Wow.. what a day yesterday… up at 6am and very nervous, this was it, the big day, the Reading Half Marathon, 13.1miles around the streets of Reading.  Thankfully the sun was shining and the skies were blue, the training complete and all that was left to do was run the race!

I ran with my brother Pete and friend Hilary.  It was very exciting (one the nerves had calmed) over 18,000 runners, lots of supporters, music and laughter.  The start point (Reading football stadium) was full to bursting and felt like a festival!  We were ushered to the start line and had to gather in the correctly coloured area, which depended on the time you thought you were going to run.  Needless to say, we were with the masses, right at the back in the white zone aiming for 2.5 hours (or at least making it round without dying!).

The gun went and we were off… well, not so much off as standing still!  It took 20 mins to reach the starting line and then we were off! It was hard not to get caught up in the speed that everyone else set off at, but I pulled back and tried to rain in my brother a bit, but he was off! 

My brother’s costume was great, he had a plastic guitar attached to a cycle helmet and speakers, playing rock music round the whole course.  He attracted a lot of attention and all the kids were cheering on the ‘guitar man’.  A lot of people took photos and he was interviewed by the local newspaper, so hopefully I was standing close enough to get my picture taken too!

The support of the crowds meant a lot and really did help you to keep going (I particularly enjoyed the firemen and did suggest they run with us!), especially at the 12 mile stage, when it was begining to seem like a good idea just to stop and forget the whole thing, aching feet, sore knees and feeling sick weren’t pleasant, but it the words of Nemo (or his fishy friend) you’ve just got to keep swimming!  Or running in this case!

The best bit was coming around the final corner at the 13 mile mark and coming into the footbal stadium, this was the tearful point and an amazing sense of achievement and happiness… the crowds inside the stadium were cheering and all the pain vanished!  I nearly tripped, but saved myself and with a shot of energy, Hilary and I sprinted for the finish line!  I was gutted when I saw the time on the clock, but remembered we didn’t start when the gun did and therefore we could knock off 20 mins… so the final race time was an amazing 2.25hours!

My brother came in 10 minutes behind me and I’ve agreed to wait a week before I start teasing him and I acutally lasted about an hour before the first comment was made!

So big pat on the back for everyone that took part, well done! 

I’ve raised a couple of hundred quid for the Thames Vally Air Ambulance which is great news.  They provide an amazing life saving service and recieve no public funding at all and need over £2million a year to keep going.  Sometimes funds are so low they can only afford to provide the service on certain days of the week…. they are therefore my new pet charity!

A few pics for your pleasure and thanks to everyone for your support and best wishes and special thanks to the lovely Carrie and Kelley for putting me back together today, with a deep tissue massage and osteopathic session!