Eleanor’s Robin Hood Half Marathon

I ran the Robin Hood Half Marathon on Sunday 27th September and thought I’d write my blog while I was still buzzing.

Wow, what a fantastic experience! Always liked the idea of running but any attempts in the past have left me red faced, breathless and slightly deflated!!

4 children later and with my youngest son off to Pre-school a couple of mornings a week I felt the time had come to try again! Chatting with my friend Steph Clarke, who also found herself with a bit of free time for the same reason as me, we decided to have a ‘plod’ round our local nature reserve conveniently located close to our boys’ preschool. That was in September 2013 and within a few weeks we were feeling pretty good about our newfound running dedication and so when we heard about a couple of local mums who had completed the Robin Hood Half Marathon we wondered if we could train towards something like that?! Seemed like a huge undertaking but spurred on by each other we decided to give it a go.

As friends and regulars on the school run Cyrilyn and Brad would always offer words of encouragement as we went through our warm ups outside preschool ( very amusing sight!) and so when Cyrilyn asked us about raising funds for Operation Orphan it was an easy decision to make.

Many months later having experienced early morning runs in all weathers with a steady increase in distance it was nearly time for the Big Day. Couldn’t believe I was able to say I had run 13 miles in training and felt ready and raring for it. Now, I love being a mum and the positives of that role are never ending however at times the negatives rear their ugly head and one of my all time favourites, the ‘sicky bug’, decided to make an appearance 2 days before the race – Mum and Dad were not left out!! My half marathon dreams for that year were over (sorry bit dramatic!). However, Steph bravely soldiered on and completed her first half marathon and I couldn’t have been prouder for her and I know Operation Orphan were very grateful for her great fundraising efforts.

Fast forward a year and we were on track for 2015! I deceided to focus my fundraising on OO’s efforts in Nepal following the horrific earthquakes that had caused so much devastation back in April and this made perfect sense.

Steph and I had learnt that there was a new more hilly route so we got stuck into some hills. Blah, not great, but glad we did because they really helped on the day!! It was a grey, misty and very chilly start but as the race got underway it warmed up and turned into a beautiful sunny day. The route was really quiet scenic taking us through Wollaton Park, the University of Nottingham main campus as well as the hilly but very exclusive Park suburb. The atmosphere was brilliant and in my new OO running vest I felt great!

As we came along the Embankment with a mile to go with the music pumping and the crowds cheering I felt quite emotional. We crossed the finish line together and I finally got to wear the impressive looking medal of The Robin Hood Half Marathon.

What a great experience!! Thank you to all those who offered words of encouragement and have generously donated so far and for anyone wishing to, my Virgin money giving page will be open until the end of November.

Marathon next year?!…………………..

Eleanor Gorham