I hate running, in fact am not a big fan of walking either- I always try and park as close as possible to wherever I'm going and generally avoid gyms or any other place that requires you to intentionally tire yourself out. As such when I was asked to run for Sport Relief my initial reaction was, "are you kidding? This isn't Comic Relief right?" But on reflection, I thought it was important to at least try, after all I spend my life telling people that they need to challenge themselves and leave their un-healthy comfort zones.
Actually, I already survived a 5K run a couple of years earlier when a charity that I'm a patron for asked me to run on their behalf. As much as I hated being over-taken by the vast majority of OAPs in attendance, there was a part of me that did feel a sense of accomplishment when it was all over.
I had entered the race with my daughter and my best friend Lisa and her two girls. For some reason we wound up in the front row with all the proper athletes, which initially, was really exciting but when the whistle went for the race to begin we almost got trampled - worse than that my little girl who was six at the time hadn't really grasped the notion of a marathon and so sprinted as fast as she could into the sea of lycra in front of me in an attempt to "win the race."
I, being athletically challenged to say the least, was unable to keep up and lost sight of her, so the first part of the marathon turned into more of a missing persons investigation with me breathlessly annoying other runners by running up next to them and asking if they had seen my daughter, "cute kid, orange t-shirt, pig tails, about this high..." Anyway, long story short, Jessie was found, and we all finished the race eventually, even me.
Despite the sore legs and hyperventilation, and the serious thought given to how I could cheat by cutting across the park without getting caught, it actually was fun. More than that though, taking part in a big event with your family and friends, coming together for a cause that you really believe in and doing something that will make a tangible difference to that cause is a great and positive experience. I'm a strong believer that life is about building memories and experiences with those that you love, so that you can re-live them and share them and they in turn can become part of that folklore that we all rely on to learn about who we are and what really matters to us.
So although I hate running, when asked to do the Sport Relief mile I said yes. I will do it with Jessie again and have also signed up my husband who has recently taken a CPR course which may come in handy given my current level of fitness. On a serious note though, the great thing about doing the Sport Relief Mile is that anyone can take part from really young to really old, from really to fit to not so fit and it's a way, even in these tough times, of being able to come together and make a difference to those who really need it. Hope to see you there - I'll be the one trailing along in the back : )