I did it!!

And in a very respectable 36 mins, which is actually a personal best for me. Please ignore the the red sweaty mess in the photo above :) It was soooo hot today especially when the sun was out. This was the first time I had run the Holme Pierrepont course and have to say that I preferred it to the Victoria Embankment one that I normally do. The course was set round the huge lake and as expected it was packed.

It felt a little strange being on my own to race but C was there to stand with me until the warm up and then he went and positioned himself at the finish line. I happily joined in the warm up and didn't feel on my own as there were lots of groups of ladies around me laughing and chatting and once it was time for the start I felt quite humbled and emotional. Such an uplifting experience but so sad to read all the back signs with Mothers, Daughters, Father's, Sons, Aunts, Uncles and friends who had been lost to Cancer. Anne (my Mam's best friend) was in my mind as I passed the start line.

I had noted what time I passed over the start line, and was quite surprised at my time as I crossed over the finish line. As always I received a medal, a goody bag and a well needed bottle of water.

C gave me a congratulatory hug and we walked slowly back to the car. After scoffing the Special K bites that were in the goody bag and gulping the water down we headed for home. My legs felt a little wobbly this afternoon but that didn't matter. I felt a sense of pride today, £370 going to a most worthy cause and I would do it again. Sorry rephrase that, will be doing it again. A huge thank you to all of the people that sponsored me, I am very grateful.

A good day indeed :D

Race for Life 2011

Tomorrow I will be taking part in the Holme Pierrepont Race for Life. Unfortunately this year I will be doing it on my own, however I'm sure I will be able to coach myself round the course no problem. C will be there to watch me set off and arrive over the finish line (in a reasonable time I hope). If you would like to support Cancer Research and sponsor me for taking part in the race there is a link in my side bar to the right. Even if you can only spare a couple of £ its all going to go to a fantastic cause and hopefully a cure one day.

I'm doing quite well so far with sponsors, a very generous donation from my Dad and lots of sponsors from my workplace which is nice. The weather report for tomorrow is suggesting it might be as high as 23 degrees.....shhhheessshh I think there is a danger I might melt into a pile of mush!!! :) So here is hoping for a little bit of cloud.

Wish me luck!

Taking part, what do you think?

After not taking part in last years Race for Life after a 5 year run of raising funds, I knew that this year there was no way I was missing it. And the fact that I could do with a little exercise is added motivation.

So on my return from Bath on Monday I signed up to take part in the Holme Pierrepont race on 31st July at 11am. I have started collecting sponsors from the day job and have set up an online page too. There are always 'Donation Stations' at the event where you can donate your unwanted good quality clothes and home ware, so I've been keeping all the bits and bobs that I usually take to the Charity shops in a box to take along on the day.

As an added boost I thought of maybe doing an auction or raffle on my blog. I have a load of stock which I no longer sell through my website. I wanted to get your opinion as I wasn't sure which way to go with it. One option could be to list it all individually on a blog post with a donation value, if you wanted to buy it you would email me and I would list it as reserved you could then make the donation. Or I could group them up into 3 packages and then hold an auction/raffle. A raffle will mean you make a donation of an amount and I would draw a winner from the donations, an auction would obviously be bids the highest would win. Would anyone be interested???

For anyone who is interested here is my online sponsor page : www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/emma-castle

Back to sewing tomorrow after a well deserved break :)