Gareth John's Blog

Chasing Pavements (Part 7)

I have a medal. A real-life medal. Okay, so it’s not your classic podium finish gold/silver/bronze medal, but a medal it most definitely is.

I took part in the Reading Half Marathon for the second year running on Sunday. Had to make a mad dash out of London (complying with all speed restrictions!) having presented the Heart Breakfast Show that same morning & just made it to the start line as a couple of human bananas & a two-legged Rhino shot off into the distance ahead of me.

The good news is that, despite Thumper my dodgy calf still feeling REALLY sore (name explained in previous blogs by the way!) I completed the race. The even better news is that I completed the race in a quicker time than last year…woo-hoo! The not so good news is that this morning I’m walking like the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz on a day when he’s run out of WD40. Ummm, & I’m still planning on doing the Marathon?! Maybe it’s time I listened to my body & accepted that it really is more designed for darts.

At least my blushes were saved during the race yesterday by managing to stay ahead of the trio of Water Aid supporting human penguins. That said, for the second year in a row, I was out-paced by Scooby Doo - I so want to know what he put in those Scooby-Snacks. He was flying! It’s a sucker punch when you’re pushing as fast as your little legs will go only to be overtaken by a crime-busting cartoon dog. Mind you, I suppose he does have two extra legs.

So today it’s off to see the physio/massage man to get my battered legs pummelled back into some sort of shape so I can prepare for the next long run. Yippee!

And don’t forget, if you’re feeling a little bit tempted to get out running yourself, especially as scores of people are now out & about building up to the London Marathon next month, why not think about signing up for Run To The Beat in October, London’s very first Half Marathon. Harriet from Heart Breakfast & I are both taking part – would be great to see you there, too. So, sign up here: http://www.runtothebeat.co.uk

More soon!

Big love

Gxx

Read about the Stillborn Baby charity SANDS that I’m supporting, here:
www.uk-sands.org

See how I’m getting on with the fundraising, here:
www.justgiving.com/gareth_john

Posted by Gareth John on March 03, 2008 at 08:55AM

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