Sportsmanship and team spirit!

Wow - what a week!  I've read so many inspirational blogs about the Fully Dirty Weekend, from the bloke who would have won Saturday's race but for taking a wrong turn (and who was remarkably pragmatic about it) to Lucy, who has had cervical cancer and numerous other health problems and yet ran the entire Oblivion course with her good friend - inspirational, both of them!

And I promised posh photos from last week - sadly only two of us as a team, this one, half way round where I appear to be screaming in some sort of pain or frustration, 

And one at the end which was much the same as the one last week of us at the end.

However, Wee Gill and I have two fab photos of the Sunday race - this one early on where we're relatively clean and grinning like total idiots - we were having such FUN!

And then this one from a bit later where we're a teensy bit grubbier and I've daubed my face with mud too - well, you kind of have to, don't you?  The two girls behind us were lovely - they were running for the Spring Centre in Bristol, a centre for autistic children, and we ended up having a long chat about autism as one of my business colleagues is setting up The Autism Directory to help parents of autistic children.  The Spring Centre also had Emily, who ran the race in a very heavy kangaroo outfit - so I came home and sponsored her.  Tremendous effort - I can only imagine how heavy that got...

There are just so many heroes who should be mentioned from last weekend and who I forgot, so here goes:

The marshall who CARRIED an injured runner through the mud at the Cat's Cradle - us runners were struggling to get ourselves through, and he simply lifted the girl up and carried her to a safe place where the landrover could take her back for some first aid.  That man deserves a medal!

The lovely (and very petite) marshall who on the Saturday was helping people over the wall single-handedly.  Good grief.  She gave me a leg-up, and then turned her attention to the next runner.  Amazing.  We passed her again on the Sunday just before Lake One and both Wee Gill and I stopped to say 'thank you' to her for her efforts on Saturday.  Well beyond the call of duty...

The competitor on Sunday running with a rucksack who when he got to the wall took off his rucksack then stayed for a good five minutes helping people over.  Then, when there was finally a break in the runners coming at him, lobbed his rucksack over, vaulted the wall and carried on.  So it's not all about the time then!  Brilliant, no idea who he was, but the Melodeon Master (who was watching at the wall) thinks you deserve a special mention...

All the organisers - Kes/Elsie, Fish Beth, Mike the Mic, the army cadets, everyone else - utterly brilliant race (as usual) and you all must have been exhausted.  And to the (very) few who grumbled about the campsite being noisy and not marshalled, I have a solution - next year the Melodeon Master will get up at 6am and play LOUDLY outside the tent of anyone who kept people awake the night before.  Sorted!

Mad Mick who came up and said hi before the Saturday race (he actually, apparently, reads this stuff and said the wig and pink T shirt combo was a dead giveaway for him to spot me)...  I'm presuming you passed us on the first hill Mick?  So that's swelled my readers to my cousin in the US, the Melodeon Master's mum and Mad Mick then.  Oh, and about 74 people in Russia.... no, I have no idea why either...

(Hello, Russia...)

And we heard so many comments on the way round - here's just a selection:

"It's keeping me slim and it's good for the skin" Unknown runner on Sunday chanting repeatedly as she slopped her way through one of the numerous 'wadey' bits of mud.  She was right too - she was lovely and slim!

"Hey, dad, hang on!" Amazing - shows that runners of different generations all stay together and have a good time - don't know who the dad was, but good on you!

"Is it wrong to enjoy watching girls wearing Spandex and screaming?" That from a bloke.  Obviously.

"This water is suspiciously warm..."  Gill and me, coming through Lake One.  Don't even think about it.

Not really about running, but is anyone else glued to the Tour de France?  Yesterday was amazing - Bradley Wiggins gained the yellow jersey for Team Sky following awesome team support - including World Champion Mark Cavendish going back to the support vehicle for water and then catching up again to pass it on.  Brilliant!  No personal glory - just doing it for the team, the goal of which is to get Bradley Wiggins the yellow jersey (which they've done) and keep it till the finish.  I'm riveted...

This photo was showcased tonight by Team Sky's photographer, Scott Mitchell.  It's Bradley Wiggins - is it just me, or does he look like he should have a potting shed?  Such an unassuming guy - I'm in awe of the speed they go UP hills, and the strength and toughness when they survive the quite horrendous crashes, and of course the team spirit.  As I say, riveted, and I just love this photo...

Yesterday Jonathan Marray and Freddie Nielsen won the Men's Doubles Championship at Wimbledon.  With a 4-0 lead in the third set, Marray called a foul on HIMSELF, having touched the net after whizzing forward and being unable to stop in time.  The umpire didn't spot it, but Marray knew he'd done it and called his own foul.  Proper sportsmanship.

And my knees? (Thank you for asking!).  They've survived OK, thank you, but have had a good rest this week.  I swam for a mile this morning and I'm planning more running and cycling for next weekend.

Triathlon in September, anyone?

LATE NEWS:  I have just heard from Elsie, the Oblivion organiser, that I won the prize for fastest woman over 50!!!  How HILARIOUS is that?!!