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| The 'Jelly Bean' t-shirts were worn with pride! |
Whenever we do a trip to the UK we try to arrange something that will bring as many of the families together as possible. This time we set up the Jelly Bean team and ran in the 1k, 3k and 10k races at Alconbury Weald. (Alconbury airfield when we lived nearby!)
We had good (and amazingly) warm weather up until the day of the event, at which point it turned bitterly cold and windy! Typical! However, it did not stop any of the enthusiasm of the 'little ones' and even the 'old ones' and all those 'in between' on the day of the races!
I had arranged specially designed 'Jelly Bean' t-shirts to be worn for the events and the cold, windy weather did not stop anyone wearing them. Everyone had a unique t-shirt designed specifically for them.
John Major, and his wife, Norma, opened the races.
1k Race and 3k Races:
These races started with a warm-up for those running, which was great fun, and everyone joined in with the jumping and stretching, and waving of the arms! Then we were off!
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| The 1k race - a great effort from Leila. It's hard work dragging Mum along! |
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| The 1k race - Bethany has both feet off the ground! |
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| The 1k race - Finn has time to do a little dance on the way to the finish line! |
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| The 1k race - William is beating Grandad (you can just see Grandad right at the very back!) |
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| The 1k race - Jack is doing well. Pity about Mummy and Grandad! |
Kate and Sam ran the 3k race.
The 1k and 3k were started at the same time so I didn't see the start of this one as I ran in the 1k, but I did get back in time to watch Sam and Kate finish the race together. Well done, guys!
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| The 3k race |
The 10k team consisted of Sam, Steve, Taz, Russell and me. The first 3k's were run around the airfield, then we ran out of the gate on to a gravel road into the local village, and did a loop back to the gate and straight down the old runway to the finish line. We ran over lots of different terrain, at one point having to avoid cow pats in the long grass!
Our 'Jelly Bean' team all ran at our own speeds, and after about half a km, I found Steve running alongside me. The others were somewhere up ahead. We completed the circuit around the airfield, then I looked around and Steve was gone. He said afterwards that he felt his calf pulling so he 'pulled' out! Convenient he was able to stop just outside the massage tent! The lengths he will go to, to get a massage!
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| Obviously not enjoying his massage at all! |
Being used to running in South African races where you 'just get on with it', I was immensely amused to see that every change of terrain was marked with a poster warning us to be careful, and there were usually marshalls standing at those points as well also warning us to be careful! The potholes in the roads were circled with brightly coloured paint. Can't imagine that happening here in SA!
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| Sam completed the 10k in 52:23 |
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| Russell completed the 10k in 54:41 |
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| Taz completed the 10k in 56:28 |
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| I struggled around in 63:29 |
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| And Steve got a DNF! A 10k medal or a massage? Mmm, difficult one! |
The Jelly Bean team didn't come last, however. We came 4th out of 5 teams, so even with Steve DNF'ing, we didn't come last! I am (seriously) sorry that Steve wasn't able to finish the 10k, but at least he did manage the 1km, which was the important one for him to do. So, well done for getting round that one - and you got a medal for that race! That's not a bad result really - a medal AND a massage!
We had planned that, after the races, we would go and have a bbq/braai at one of the parks nearby. However, because it was so cold we 'had a meeting' and decided to go to Russell and Sarah's house and hold the barbecue there. Needless to say, once the barbecue had been lit, the weather drastically improved and the sun came out. We spent a lovely afternoon outside having a barbecue lunch, then went to the local park and played football and rounders! Thank you to Russell and Sarah for 'hosting' the barbecue. Much appreciated.
A lovely way to spend a day with family! Thanks to everyone!
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