International Womens Day Fun Run 29:40 (ish!)

Well, I can finally say I've now achieved one of my New Years Resolutions and a goal that's been on my 'TO DO' list for a year. I finally did a fun run!

I got to southbank quite early and there were already thousands of people milling around. It was really interesting to see how much of a variety of runners and walkers there were. I think there were a lot of people there who'd never run before - I saw people running in the most awful shoes - fashion trainers with a slight platform (!!!) and another was running in full length fleecy tracksuit pants in full sun. And it was hot... very, very hot! In a way, it was really nice to see that the absolute beginners outnumbered the seasoned runners quite considerably. And, bonus for me, it meant that this time, I wasnt at the rear of the pack by any means! *grins*

The start was quite chaotic and a lot of the walkers went right to the front, despite being told to go to the rear... there were a fair amount of people elbowing each other out of the way. I bumped into a girl who came to the Run Inn running group once who recognised me and we ran together in the race. We run at a similar level, so it was good fun egging each other on along the way. We passed quite a lot of people (loving that new experience!) and consequently went at a pretty fast pace. It felt faster than my last west end run, but because there were points where the run bottle necked, we all had to slow to a walk about three times and then dodge the walkers, so I'm not surprised I didnt crack my last 5km time. I think walkers are great and should definitely be involved in events and everything, but it drives me nuts that so many walk RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of the track and are completely oblivious to everyone and everything else. It's just rude.

On that note, I also managed to run straight into the back a woman who stopped RIGHT INFRONT of the drink station at the half way mark, too. *grumble* I guess that a few months ago, I wouldnt have known about the general running rules either, but I'd like to think I'd have had the common sense to get a drink and then get out of the way if I wanted to stop!

Oh well, that aside, was a great morning and got lots of free stuff! Donut, anyone? LOL. Wore my CR singlet and kept an eye out for any other CR people but didnt spot many, aside from Eddie *waves* Someone official looking took my photo too and I didn't get a chance to ask where they were from. I wish I had, because I'd really like a copy of it.

I had a really nice morning and the BRRC deserve a big pat on the back for all their hard work. It's a massive event to organise and they did an exceptional job.