Skip to main content

The Difference the Diff Made.

After ominous forecasts for strong winds, race day dawns with cool temperatures, persistent drizzle but no wind. Hurrah! Tom and Ma head off to secure a good spot to watch the runners and I walk through Cardiff in my running gear, an old jumper to keep me warm and a tent-like rain poncho. There’s half an hour to go before I can enter my race pen, forty-five minutes before the elite runners set off. I faff around for a bit, skipping and stretching, brave the portaloos which are surprisingly ok and leave my jumper and poncho to be recycled. Then it’s time to take up my position in my pen.

This point - the long wait for the starting klaxon - is a time for reflection. I think about Dad, I think about other families who have lost loved ones to pancreatic cancer, I think about my grandchildren and the future. I worry about how vulnerable we all are, some 20,000 runners and the spectators who’ve turned out on this damp day. I fret about about an outbreak of runners trots.

AND THEN



I remind myself how bloody hard I’ve worked for this race. I’m as fit as I can be and I’m not going to let race nerves get in the way of all that training. A couple of guys start chatting to me, we wish each other good luck as we move slowly forward and I tell myself I’m going to enjoy every minute of this race. And we’re off to cheers, plumes of flames flaring up from burners and loud applause. The crowd always raise the atmosphere at the Cardiff Half Marathon. They line the route, shouting encouragement, offering jelly babies, high fives and cheers. The best bit though is when I get to mile 6 and there are Tom and Ma who shout my name so loudly the people around them clap and join in too. Seeing them gives me the boost to pass the halfway mark and then it’s the count down to the finish.

My phone pings as I collect my medal and goody bag - Lily has sent me my time and results and I’m thrilled with the result: 2 hours, 6 minutes, 23 seconds. 30th in my category of 279 women, 7720 overall position out of some 20,000 runners.
Most importantly, thanks to the very generous support of other people. I’ve raised £455 for Pancreatic Cancer UK which will certainly help make a difference.

And finally, I’m delighted to add that I’m one of the featured contributors in the November issue of The English Home. I drove the car by myself today (which is a huge step for me) and it’s also my lovely Rose’s birthday. What a week!


Comments

Clare Chase said…
Very many congratulations on the fantastic run, Chris, both in terms of time/placing and the achievement of all the funds raised. I’d love to get hold of a copy of The English Home – I will look out for it in town. x
Chris Stovell said…
Thank you, Clare, but it's thanks to people like you who gave me such fantastic support that helped me get there. Thank you. Cx

Popular posts from this blog

My First Book Signing!

It’s a fine, dry day and there’s an Italian market in the square outside Waterstone’s. Good for a book signing? ‘Bad,’ says Tim. The stalls are blocking the view of the shop and the fine weather’s keeping everyone outdoors. Hmm, that must be why they’ve only put one small poster up for my event, I mean why waste the Blu Tack? Tim demonstrates handing off the marauding hordes After much refolding of a black tablecloth and a rummage around for some books, I’m invited to take up my position at the author table somewhere between ‘fantasy and horror’, children’s books and a poster of the next author, Bobby ‘Iron Duke’ Windsor who’s signing on Monday. Once Tom, Lily, my lovely daughter, and her partner, Russ, are all sure I’m not going to run away, they leave me to it, taking it in turns to make sure I’m all right and bring me tea. Very soon, I notice a small boy watching me. When he returns with his family I learn that he would like to be a writer. His method, he tells me, is to rewr...

A Winter's Tale

Thursday 2 December Feeling confined in her snow-muffled flat, Ma takes a walk up her front path to take the morning air. As she returns a cat jumps over the wall and startles her. She slips on the icy path and lands heavily on her shoulder. When her injury doesn’t spontaneously heal, she eventually gives in and calls her local GP surgery. In the evening a GP visits and summons an ambulance ‘sooner rather than later’. Around 10.30 pm Ma is admitted to her local hospital. X-rays suggest she has a fractured scapula which will require emergency surgery. She is put on a nil by mouth regime that night and transferred to a larger hospital for an emergency operation. However, she’s picked a busy period for her accident so the operation doesn’t take place. Saturday 4 December The operation is rescheduled for this morning, so Ma’s had a second night of nil by mouth. A CT scan shows that Ma’s humerus is broken in four places. Despite her obviously smashed-up arm, which is in a sling and...

Forever Young

Looking at the blurb for my new Lacura WrinkleStop from Aldi, I see that its active ingredient has been ‘proven to help • Reduce forehead wrinkles by 52% • Reduce crow’s feet by 24% • Restrict 82% of wrinkle muscle activity’ That’s quite a claim, isn’t it? Frankly, after years when my face looked like a lunar landscape thanks to the joys of acne, these days I’m just grateful to see a fairly blemish-free skin. Part of me wants to believe that the wonder cream’s making everything looking a bit smoother and tidier, but, hey, there’s also a lot of ‘aqua’ and ‘glycerin’ in the stuff, too. Besides, I could tamper with my skin as much as I like (and I don’t), but I’ve only got to stand next to my beautiful daughters to see the difference. Ma has wonderful skin, so the chances are there are some helpful genes in the mix, but my dad died far too young of cancer, so it’s not all good news. My dad was a carpenter. ‘You can’t get age from a tin, Miss Chris,’ he’d say when rubbing his hands o...