bushy

To know that after heavy January rains, inevitably there will be a deep, V-shaped rut along the center of the trailhead, like a voracious alien mouth; or that in late May the mustard weed will be so wildly overgrown and bushy that it will completely swallow up the trailhead sign, post and all; or that for a brief window in late October-early November, two pink silk floss trees will bloom the color of bubble gum just below the Vista Del Valle lookout point.

Anyone who remembers Alexi Lalas from his playing days remembers the unruly shoulder-length red hair, thin headband and bushy goatee.

"This is especially important in Richmond Park and Bushy Park which are designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest and where wild deer roam freely."

Organiser Paul Sinton-Hewitt enticed the pioneering 13 runners to turn up to what was then known as the Bushy Park Time Trial on 2 October 2004 after injury prevented him from taking part himself.

Prof Michael Worobey, of the University of Arizona, said: "Rather than being one small branch on this big bushy evolutionary tree, the market sequences are across all the branches of the tree, in a way that is consistent with the genetic diversity actually beginning at the market."