Run the mini marathon, they said. It'll be fun, they said. The weather's always great, they said.
Well, they were right on one of those things: the VHI Women's Mini Marathon is great fun. There's a sense of camaraderie among the 37,000 participants that even the Irish weather couldn't dampen.
I only signed up at the last minute, six weeks ago. It was an impulse thing, having been out of the game for over a year and a half due to pregnancy and the subsequent time-monopolising now-10-month-old.
But my sister persuaded me, and I thought I’d get at least a couple of weeks of training in. We won’t talk too much about that particular goal, but let’s just say it’s not as much as I would have liked.
Slightly masculine
We took our place among the walkers at the start line; at that point, my only goal was making it to the end. Women of all ages, side by side, and the odd man in a dress; there was even a slightly masculine Elsa among the participants. We felt a little underdressed in comparison.
By the third kilometre, we saw our first race casualty, limping away from the route.
There were plenty of charities represented, from Cystic Fibrosis Ireland and Laura Lynn to the Dogs Trust and Feilecáin, the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Association of Ireland.
Personal goals
There were more personal goals, with plenty of people running in memory of loved ones and family members.
We decided that this time out, we'd make our own donation to National Maternity Hospital Foundation, and any of our family and friends who wanted to support us could do the same.
Even though the weather had let us down, there were plenty of people lining the route to cheer runners on. And it really helped; by the eighth kilometre, it was tough going. At that point, it was other runners and the crowd that kept you going.
Catching snippets of people’s conversations as we passed was entertaining, some of whom were in the same boat as us.
“Remember when I said we should train for this?” one woman said to her friend. “Yeah..?” “Well. We probably should have.”
When we finally crossed the finish line over an hour later, we were sodden and in pain, but the adrenaline kept us going - long enough to hit the first coffee shop for a well-earned hot drink.
