17th March 2019
It was the day of the Bath half Marathon. I got up especially early to drive into the city, to find a place to park. I wanted to support my daughter in law who was taking part in her first thirteen miler.
As I entered the city, all the places I usually find to park had other people’s cars in them, so I ended up having to use the paying ones.
It was a wonderful morning, the wind was bitter, but when the sun shone it was perfect.
I had a lot of time to kill, so I walked around the streets that were filling up with competitors and their supporters. Nike seemed to be the footwear for choice, the brighter, the better.
I made my way down Pultney street, and found a good place to stand. It was good because the sun was not obscured by buildings. It was right in front of the place where all the runners would assemble, therefore the best place to see Louise.
The person on the PA was obviously a professional, he spoke non stop about everything important, and a lot that was not, but it was entertaining. Gradually the crowd around me was filling up fast, normally I do not like lots of people, but today felt different.
Soon the experienced runners appeared doing their warm-ups and looking very cool in their mirrored sun glasses. I had never seen so many tattoos in one place, one guy was completely covered. It looked like he was becoming engulfed in his ink work, the plant like design slowly creeping up his face. I saw these close-up because the lady next to me was part of a group from Poole in Dorset. She did have the loudest shout, and I realised it when my ears tingled. I certainly wouldn’t want to wake up next to her when she was in a bad mood.
As the numbers of assembling runners grew, I suddenly felt quite emotional, not that I burst into tears or anything, it was the feeling that I was sharing other people’s dream. Not so much the experienced runners who run to win, but the many who wanted just to do it, like Louise.
At 11.00 the Marathon started, all the legs started to move, slow at start, as they walked, trotted, or jogged to the start. I was scanning the passing runners hoping to see my girl. There was so much eyeball movement I thought they would fall out. I think Louise saw me first, but it was such a great moment, she had worked hard for this.
She was sponsoring Bloodwise, which covered research into Leukaemia, that took her mother, and Lymphoma that nearly took my son. This was my eye moisturising moment, I was so proud of her, and I know her mother would have been too.
I waited until the last competitor had passed before I slowly headed back to the car.
I managed to lay out the new path in the garden, there is a lot of soil to move, but thankfully it is good soil, but still back braking work.
Another Lifetime to go 