Today was a rest day for me, but not for a friend of mine running the Southside Six - a 16 mile run which takes in six parks in the southside of Glasgow. A long time back, I blocked today off in my calendar, as I wanted to go support Julie, cheer her on, and give her a bit of supportive 'abuse', haha, like she gave me at the Glasgow half marathon. :)
My friend Clare also knew some people running, so we met up before the race start, and once Julie arrived with friends Trisha and Anne who were also running, and Davie, Ian and Cathal who weren't, we chatted to some of the runners, and I have to say I loved the pre-race atmosphere. Loads of nerves and excitement in the air, people pinning their race bibs on, drinking water, checking shoelaces are tied properly, doing more panicking, and so on. I was glad I wasn't running (16 miles, in a really hilly course, is quite a bit beyond me!!!) - but part of me felt a wee bit jealous regardless. Haha.
The race started at 11am, and Clare and I joined up with the 3 lads, to cheer them all on at the start, then jump in the car and hop around the city, turning up to support the runners at about 4 or 5 points around the course. The girls did really well - and I spotted a couple of other familiar faces in the crowds, so cheered them on as well, to their surprise. We got a lot of grins and thankyous from the runners, as we cheered, applaudedm and occasionally whooped and waved.
At one point between supporting points, "Eye of the Tiger" came on Davie's playlist, just as we were driving past some of the guys. Windows went down, the stereo went right up, and we all cheered loudly. Oh my, it made me laugh so much. Runners were grinning and laughing, and onwards they went. :)
At Bellahouston Park, we stood at the top of a set of steps, which was approximately 12 miles into the race. We cheered and cajoled the runners up the stairs - some of them ran up (incredible), some walked, some staggered, but they all kept on going. Soon Julie appeared in sight, and we started yelling at her: "C'mon, get a move on, we don't have all day...." - she looked up and laughed, and we loudly 'encouraged' her up the steps, laughing uproariously when she purposefully stopped halfway up, and had a wee stretch on the railings.
Another set of steps took the runners up to the finish strait - a crazy tough route, if you ask me - but all the girls made it to the finish line, and all with a smile on their face. Absolute stars, the lot of them. Just brilliant. "Did you enjoy it?" "No." "Are you pleased did it?" "Hell yes." - I felt almost jealous. :D .....almost, but not quite, haha! I would need to put a LOT more training in to be able to do such a run. But what a great run it would be - the route is challenging, and a real mix of streets and parks. The marshalls are all, without exception, friendly and supportive, and the race organisation seemed pretty good too. No surprise it sells out so quickly! So maybe I'll put this one to the back of my mind, and see how my running progresses over the next year or two. Never say never. *opening refrain from Eye of the Tiger plays*
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