...right now, no-one else has that number
(with apologies to Toots and the Maytals)
The big day came at last. Steve picked me up around 9.30 and we drove over to Sutton. The town was already getting busy with walkers, runners and joggers.
On the car park we met up with my sister - she had entered as a jogger but unable to do it because of a recent illness - and brother-in-law. We weren't sure of the location we were meeting up with "Team Samaritans" but a quick call to our organiser set us in the right direction and we made our way there to find just one of the team, Ann, there before us.
The team gradually began to build on the front terrace of a pub whose owner was friendly and welcoming - as all the people we met on the day seemed to be. T-shirt bearing Tim and Mandy arrived after a while and there was a flurry of changing of tops and pinning on of entry numbers - you've got mine!
As the start time got closer, there was some anxious wondering about people who hadn't been seen yet, but eventually everyone was accounted for and we started to make our way down to the start point in town. We didn't manage to stay altogether though, and once we'd started off, I didn't really catch a glimpse of any of my team till after we had finished, except for Steve and Sue who were walking with me.
As a newbie to Fun-Runs, I was pleasantly surprised how many people had turned out to watch us go by and the cheers, applause and encouragement they gave, which was certainly appreciated. Some had garden hoses and sprinklers spraying out into the route which was a pleasant cooler on this warm, dry, sunny day, and was particularly popular with one small child, part of a circus-themed troupe who were walking in aid of a local hospice that were in front of us for about 3 miles (until they all stopped at an ice-cream van in the park!). It was shortly after this point we discovered my Mom and my partner Mel waiting to cheer us on in the company of a couple waiting for the supporters of said hospice.
The four mile marker was encouraging, but in contrast the "half way" marker that came just afterwards prompted the thought: you mean I've got to do that much again?!
As we proceeded, we became aware that there were very few people behind us now, especially after we had spent a few minutes sitting on a bench consuming a large bottle of water from one of the trackside stands. We were definitely amongst the stragglers as we wended our way through the park.
Back on the streets of Sutton Coldfield it was extremely inspiring and quite touching to find there were still a number of people waiting to cheer us on, and as we neared the town, returning Fun-Runners and drinkers outside pubs gave us many words of encouragement and some hearty rounds of applause.
Finally, after nearly three and a half hours, we reached the finish line and received our medals. Now to deal with those aching joints.....
