Sun, sea, sand and sweat-absorbing socks.....

RACE THREE: BOURNEMOUTH - 17TH JUNE 2012

Our third Race for Life event took place on an unexpectedly sunny Fathers Day in Bournemouth.  Had we known the weather would take a turn for the better we would have come prepared with swimming costumes and a picnic - instead we had pac-a-macs and wellies, none of which, thankfully, were required. 

The support crew suddenly realising
the sea was very cold!

As our team convened by the Team Tonia banner at the foot of Bournemouth pier, we watched excitedly as the concourse filled with pink ladies, once again adorned with tutus, cowboy hats, glittery wigs and inflatable horse costumes.  Our ever faithful support crew supervised the children as they played on the sand, then searched for dry clothes for those little ones who managed to break free and enjoy a dip before the race had even begun. 

The atmosphere was building as the MC from Heart FM hyped up the crowd; we were all enjoying the moment until suddenly we heard his booming voice over the microphone ask "Team Tonia - are you out there?"  Karen, Sarah and I ran (this was our warm up) to the stage to make our presence known, and as the MC thrust the microphone into my face I suddenly became aware that around 5,000 people were watching me and waiting for me to speak.  You'd think that Emma and I would be used to our new-found fame - what with our 3 second mention on Breeze FM and our picture in the window of the Cancer Research shop.  However it is fair to say I wasn't entirely prepared for this 'live' interview, and as our Team Tonia marketing guru Sarah pointed out afterwards, I probably should work on my press statement.  After bumbling my way through a short interview and making a complete fool of myself, we made our way back to base camp to wait for Bryony, the only team member who had yet to arrive.

Keswick proudly wearing his
Race for Life medal

Two of our team members were celebrating birthdays over the weekend, Sheila - whose sister arrived at the race with an amazing birthday cake in the shape of a sandcastle, and Bryony - who arrived with a hangover.  Not only was Bryony feeling 'slightly fragile', but she admitted to celebrating her birthday by running a 5km race on the Saturday morning, a 10 mile race on Saturday afternoon and was using the Race for Life event as a 'recovery run'!  Personally I prefer to spend my birthdays doing as little as possible, but each to their own I suppose!  Bryony had planned to run alongside her park-run companion Marley, but was slightly concerned she had almost broken the black labrador during the 10 mile run the day before.  Not one to let the team down, Keswick the red labrador stepped up to the start line and accompanied Sheila on the race down the promenade.

We had been warned that the recent high winds had blown a lot of sand onto the course, resulting in the 10km race later in the day being cancelled.  As we approached the start line we could see that this terrain would not be easy; either dodging the sand banks that covered the road or trudging through them.  The route was straight forward - we ran to Boscombe Pier and back - but the running was hard. On the way out we had to negotiate the sand, and with the vast numbers of people around us it was not always easy to find a clear route.  On the way back we had to dodge the Sunday morning strollers, who continued to walk four-abreast along the promenade seemingly oblivious to the sea of runners, joggers and walkers all around them ("There's one or two more joggers out today, isn't there Norman?").  We also had the strong head-wind to contend with as well.

Despite this, the Team Tonia runners came storming across the finish line.  Particular mention goes to Karen 'I-don't-think-I'll-be-able-to-run-the-whole-way' Walsh, who confidently completed the race with Emma.  Obviously the sand caused the local resident no concerns...it's almost as if you live on the beach Karen!  Rumour has it she may try and join us for the Poole race (or at least come along to watch), when we will finally be able to welcome Kim to the team, who missed the Bournemouth race due to a broken toe.  The race was concluded with a well-deserved dip in the sea (which Bryony used as an ice-bath to soothe her aching legs!).

A big thank you goes to the fathers that came to support us on their special day - Martyn, Nick, Darryl, Ian and Ray, and our thoughts were with a team member whose father couldn't be there, having lost his battle with cancer just last year. 

Thank you team, yet again you were amazing. 

See you on Wednesday night in Basingstoke and again on Sunday in Poole - no rest for the wicked!

Kate
18th June 2012