Race for Life 2014

Time is running and so was I (well, walking really).
It was already on the Sunday a week ago that I took part in this year's Race for Life event. Picked one of the hottest days of the year for my 10km in London Blackheath and was getting slightly worried beforehand as: the race was starting at 14h --> most aggressive sunshine and the entire course on Blackheath Common had no shade whatsoever. Would I be able to drink enough and would I be able to not get sunburned with any protection washed away by sweat?

excuse the shitty photos but my bag was heavy enough without a dslr

I walked to the station, took train to London Waterloo, took another train to Blackheath and was happy and entertained as this brought me through and to a corner of London pretty much unknown to me.
Not knowing what to expect I was delighted to find out that Blackheath has a quite chaming villagey feel to it and I have made a note for myself to come back in order to have a proper look one day.

But I'm rambling, the common got more and more busy with several thousand ladies taking part, the stands selling t-shirts or giving out awful soft drink testers weren't very appealing and I skipped the warm-up for good. It was 33C after all!
At 14.03 o' clock I walked through the start line determined to walk in my natural pace and not trying to walk quicker and power myself out.
As usual the first two kilometres where relatively hard and after what felt a far far distance I passed the sign saying 1k - brilliant...not.

the only shade was provided by the bins

I kept walking and walking, being entertained by the snippets of conversations around me and the busses and cars driving past blowing their horns. With my straw hat and sunglasses I was fairly well protected and surprisingly didn't get too hot. Unfortunately (and not really understandible for me) there was only one station at 5k to hand out plastic cups of water. Glad I brought my own 2 litres otherwise I might have joined the poor ladies that had to lie down on the side being looked after by the hard-working paramedics on their bikes.

To cut a long story - or better walk - short: Once I settled into my walking rhythm I was fine and proud to be part of this huge event again.
I crossed the finish line at 1h 46min so I took exactly 1h 43min which is not too bad considering the weather condintions. Got away with no sunburn, no blisters and didn't dehydrate.
Nothing beats the feeling once you have finished :-)

must have picked up some dust on the way...makes my legs look hairy

Such a great event with women of all ages, shapes, fitness levels, classes and religions taking part. With fancy clothing or just in their running clothes, with walking canes or wearing a headscarf, in a big giggly group or as lone warriors. And no bitch fighting in sight!!!

So I want to say thank you again to all those wonderful people who have supported me again this year with a donation to Cancer Research UK. I appreciate it a lot and I promise you it is money well spend as unfortunately no one will not get affected one way or another by cancer at least once in your life.

If you think of yourself as a wonderful person as well but haven't donated anything yet don't despair: you still have the chance to do this through my JustGiving page or by just contacting me :-)

Cancer, we're coming to get you!

PS: Of course I wouldn't be me if, despite all the pride, joy and the great cause I would pick up on slightly annoying details. Is it morally acceptable to read people's signs pinned to their backs ( the space to share who you race for) and spot spelling mistakes?!?
I felt slightly bad about myself for this one but it just is "inspiration" and not "insperation".
I'm not perfect myself and know it but I had to overtake that woman quickly otherwise this word would have driven me insane the whole bloody 1h 43min ;-)