Traffic

Not the kind that threatens the lives of innocent runners minding their own business at the extreme edge of the public highway, although I could easily write a blog about that too. In fact just the other day I was thinking how entirely the roads now seem to belong to the car (and the white van and the giant articulated lorry), except for the one near us which currently seems to belong to the students who blithely mill about in the middle of it at all hours of the day and night having never, apparently, been taught the Green Cross Code.

Anyway, I didn't mean that kind of traffic, but the quieter, if no less dangerous, sort which takes place on this here internet. Much to my delight, I have just discovered the "Stats" section on my blog account, which tells you, among other things, from whence my visitors are coming. The blog isn't widely publicised, since my posts are sporadic to say the least, and I'm always vaguely amazed when anybody apart from me reads it, but evidently a few occasionally do, and this stats thing tells me how they get there. Quite a lot are from other blogs who have been kind enough to list me in their "blog rolls", and a surprising number are from Neal Jamison's ultrarunning blog on which he kindly linked to my review of his book, which is quite exciting, though I didn't realise until I looked at the traffic thing and noticed how many hits were coming via Neal's blog...

Most interesting however are the Google search terms which (often mysteriously) lead people in this direction. These include "prom sport" (okaaaay), "bad run before half marathon" (fair enough), "for her new wellies" (????), "giant inflatable Nessie", and my personal favourite, "people walking out of river" (??????). It also shows, along with really awesomely interesting stuff like which browser they use, where readers are from, with the UK unsurprisingly topping the list, the USA in second, and honourable mentions for Germany, Russia, France, Netherlands, Canada, Ireland, Australia and Japan! I had no idea I was so international.

In other news, it's Aberdeen parkrun number 2 tomorrow... I wonder if we will get more or less peeps than last week's inaugural 99? And equally fascinating, to me at least, I wonder if I can (a) beat my PB, and (b) retain my coveted crown of first over 40 woman at the Aberdeen parkrun?