My First Official Race

On the 22nd May I took part in my first 10K event; the Cancer Research Race for Life. On a bright Sunday morning, around 4000 of us gathered at Glasgow Green to walk, jog or Run 10K to raise much needed funds for cancer research. The Race for Life was one of the first races Nik and I entered. We wanted to get our distances up but we also wanted me to have some race exposure prior to GNR.

Sadly, due to Nik’s injury we were unable to run together. The parkrun family stepped in as they always do providing me with incredible guide running support. Best of all, Nik was there to support us and cheer us on from start to the finish.

Having never raced before, I didn’t really have any perceptions of what a race day would be like. I was a little nervous about being in unfamiliar surroundings, and not having run 10K plus for a few weeks I wondered if I’d be able to go the distance.

The energy of the day was electric, the music, the crowds, the warm up and build really fired up my adrenalin; being surrounded by familiar parkrunners from my home run made me feel at ease and added to the joy. The route was fairly flat so there were no major obstacles to contend with. I had to keep fairly close to my guide owing to the crowds, but in the main, I coped well with. When we could spread out and get into rhythm and move our arms, we did.

All along the routes, choirs, pipers, members of the public, volunteers, marshals and folks in cars cheered and spurred us on. Their kindness was so motivational. Honestly, the miles slipped by and I didn’t feel remotely tired. The day stayed cool for us for which I was grateful. I’m definitely more of a winter than a summer runner.. Most of our parkrun family running the Race for Life had challenges. For some of us, it was recovering from injury. For others, it was about building up distance again. For folk like me, it was about staying steady and maintaining focus and stamina. We all supported one another, keeping each other going when we began to flag.

Before I knew it, the final 200 meters were upon us and I was almost sorry it was over. We all made a great team but my 2 main guides, Sam and Isobel did an exceptional job. Sam kept our community posted with live updates on Instagram, as well as clearing the path to make way for Isabel and I who were obviously not single file.

Despite this being her first long run, Isabel stuck it with me all the way to the end, she coached, motivated and inspired, channelling Nik’s energy all the way round the course.

Nik and the rest of our support team were there to cheer us over the line; I honestly can’t describe the high at having finished. I was absolutely buzzing; it was my first race and the journey we had all been on to get there felt so significant. The people we had met along the way, the stories we had read and the support we had witnessed was humbling and inspiring in equal measure.

The medal I received yesterday is one I’ll treasure forever; it marks my first race. It also contains all of the joy, excitement and sharing of a fantastic day I’ll never forget. Thanks to everyone who made it so truly special; I hope it marks the beginning of many more for us.