>> WE RAN LIKE THE WIND!

07 Mar 2008

At the end of the of the day I think we all agreed one thing… the hardest thing about doing the Reading Half Marathon was getting up at 6am on a Sunday to make it there on time!!

We are of course joking… we always get up early on a Sunday. Anyway come 8am on the Sunday morning we standing in a car park rubbing oil into our legs and vaselining (I think I’ve created a new word!) up our nipples… pretty much a first for most of us. Well I say most of us…

Now it is worth pointing out that apart from Stu we were all half marathon virgins and as a result not really sure what to expect other than the horror stories that had been passed on. However we weren’t scared. We had all put in the training… we were all feeling fit and strong. We had all cried a little bit on cold Friday evening as we pounded the streets whilst our mates were in the pub. By the time we found ourselves in Reading early on a Sunday morning I think we were all just relieved that day had finally come!

By 10am we had all eaten about 4 bananas each and were wearing black bin liners to keep warm as we lined up with 14,000 other people at the start of the race. The runners were all staggered to stop a free for all at the off and it made us laugh to hear over the loudspeaker that by the time we went through the start, around 10mins after the klaxon had sounded, the race leaders had already passed the 2 mile mark. Now that is running!

The race itself seemed to fly by really. Once you get into your stride you sort of forget where you are and how far you have to run. We did have a few conversations about what we going to eat and drink after the race (the general consensus was a pub roast and a pint!) but we all pretty much stayed silent apart from the odd times when we all had ‘I’ve got a lovely Bunch of Coconuts’ going round and round in our heads!!??

I have to say that it’s amazing how many people take to the streets to cheer on the runners. It really does help to hear people clapping you on and shouting “C’mon ActionAid”. I’m sure it makes you run that little bit faster just to show off.

Towards the end of the race you start seeing the casualties. I’m not sure if it helps seeing people lying on the pavement crying and clutching their legs but it does make you feel better and a little more invincible.

The end of the race culminates in a morale sapping run down a very long road followed by a very long run back up the other way! The end of the race finishes in the magnificent Madjeski Stadium which is fantastic way to spur you on to sprint over the finish line.

We all finished in very respectable times without any major injuries and by 1pm we were wrapped up like a Sunday roast in tinfoil proudly clutching our medals.

The drive back to London was a bit on the quiet side but the massive burgers we ate and beer we drank later that day helped perk us up. We did spend the rest of Sunday walking like John Wayne but then we are male and cowboys and Indians was always our favourite game.

For anyone else who wants to run a half marathon I think the only advice we would give is:

1. Do lots of training…. 13miles really does hurt and judging by the state of some people we saw after a couple of miles it shouldn’t be taken lightly.

2. Oil and Vaseline…. It might sound a but kinky but it beats chaffed body parts. (never ask Ed what he managed to chaff)

3. Don’t eat the jelly babies they hand out around the track. There’s nothing worse than having a dry mouth and trying to gum a jelly baby to death. I’m not sure any of us managed to swallow one.

We would all like to thank everyone who sponsored us. In the end, thanks to everyone’s generosity we managed to raise over £1000 for ActionAid which is fantastic. Rest assured all your generous donations will be put to use helping poor communities around the world fight their way out of poverty. You can find out more about ActionAid’s work here – www.actionaid.org.uk

For those cynics who don’t believe we really did run the Reading half marathon then check the gallery for photographic evidence. I think you’ll agree that we all look the part and could easily be mistaken for professional athletes.

Cheers

Ed, Stu, Dan and Henry.

(written by Ed on behalf of Team ActionAid)