On what turned out to be a beautiful morning, the Donation4Charity team set out from across the country to participate in the Cancer Research 10K Run, held in the picturesque grounds of Althorp House in Northampton. With varying standards of training, the team met up in the car park with different goals in mind. Some had set times to beat, others just hoped to see the finishing line!
After a good warm up and stretch with the other 1,000 runners who were taking part, the participants were split into two groups – runners and joggers. The runners, of which we had one entry, led off first, with the joggers just behind them as not to create obstacles for the quicker contestants.
Things started at quite a modest pace, which certainly suited the Donation4Charity team, but was not without casualties. One poor woman tripped over near the start and was retired from the race before the first kilometre – I must admit I was slightly jealous!
The rest of the team raced off in front of me, but as I hadn’t finish work till 2am the following night and had also played 90 minutes football for the first time in a year the day before (excuses excuses!), I don’t mind then taking the lead. I managed to keep up a steady pace up till the 3 kilometre mark, when suddenly we were faced with a small hill that kept on rising. And rising. And rising! By this time the surrounding pollen had started to take hold of my lungs, and puff as I might on my inhaler, I was soon in the midst of a mild hayfever induced asthma attack.
Now anyone who suffers from asthma knows there are varying degrees of attack level, and on a scale of one to ten this was about a five. Manageable, but not exactly comfortable. So for the next 3 kilometres I took a steady walk to calm my breathing down and allow the oxygen to replenish my lungs to a standard where I could continue the run. And let me tell you this, there is no worse feeling than being clapped by a crowd of people whilst walking during a run!
After my breathing had become comfortable again (at the 6 kilometre mark) I retained a steady pace and managed to pass a lot of the people who I had watched whizz past me during my breather. I say whizzed, most of these people were far older than me, and I realised I was about as far back in the proceedings as anyone my age should be. I spotted my brother Neil towards what I thought was the home straight, and for him it was, as he was on the other side of the Althorp grounds and I still had another 2 kilometres to go. Shazbazz!
By now my legs started to feel like heavy weights, but the thought of finishing helped me pull it together. As a man who is famous for giving up the instant anything gets tough, I even surprised myself when I saw the finishing line, as there were so many places I could have sneaked off and scurried back to the safety of the car it was untrue. The course was almost taunting me to not finish, but finish I did, and in under 1.18 minutes, which wasn’t too bad considering my various ailments.
Everyone else came in with really good times, with Chris (our runner) posting 45 minutes, Neil coming in at 1.06 minutes, and the main surprise being Ross, who having claimed to have done very little training, came in at a very reputable 52 minutes (and still wearing his fashion sunglasses!)
To say the event was tough would be an absolute understatement, but the feeling of achievement felt when finishing is truly something to experience at least once in your life. I can now go back to my life of relaxation knowing that when push comes to shove, I can achieve something if I really want to.
Plus the added bonus is that we reached our target goal and raised over £1000 for Cancer Research UK.
Big thanks to all those that sponsored the team, it was a tough slog but we got there in the end.
Help Cancer Research with a Charity Gift
You can also help by purchasing a charity gift from the Cancer Research gift shop. There’s a great selection of gifts to choose from, plus they offer a great gift wrapping service and super fast delivery. Plus you have the piece of mind to know that all profits are going towards the fight to help beat cancer.
