Keep on runnin’
Remember when you were at school, and there was that kid. The one who was a bit wheezy and a bit fat. The one who never did cross country and couldn’t hit a rounders ball even if you threw it from two feet away?
Allow me to introduce myself.
So it came as a bit of a shock to find myself crossing the finish line of my first 10k run this weekend. A lot of a shock actually.
About three months ago, the owner of the Reservoir Mogs told me that she’d signed up for a 10k run to raise money for Cancer Research. We were sat in Sand Bar having a few drinks, and I was still trying to make sense of Richmal’s death. “Why don’t you join me?” she asked, and I laughed because everyone knew that I wasn’t capable of running to the end of the road, never mind completing a 10k run. Turns out that everyone didn’t know that….including me as it happens because I signed up two days later.
I signed up because I needed to do something positive for Rich. I needed to do something to celebrate her life, and remember the fabulous person that she was. I also couldn’t shake the thought that I was alive and I should start to push myself out of my comfort zone a bit. Rich always used to say that you should never let your life stand still, and you should do something different every couple of years at least. I thought I’d let this be my something different.
I have to admit that when I first put the trainers on and started plodding up and down the streets of my town, I had absolutely no faith that I would be able to run any of it. Ever since my wheezy childhood, my subconscious had told me that any attempt at exercise would end in failure and humiliation. Frankly, when I was a kid it always had done. I was excused from taking part in everyone’s favourite PE lesson because of asthma and I’ve always believed that running is just something I can’t physically do. Who would have believed that I would want to carry on running now that race day is over?
It was an emotional day. The minutes silence at the beginning was a reminder of the real reason I was dressed in the turquoise t-shirt, but the messages on the backs of those t-shirts was also a reminder that everyone was there because they loved someone enough to try and make a difference….and that was a really positive thing to remember. I might not have been the fastest, but crossing that finish line at all was a massive achievement, and a mental hurdle well and truly jumped. It was also my small tribute to Richmal - someone who never let the small stuff get her down.
Richmal, I couldn’t have done it without you lovely girl. This one’s for you. xx
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