Run For Your Life!!

Today was the big day: Race for Life 2011! Before I went to meet Fran and Emma, I decorated my back sign and gathered all the supplies I needed for the race. Running shoes: check. Water: Check. Positive attitude: check. I headed off about 9:45, arrived at our meeting point and awaited the arrival of my cancer fighting comrades.

This is the sign I wore to let everyone know why I was running the race: And this is the cheeky little t-shirt mom gave me especially for race day...sporting the slogan "Support your Girls". Get it?

So, we arrived at Lancaster University, and began the trek to the starting point of the race. When I spotted numerous tutu's and tiaras in the crowd, I realised that my "cheeky little t-shirt" was, in fact, quite tame! When we got to the holding area, we were coerced into performing a slightly silly aerobic routine for a warm up. Though, I must admit, we had a good giggle, and it was fun watching the massive group of women getting pumped up for the race!

After the warm up, we were separated into "runners", "joggers", and "walkers". Emma and I convinced Fran that if she could walk a marathon, she could certainly jog three miles! The organisers herded us to the starting line where we snapped a quick photo:

Just after this, we began jogging. I have to admit, the course was harder than I expected! It was encouraging seeing the determination of all of the women involved so we all pressed on! I, for one, had to walk up most of the hills towards the end, but managed an okay time of 34.5 minutes. Emma and Fran weren't far behind, but I think Emma deserves a gold medal for going for it after 2 weeks of being on holiday...and Fran deserves a gold medal for running it without any training!
Here we are with our medals looking slightly happier (and shinier) after we all finished and had a drink of water!

We missed our absentee comrade, Kate. So, after the race, we headed over to Costa Coffee to visit her. We had a lovely coffee and an equally lovely chat. It was good to see Kate, and so encouraging to spend some time with Fran and Emma. I haven't really spent much time with Fran and Emma before today, and I don't know about them, but I had a lot of fun!

So, Mom, I ran this one for you, and I had a fantastic time doing it! I love you, and thanks for kicking cancer's butt!