Race day again

What a great day!  I woke this morning in thick thick fog and drove over to Bath where I met up with my brother. After a welcome cup of coffee and getting changed into my Supergirl costume my sister in law drove us into the centre of Bath where we walked to the start line. My brother, unfortunately, had decided not to join me with fancy dress so I did get a few storage looks from the early morning dog walkers in Bath.

Although the day had started with fog, by the time we reached the runners village, the fog had gone and the sun had emerged. It was to be the start of a beautiful day!

The thing I was most worried about was chaffing. Unlike a female runner who wears a fitted sports bra to hold everything together and bounce free, I had a underwired bikini top filled with folded socks. Luckily I had lashings of vaseline with which to try to protect me. After visiting the Parkinsons UK charity area and saying hello to the fantastic crew there, we made our way to he start line (with a few stops at toilets on route). After a last addition of vaseline especially between the legs and with the encouragement of the spectators watching, 11am had come and the race commenced.

The race was fantastic. Although many of the crowd seemed to get confused between Supergirl, wonder woman and superman (I even had one call of "come on spiderman"), the enthusiasm from the crowd was amazing. My brother was aiming for 1.45 and we went off too fast with the inevitable conclusion that he slowed down massively after mile 10. But that didn't really matter. It was such a lot of fun. The advantage, of course, with having run so much faster only 2 weeks ago, was that I could jog the 13 miles and high five the crowds as I went around. I loved it and so did my brother who appreciated the crowd noise. My niece and nephew were out on the course watching us go round which was great and even means that I should get a couple of action shots as we ran past!

I really enjoy the Bath course, which is a double loop around the city. The second half of the loop is a bit deserted and in a more industrial part of the city, but for the vast majority of the course, it is lined with people, with lots of music and people having a party in their gardens whilst cheering on the runners. As I said, the last few miles were difficult for my brother and I ended up finishing around 15 seconds ahead of him as I found space to "fly" up Great Pulteney Street in the last few hundred metres. A fantastic finish to a race!

After finishing, I was interviewed again by Radio Bristol just after Dermot O'Leary who had also just finished (both my brother and I had lower times!). We then had pictures taken at the Parkinsons UK charity stand, grabbed a drink, fruit and some biscuits and started to make our way back across Bath.

It is now early evening and I'm sat with my feet up typing this and watching Top Gear. A nice end to a great day and it was a real pleasure to race today with my brother. I now need to work out where I am racing in April and will post this as soon as I have decided.