The Drill Sergeant is Waiting For You....

As mentioned in a previous post Nick was taken out of running for just over a year after an injury.  Prior to that he had been training for his first full marathon.  This weekend is the Bournemouth Air Festival which means figther jet displays amongst all kinds of other military displays, and LOTS of tourists for the final weekend of the summer. This reminded us of his last training run before his injury and the Facebook post that he wrote afterwards. Unfortunately he never did make that marathon.  Here's hoping he can finally do it this year!

(Originally posted on Facebook 18th August 2011)

I ran 12 miles this morning along the sea front, 6 miles there, 6 back. Unfortunately I was cold when I started and didn't realise the wind was behind me to the degree it was, so ran the first half way too fast. I got to about 8 miles and figured I could push it to 9, then it would be sensible to stop. 

Unfortunately it's currently Bournemouth Air Show, and the sea front has been turned into a carnival/stall/shopping centre. And who is waiting for me at 9 miles, just when I'm about to give up and stop? The Army, that's who. Plus the Navy stall, the Marine Commando stall, The RAF helicopter stall, the Help for Heroes stall, the Navy Cadets stall, the Royal Artillery stall, the Territorial Army stall, all in all about a 100 people, in uniform, who've served our country and risked their lives, and there's the fat bloke giving up after only nine miles.  I could cope with running past the cake stall, the doughnut stall, the candy floss stall, the baked potato stall [the smell of which stalked me for at least half a mile] the candy shop, the fish and chip stall and the freshly baked bread stall, but I am not stopping and giving up in front of an Afghan Heroes charity sign of a guy in uniform, in a wheelchair, who's a bilateral amputee. So I did what any man would do, I ran past them, confident and strong, intending to stop as soon as I was round the corner and out of view.

10 and a half miles, the corner beckons and I am safely out of sight-line and out of the embarrassment zone. I am now, unfortunately, in the beach volleyball training area. And to give the girls some credit, they were training in the rain, in uniform.

So, 12 miles completed on schedule.  If I could just put my request in now for the New Forest Marathon this September, I would like some people in uniform, preferably with a charity sign, around the 17 mile mark, and some girls playing beach volleyball at around 22 miles. Then I'll finish it no problem.

Nick