Bristol Race For Life, 2009 (Sunday)

14,000 women and girls took part in the Race For Life, Bristol 2009. My plan wasn't to go for a good time it was to run with friends, L and along with her 5 pals too, all aged 13. Last year I managed to coax L and K (both 12 years old at the time) to run the whole thing without walking, this year L was not taking any chances and point blank refused to run with me.

It's a funny thing RACE for life, clearly it's not a race. Su and I joined the lane for runners (there's one for walkers)and it took 4 mins 30 secs before we got across the start line. Then there is the weaving around rows of chatting ladies (usually in pink and wearing fairy wings; haven't worked out the association with the later) and worse of all are the people who just suddenly stop! after 0.1 of a km and this makes me trip over them, and I start to get hacked off with being tripped up. Elbows out.

After about two miles of getting hacked off with tripping over people stopping to answer mobile phones, take a breather or whatever, we bumped into K, one of L's mates, who had made a break for it in an attempt to be the winner of the 5 pals. I went on a bit and realised I'd lost Su, who had done the grown up, adult thing and noticed K needed a little tlc. So I carried on to the end and wasn't unhappy with the 30 mins showing as I crossed the finish line. If you take off the 4.30 it took to get to the start line that makes 5k in 25mins 30 secs, if you take off the weaving and trip ups even less....then again if I had kept my elbows to myself it would have been more, so it kind of evens out. Not the best for an accurate time but after all it's taking part that counts and raising money for Cancer research UK.