: 19 kilometres, one for every year of his short life, winding past his favourite places\u2014his home, schools, pitches, and paths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not your average city loop or trail dash. It\u2019s part road, part mud, part potato field, and all heart. Family, friends, runners, and the community gathered at Bude Surf Club to run, cheer, eat, and remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83c\udfa8 Pre-Race Vibes: Soup, Cake & Face Paint<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Surf Club was buzzing. Kids had their faces painted\u2014some butterflies, some zombies, one lad looked like a Picasso experiment. There was a 2k race for the little ones, and plenty of people just came to watch, eat, and donate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trust laid out soups, cakes, bacon baps, and drinks. Honestly, I wasn\u2019t sure whether to run or stay inside scoffing bacon baps. Paula gave me the look<\/em>. Running it was.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83c\udfcb\ufe0f\u200d\u2642\ufe0f Warm-Up Chaos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A local fitness instructor led the warm-up. Everyone bounced in rhythm\u2014well, most of us. Some had the coordination of a drunk octopus. Myself included. Arms flailed, legs went rogue, spectators laughed. But it did the job: warm, stretched, and thoroughly humiliated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83c\udf32 Broomhill & The Stream of Doom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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This year, despite a dodgy back, I kept pace. Roads, puddles, boggy grass, then Broomhill: muddy tractor tracks, puddles, stones, boulders, tree cover, and a stream that had upgraded itself to river status. Options: stride across and pray, or wade through and accept wet socks. I chose the \u201cwalk, breathe, complain\u201d method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the top, blessed tarmac returned. Mojo rebooted. Past the schools where Talan studied, downhill past the football pitch where he played. My stride opened. I looked like a proper runner, not a wheezing extra from Run Fatboy Run<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Split, Talan’s Lion on the 19k route.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Me Finishing all clean<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\ud83c\udfc1 The Split & The Finish<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Back into town, zebra crossing, then the split. The 19k runners veered left past the rugby club, canal, potato fields, Bayview pub (roast heaven), coast path, tennis courts. Paula was somewhere out there, mud destiny awaiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I veered right, last loop, final hill. Past the tennis courts where Talan excelled. Alone, just me, my watch, and the goal: beat last week\u2019s recce time of 1:01:45.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I smashed it. 51:43. Top 30. Results confirmed: 18th in the 10k. More than happy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Dirty Rat, Clean Rat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\ud83d\udcf8 Paula vs. The Potato Fields<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I clapped in other 10k runners, then the 19k elites. Fast doesn\u2019t cover it. Then I waited for Paula. Camera ready, Roxy estimating times. Ten minutes later, three Rats appeared over the hill. Only one was covered head to toe in mud. Paula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019d tried to dodge a puddle, slipped, and face-planted into the potato fields. By the time she finished, the mud had dried like a spa facial. Her time? 1:41:35\u2014a personal best. First year she hadn\u2019t run with me. Turns out I\u2019d been holding her back. Ouch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Paula finishing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\ud83c\udf72 Soup, Cake & \u00a320,000 Raised<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We piled into the Surf Club for soup and cake. Medals awarded, speeches made. Claire, one of our Rats, won the women\u2019s 10k. Paula, inspired, declared she\u2019ll do the 10k next year\u2014eyeing a trophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talan\u2019s Trust announced they\u2019d raised \u00a320,000 for RMS research and support. Incredible. I bought a t-shirt. Every penny counts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u2764\ufe0f Why We Run<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TAL 19 isn\u2019t just a race. It\u2019s a living memory, a community gathering, a muddy, soup-fuelled celebration of a young man\u2019s life. We ran through his favourite places, laughed at our own clumsiness, cheered each other in, and remembered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve got a few quid, donate to Talan\u2019s Trust. Because every step, every clap, every bacon bap helps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Talans Trust<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some runs are about medals, PBs, and Strava bragging rights. TAL 19 is different. It\u2019s a day to remember Talan Penny, who passed away aged just 19 from Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). The run is a living tribute: 19 kilometres, one for every year of his short life, winding past his favourite places\u2014his home, schools, pitches, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-239","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ridesstridesandvibes.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ridesstridesandvibes.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ridesstridesandvibes.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ridesstridesandvibes.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ridesstridesandvibes.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=239"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ridesstridesandvibes.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246,"href":"https:\/\/ridesstridesandvibes.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/239\/revisions\/246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ridesstridesandvibes.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}