Race for Life Waddesdon 2008

Race for Life Waddesdon 2008
Sunday 11th May 2008

On Sunday 11th May my sister Laura and I ran the Cancer research’s race for life at Waddesdon manor. Around three thousand women, young and old, took part. They walked, jogged and ran a 5km route around the grounds of Waddesdon manor. I had been training for this event by walking to and from school everyday, and with my extra curricular activities of trampolining, horse riding and swimming twice a week I woke up on Sunday morning in a very good mood and very excited to be taking part in something so special that was raising money to help find a cure for cancer.

I had a breakfast of scrambled eggs and baked beans on toast as my Dad said that this would be good to help keep my energy levels high. I had a wash and dressed myself in my new hot pink race for life t shirt, my new black shorts and my new pink trainers. I covered myself in sun cream as the local radio station Mix 96, who were covering the event live, said it was going to be a gloriously sunny day!!

We decided that we should get to Waddesdon Manor early, in order to ensure a parking space and be there in plenty of time. On the way in the car I ate a banana, just to make sure that my strength was up! When we got there my Dad pinned the signs to me. On my front I had my number 1392 and on my back was my message. It said “I race for life for… My mum who I lost when I was 5”. We gathered in the field along with everyone else that was arriving and listened to the music playing, relaxed a bit and letting Dad take photos of me and Laura! We saw lots and lots of different women there, some were wearing cowboy hats and hair bands, a group of ladies were even wearing knickers over their trousers!

There were lots of stalls there. The police had a stand about personal safety and securing your goods, there was an ice cream van, a burger van, a cancer research UK stand and another with a makeshift fence so afterwards you could peg the sign off your back onto it for other people to read. There were lots of volunteers there. Race for life marshals, Nivea representatives spraying sun cream on everyone, the Red Cross for any injuries, cadets from RAF Halton handing out the medals and bottles of water.

We bumped into my Aylesbury St. John Ambulance badger leader Sandi and her friend Anita who were also going to do the race. We chatted to them and had a good look round. They were going to be walking around the track and asked Laura and I if we could all walk together to help motivate each other. I felt this was a good idea as although I had been doing some training I knew that it was going to be hard and I was worried that I wouldn’t make it all the way. Just as we were waiting for the warm up to begin I was tapped on the shoulder. It was Linda, one of the mums from the old school I went to. She had seen my sign on my back and was saying how sad it was to one of her friends, then she realised that it was me! I hadn’t seen her for a long time and asked how her four children were; Bob, Michael, Lauren and Thomas. She said that they were fine and that they were all growing up really quickly.

Next thing I knew the warm up was about to begin and so I focussed my attention on the ladies on the stage! Dad went off to take some photos of the other ladies and leave us to do the workout, next thing I knew Sandi was asking me if that was my Dad on the stage. I thought she was joking, but actually my Dad was on the stage, stood behind the ladies doing the warm up taking photographs of all the women exercising for my website! Laura and I laughed a lot, typical Dad, up there on the stage! If we were at an important event you could always be sure to find my Dad hobnobbing with the stars!

The warm up was really hard, we did some star jumps and funny dance moves. We were in the middle of the field where it was really hot and there was no shade so I didn’t work too hard as I would have been very tired before the race had even begun! Two songs and lots of hip and arm wiggling later they were rounding up the ladies to take them to the start line. The runners went first, followed by the joggers, and then followed by the walkers! It took a long time to actually get to the start as there were so many people there! We eventually crossed the starting line at 11.20am! 20 minutes after the original start time!

The atmosphere was great; women of all ages, shapes and sizes were taking part. They were all smiling and chatting to each other and reading the signs on people’s backs. Some of the ladies were telling jokes and laughing. It made everyone feel better and realise what a good cause this is and that fundraising is great fun too. I started really well, I was really looking forward to doing the course and seeing my Dad at the end of it. I knew that if I completed the course that it would be a great personal achievement and I would be able to show people that children with disabilities can lead a normal life and join in with all sorts of physical activities.

We passed the 1km mark and I felt great, I couldn’t believe how quickly it had gone and just how easy it was! I didn’t feel like I had walked that far and I thought that it was going to be really easy for the rest of the course. Big mistake! As we rounded the corner the path became very steep. It was a very big hill; it looked like I had to climb a mountain. I started gingerly as I didn’t want to go too fast knowing that it would make my legs ache. I had to stop a few times as my muscles in my left leg seized up and became quite sore. My sister and Sandi encouraged me on, taking one hand each, telling me that I was nearly at the top and they knew I could do it.

When I got to the top of the hill I felt great. I saw the 2km mark and realised that the rest was downhill and then flat. I could feel my left foot becoming sore and aching a bit but I realised that I was nearly half way. The thought of this alone spurred me on. Laura and I had a chat about school and I told her that my teacher was taking part, and that she was very fit and would be running it all the way. She probably would have finished already. (Little did we realise that actually she had, and my Dad took a picture of her crossing the finishing line)

We passed the Waddesdon stud farm and Sandi and I had our pictures taken by the sign. I Began walking again and realised that we were at the 3km mark. I was over half way now, I stopped and had my picture taken by the 3km sign. I gave Laura a big hug as we didn’t have long to go and we were doing very well. I ate a go ahead bar because I was hungry, walking certainly stimulates the appetite. We carried on and could see quite far down the hill now. We could see the other walkers in the distance, this bit was quite easy as it was downhill and in the shade, so we had a nice breeze to help keep us going.

We got to the bottom of the hill and found the 4km sign next to a policemen who were blocking off the road. We walked around the corner and onto the farm; there were some boys there who were throwing water at people who wanted to be soaked. We didn’t as Laura’s trousers would have become see through. We walked on a bit further and there were some nice ladies who had big bottles of cold water, they refilled our water bottles for us and we felt much cooler after having a drink.

We walked on further and saw another sign that said 500m, I stopped to have my picture taken by this marker. I was getting very excited now as I knew that I had nearly finished the course and that I would see my Dad very soon. Laura got a bit emotional at this point and had a few tears, she told me that she and Dad were so proud of me and what I had achieved and that Mum was looking down from heaven and would have been so proud of me too. This made me more determined to finish the course and show them that I was able to do it.

We got closer and closer to the finishing sign and I got more and more excited. I ran over the finish line at 12.25pm, a very respectable time of 65 minutes. I was shattered but so elated that I had got through it. I was given a medal from one of the volunteers and a bag of goodies from the sponsors, and most importantly a bottle of water. My bag contained a nail varnish, a carton of cranberry juice, some apple flakes, Nivea tanning moisturiser, a deodorant and some hand cream. I sat on the grass in the field where we were doing the warm up some 90 minutes before.

Most people were there enjoying picnics with their family, or looking at the various stalls and talking to people. My Dad treated both Laura and I to an ice lolly as he felt we needed it. We found some shade under a big tree and sat down. Dad told me how proud he was of me and that next year we would do just as well I laughed! I told him that I needed to recover from this year first. We left the event and went home, I had just enough time to have something to eat and relax before I went to my swimming lesson. I had an early night as I was shattered, and knew I had a busy week at school ahead of me!

Thank you if you have sponsored me online, your part is done as the money is paid directly to cancer research UK, if you have put your name down on my sponsorship form, please can you give me the money as soon as you can and then I can tick you off and ensure that Cancer Research UK have the money as soon as possible. Last year the race for life in Aylesbury raised £204,000 and this year they are hoping to raise £212,000. The expected overall total for all of the UK is £50 million.

On a slightly sadder note, at this event it was revealed that 1 in 3 women do not return their sponsorship money, this upset me as this would mean that Cancer Research UK miss out on some very important money that could be used to beat the horrible disease that is cancer. So if you know someone who has done it, or is doing it, please stress to them the importance of paying in their sponsorship money and help make a difference to someone’s life.

Race for Life Waddesdon 2008 Sunday 11th May 2008

All About Me What Katy Did Living without my Mum Read all about my Race for Life 2009 My 2009 Race for Life Sponsor Page My 2008 Race for Life Sponsor Page

Race for Life Waddesdon 2008
Sunday 11th May 2008

All About Me
What Katy Did
Living without my Mum
Read all about my Race for Life 2009

My 2009 Race for Life Sponsor Page
My 2008 Race for Life Sponsor Page