KarenEarlier this month I ran the Cancer Research UK Race for Life for the third time. The previous two times I have participated I walked round the course, because I had no inclination to run whatsoever. This time though I am a different person, and have actually taken quite a liking to my version of running.
My version is much like other people’s, only slower and with rather less finesse.
Our Race for Life 2019
Well, it was definitely a group effort. Myself, my mum, sister, sister’s friend, my husband and children all ran the full 5k – my husband did it with the pushchair even though he wasn’t even entered (who does that? At least I got a medal and a bit of Ryvita).
The race was at Heaton Park in Manchester which is so hilly it seems almost unfair to us race runners, yet here we are. I ran the Pizza Run at the same park a month before, but the route was different for Race for Life, and actually seemed just slightly flatter.
I hadn’t run 5k since the Pizza Run, so I knew my efforts weren’t going to be Herculean, but I jogged some, walked some and ultimately achieved what I set out to do, which was finish the course. Naturally my children beat my time by a great deal, and my eldest was waiting at the finish line like he’d been a spectator all along. In fact I finished behind everyone in our group, with a time of 42 minutes, but that really isn’t he point of Race for Life is it. We did the run, we did it as a family and we had fun.
The boys even got some sponsorship and raised £80 for Cancer Research UK between them, so I’m really very proud to be their mum. They had set a target of £100 so if you’d like to help them reach that, the Justgiving page is still open!
Next race?
I don’t know yet – I haven’t booked anything else but I do have my eye on some virtual medals in the meantime! I can’t e the only person who enters a race based on what the medal looks like, right?!
The next job on my list when it comes to running is kit. I have some standard, low cost trainers and running clothes from the supermarket. The clothes are fine but I think I need some proper running shoes or trainers if I’m going to run regularly, and I’ll go for gait analysis too.
Are you a runner? Do you have any tips for me around buying new trainers?
