Quidam_Ela: Wild Place Project 5k fun run

Wild Place Project is a subsidiary of the Bristol Zoological Gardens and opened its doors to the public in 2013. With a particular stress on preserving endangered habitats, there are several species to see from wolves to okapi, and lots of playgrounds dotted along the way for younger children. It also boasts themed walks, climbing walls and other outdoor activities.
Wild Place Project isn't as well known as the zoo, but it's worth a visit especially as it's just half the price of the latter.

Wild Place Project is currently raising funds to build a new enclosure so they can house giraffes. To this end, this year they hosted their first 5k run. I signed up as it's not often you get an opportunity to go for a run around a zoo! Registering for the run included entry for 3 guests, so my parents came up and enjoyed the attraction too.

I haven't run a race since before I had Rowan, so I thought 5k would be a nice return to running (especially since I don't get time to train - I think I've been running twice in the last month).
The start of the run took us past the wolves. They were running up and down the length of their enclosure watching the runners with interest. Wolves are my favourite animal, so this was undoubtedly the best bit of the run for me! The wolves were probably responding to a predatory instinct, but it was still exciting to see them up close.
The route then took us down a muddy track as the gradient dropped. Downhill is a good thing when running, but only on the return journey! I remember thinking that facing the uphill section would really bite when we reached it, and I wasn't wrong! I ended up walking a few sections as the terrain was so muddy I think I would have ended up sprawled over the ground if I ran it (plus, I was tired at that point).

It was a tough run, more cross-country than I was expecting. But there was a nice sense of comradery among the runners.

This was a nice if misleadingly hard run. I would definitely do it again though.

At the finishing line

Whilst I was running Rowan spent his time obsessively on the bouncy castle. Gareth did get a couple of photos of him, but they are bit blurry:

Boing!

After the run we had a pleasant walk around some of the site. The meerkats were particularly endearing, and seemed very curious when people were around their enclosure. Rowan seemed quite taken with them too, as you could get right up close to them.