Board – Bored – Boar-ed!
I’m not, I’ve never had so much fun (that isn’t meant to be sarcastic), my muscles are stiff, as stiff as old floor boards. The monotony of running a marathon isn’t there, for some who run marathons you ask how can you do it? Is it not boring? You cannot, in fact I challenge you to get bored by this course; the changing colours, the landscape, the daily trials and tribulations and above all the people who make this happen. The people always make the place and in this instance they make the event too. You have every support you need or want.
After seven days together, even though we don’t spend all day in and out of each other’s pockets, there is camaraderie here, a bond that ties us all together, a common desire and goal. It’s like a little Fellowship. I’m like one of the little hobbits running to keep up with the real heroes of the story. Just like every one of the hobbits, in the Lord of the Rings, they all had a part to play. Perhaps we are the Fellowship of the Laps?
Mile 0 to Box 1 (mile 2-ish) was painful, agonisingly slow, my shins were not listening to what my brain was saying, which was something along the lines of ‘Just run you short arsed little grunt’, my shins replied in a less complimentary manner. It was going to be a very long day at the office. What scares me is feeling like I’m a) letting myself down, b) letting my sponsors down, c) letting everyone here down and d) letting my children down. So far I haven’t and I’ve achieved a lot more than I give myself credit for. Once the legs got going – easy away – the miles passed, each box was eaten up a little by little. Turning home after Newby Bridge, the road became easier even if it is the loneliest part of the course. Running after the old wizards, determined dwarves, elegant elves and hardy fleet-footed men is good fun, wondering if I can recreate the times of the early part of the week, but most importantly still being part of the adventure.
I was very grateful for the support of Chris Heaton who followed me for a few box stops early on. It put the fear of ‘being pulled’, which is my new ‘big-mouth’ (Duncan unfiltered phrase), in me and gave the inadvertent jolt to get my piggy poo-poo together. It worked. Thank you.
Gluttonous at several of the Drink Box stops today, enjoying delicious, little Scottish chocolate covered delicacy twice. In fact, it was even more satisfying to pop a whole Tunnocks Tea Cake in my greedy little gob at Box 11 (Ice Cream Mountain) especially when fed by ‘Steph McGovern‘.
Of course it’s not Steph, it is actually Trudi Dewar another of the support crew who completed the 10in10 as part of the Class of 2017.
The last four miles there was traffic queuing to get into Ambleside, I had a chat with a couple of the ‘white van men’ as I plodded by them, even a little banter, joking that if I beat them to the traffic lights they had to sponsor me, let’s see what happens?
So what started off as frankly an excruciating exercise, finished with a flourish to the line, thirty minutes quicker than yesterday and a duo of rendition (Aimee thank you for your vocal and physio support) of P!nk’s ‘Raise your Glass’. Some pigs are pink!