That was then...

Hi,
So, I watched Victoria Woods last year as she presented "The Moonwalk" on TV and thought "I'd like to do that".  Silly me!

Here we are with only a few days to go having completed endless training sessions with my walking buddy Maggie.  My worst nightmare is the thought of walking past all those stores in London - and they're all closed!  How sad.

Anyway, some figures, in the past year "Walk the walk" has granted in excess of four million pounds to Breakthrough Breast Cancer and the Bristol Cancer Help Centre.  I'm more than happy to do my bit to help find a cure to this terrible disease that affects so many women around the world.  Drop me a mail if you'd like to sponsor me.

Know any good chiropodists?

Cheers,

Jane xx
 

...and this is now

"I did it then!"

So the weeks, nay, months of training paid off and I "power-walked" the London Moonwalk Marathon in 9 hours.

Suitably adorned in a very chic designer bra (I sewed all the sequins on myself) I joined friends from Hexham, Harrogate and London for the pre-walk entertainment in Hyde Park.  Whilst being entertained by Bjorn Again we had to write our forenames on our chests (upper rib cage to be more precise) and so walking-buddy Maggie set about demonstrating her whiteboard-writing skills.  This was so that the stewards could gleefully cheer you on, on first name terms - great when you first start but not so encouraging 23 miles further on with aches, pains and blisters.  Slightly less charitable thoughts towards the stewards then!

One of the more poignant aspects of the walk was that participants had someone write the name(s) of their friends and relatives who they were walking in memory of.  It was truly moving to see the many thousands of ladies displaying names on their backs.  It really brought home what a devastating disease breast cancer can be.

Now, with 15,000 women and a few men thrown in for good measure, there was bound to be a hold up or two.  You know - everybody bunches up at the start and then spaces out when they get going.  Not quite.  Everybody was bunched up at the start, but then again at every road junction (it's not like the London Marathon, we had to use pelican crossings!); at every feeding station and at every toilet stop - I drew the line at doing a Paula Radcliffe, I'm sure London isn't ready for that yet!  In fact we calculated that we spent an hour and a half just queuing for the toilet en route.  Perhaps we should have taken on less water, but then again it was a very warm night.

I know I live in the country, where outside you can hear a pin drop beyond 9.00 pm, but I really wasn't ready for the overnight antics of London-folk.  The relentless stream of traffic was bad enough but why do all drivers feel obliged to honk their horns (car horns that is!) when they see a bunch of near-topless ladies.  Quite deafening!  Odd to see people queuing for a nightclub at 5 in the morning too!

I had every intention of finishing even though I had picked up a nasty blister on my left heel.  So feeling quite low at 4 in the morning I was cheered on by my friend's startling revelation that most people pop their clogs between 4.00 and 5.00 a.m.  Fortunately I was wearing trainers.  I was delighted to learn that one of the London girls finished in sixth place.  I put this entirely down to the fact that she has longer legs than me and is probably younger, fitter and comes from a long line of racehorses.

Anyway, to cut a long story very short indeed, I stumbled over the finishing line, got my medal, and collapsed into bed back at the hotel.  What an ordeal I thought - but equally what an experience.  Didn't help on the way back when the packed train had no air conditioning and was delayed for an hour - back to the real world! 

Just have to collect my sponsor money in now.  Still, could get used to this walking mallarky, so I'm booked in to walk the Glasgow half-marathon in September.  Let me know if you fancy joining in!

Yours in Friendship,

Jane  xxx

p.s. I did manage a quick visit to the shops in and around Covent Garden but don't tell Alan - what he doesn't know won't harm his bank balance!

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