Manchester 10k Sunday 26th May

What a great day. I hated getting up so early on a Sunday to catch the 0941 to Deansgate but it was worth it. So much positivity everywhere. All of those people of all shapes and sizes giving up their time and effort for the benefit of others. I had a go during the running craze few years ago but events were never on this scale and so well organised.

My nephew, our Dan, was away early and we saw him bounding along soon after the start. We moved to near the finish line and had segs on our eyes but didn’t see him at the end so I can only conclude he wimped out and didn’t finish until we get official confirmation. Tom junior went a bit later and we saw him pacing himself early on and also near the end. He got round in about 50 mins but he hadn’t trained much and it was a rare hot day so he was happy with his time. He’s got the bug now and is intending to go for the Wigan 10k later in the year amongst others. The BYD is also inspired and made some vague indication of interest but I can’t see it really.

All of the mainstream charities were very well represented - and so they should be - but we all know about them and as I came away I couldn’t help but feel particularly good about my choice to support two very deserving and little known charities which desperately require more awareness.    

I was very tired when we made it home and didn't feel like doing any packing or sorting so I watched the cricket instead. I got some enthusiasm from somewhere later on and got the bike ready to some extent. My hero of a son went to work in the local pub despite his earlier efforts and I was there like a shot when he finished at 9 0'clock and rang home to see if we fancied meeting him for a pint. We did. 

One day to get my act together before lift off on Tuesday.