Shine Walk 2019

So.....

After S and another lady at work got cancer this year, a few of us (14) signed up to do the full marathon (26 miles!) to raise some funds for Cancer Research. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but as it crept nearer, I couldn't help but feel "what the hell are we doing?"! We hadn't really done any training, but as I came to realise, as long as you are reasonably fit, then it's absolutely fine. What will stop you moving will be the PAIN!!!!

Oh my goodness, my feet, my back, my hips, my knees- where to start?! We got off to a good start, walking a brisk pace as our aim was to get to 12 miles by midnight. We began at 7:30pm, after a nice meal at Giraffe on Southbank. 

There were many pit stops along the route, where we took shoes off, massaged our feet, plastered ourselves in Compeed and sprayed Deep Heat on any part of us within reach!

The loveliest thing without a doubt was the support and the camaraderie between us all. You couldn't do it without a great group of people beside you, as we each took turns to motivate each other when it got rough. There was so much laughter and fun, although by about 3am it got quieter and quieter as fatigue began to set in, and when the rain started at 4am things were pretty bleak. The danger is that you want to stop and stretch, but if you do, it's much harder to get going again! 

Poor P, she struggled the most with her legs/feet, and it was a struggle for her to keep up with us but she did, and with a smile on her face. We saw the sun come up over St Pauls, and finally wended our way along Southbank towards the finish near Tower Bridge. 

It was really balmy all night after such a fantastic day, and so luckily we didn't need all of the layers we'd brought. We had glitter, glowstick bands and tutus to wear too. 

After the medal collection we made it to the tube in plenty of time to catch the train home. Unfortunately it all went a bit pear-shaped when we got inside the tunnel and one girl in our group fainted and then three others felt sick, faint and had to lay down. It was obvious we weren't going to make our train, as we managed to get them on the tube, thinking if we could just go two stops and get up to some fresh air they'd feel better. But when we got to Waterloo they just couldn't, and lay down again on the platform. With only A, M and I still compos mentis, we decided that we'd need assistance, so despite the crippling pain in our feet and legs, we went upstairs to find somebody who could help. They were really good and came down with a wheelchair for the sickest, A, who we were a bit concerned might need more assistance than we could provide. A few at a time we went up in the lift, and then parked everybody on the seats on the concourse while we got them a drink.

They mostly began to recover and then the TfL staff brought their little beepy trolley thing to transport the injured to the train! Spirits were much higher, and we were doubled over as we realised we needed a picture of it and one of our group tried to run down the platform with her camera to capture it! 

We had such a laugh on the way home, and I am SO glad I did it!