the Autumn Challenge . .

. . this particular weekend takes place in Watford's Cassiobury Park and consists of a 5 mile race through the woods. The challenge for me of course is to take photos that the runners would like to buy from me . . their challenge is to get round safely and presumably, in most cases anyway, as quickly as they can . .

Last year I was struck by this cathedral of trees which the runners pass through during the first mile . .

and then found that in the final mile, at the top of the hill back down to the park, the previous night's winds had felled this whopping great tree . .

which meant that the runners had to improvise somewhat to get round, and I found myself combining my photography with the role of a marshal . .

As I write this it's a blustery morning, let's hope it doesn't get any worse over the weekend and that this year, the trees remain standing . .