Journal

Dashing to the finish line

I rounded off my fund raising challenges for the year by taking part in the Glasgow Santa Dash – a 5k route starting and finishing at George Square in the city centre. My mate Paul said he would do it with me toward the end of October just for the fun of it. Over the weeks that followed he’d put in a bit more training than I had, but I’d kept up a reasonable level of fitness since my last physical challenge and felt I’d comfortably manage the distance.

The Santa Dash wasn’t supposed to be a gruelling challenge like some of the others; just a way to finish off the year in a fun way with a somewhat physical event. In comparison to Tough Mudder or the Graeme Obree Sportive, the effort required was nothing, but I thought it was a great way of book-ending the series of fund raising events I’d done.

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Journal

The Great Scottish Run 10K 2012

It was only after doing Tough Mudder that I had the idea of doing the Great Scottish Run 10k. I thought I’d dislike the running, but it turned out I actually enjoyed heading out for an hour to build up my stamina. I figured that rather than let the running fitness fade away I’d keep at it and enter the 10k alongside my sister, Hazel.

I assumed we’d do some training rides together, but Hazel, Ian and the kids went off on an epic tour of a holiday at the end of July. Then when they got back Hazel developed a bad chest infection that she never quite got over in time to build the miles up, so ultimately she decided not to do it. After my experiences attempting cycling events when I’m not quite fit enough, I can’t say I blame her.

Leaving the house for the first train to Glasgow on a Sunday had me feeling a bit sleepy, but it was cool seeing all the other people with numbers on their t-shirts joining the train on the way. The train was mobbed by the time we got to Glasgow and I could feel the excitement building!

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