Sally Gunnell's blog by Sally_Gunnell

I can feel the warm sun on my back and there’s hardly a cloud in the sky; is this the same month that brought us such a deluge of windy rain last week? Apparently… I’m watching my eldest son compete in the South East Schools Cross Country Championships. He’s not happy. There are two reasons: 1; His younger brother has just won his race against boys a year older (the third year in a row that he’s come first); he did it with no training whatsoever. And 2; He’s in the older age bracket and they have to run a lot further, which he clearly doesn’t fancy! We’ll see what happens. One thing’s for sure; he won’t want to listen to his brother bragging about being the only one of them at the National Championships.

On an entirely separate note, do you have a list of things to do before you die? I’ve certainly got some ticks to put in boxes in the next few years. But one I didn’t have on my list was wearing an expensive diamond necklace. I suppose being a farmer’s daughter and a school-run mum, it’s never really crossed my mind. But I did it the other day. Half a million pounds’ worth of rocks round my neck! I was doing an Olympic related photo shoot for BA’s in-flight magazine. They were taking off one of those Vanity Fair photos, featuring a load of athletes in fine clothes. I was lucky enough to get my face and hair done by some seriously good professionals.

I was then handed a Katherine Walker dress; it was so beautiful that I was already feeling a million dollars. Then came the crowning glory; the diamonds. Two burly security guards appeared with a box; they opened it, we all gasped. Half a million pounds’ worth of diamonds look pretty good, I can tell you. I put them on. They were so heavy! And they looked beautiful, setting off my dress perfectly. Sorry, it’s all getting a bit girly! It wasn’t that girly in reality, mainly because Linford Christie was there. He’s so funny (and so rude) that we were all laughing in a very “blokey” way. Roger Black was there with Kris Akabusi, Iwan Thomas and Christine Ohuruogu.

The photographer deserved a medal; we were supposed to be all stern and serious, but as you might imagine, we were tittering and mucking about like schoolkids. And then, another experience to tick off the list; losing your diamonds. The security guards took them back and into the box they went. I’ve heard women say you feel naked with no diamonds on, but always thought it was a bit silly. Not any more. Less than two hours after losing my rocks, I was at the school parents’ evening with my kids. People were looking at me and smiling and I suddenly realized I was still sporting my fancy hairdo and make-up. Slightly different from the “school-run scarecrow” look that they usually get…

There’s been a fair bit of stuff in the press about athletes and endorsements recently, with lots of comment around British athletes and how they’re dealing with the biggest year of their lives. There’s been some suggestion that certain athletes are getting paid lots of money “and they haven’t won anything yet.” It’s got me thinking. I remember only too well how difficult it was to train and make ends meet; there was nowhere near as much money flying about when I was competing. So, I needed a job with a very understanding employer who was prepared to let me have time off to race. I fitted training in around a working day, as did many of my mates at the time.

A friend asked if it annoyed me that today’s athletes seem to have it so much easier. It doesn’t annoy me at all; if we’re honest, we’d all do the same and take the money on offer. The real question is whether our boys and girls can stay focused. When you sign on the line to endorse a product or service, you’re buying into an easier financial situation, but you’re also signing away a lot of your time; you’ll be traveling to and from London (in most cases) to do photo shoots, film clips and the like; all of that takes valuable time out of your training schedule.

Then, there’s the media circus and the interview circuit; everybody wants a piece of you, which is fantastic for you and your sport. But again, it takes time. And that’s the most precious thing an athlete has right now. A lot of the athletes I’ve chatted with seem to be keeping their feet firmly on the ground, which is good news. I think they realize that this whole situation is a one-off rather than normal life. It’ll only carry on if they deliver in the summer. I really hope that they all live by the following mantra: “Take the opportunities, but keep your eye on the prize”. It’s a difficult balance and in many ways it’s no easier for them than it was for me; I faced different pressures, sure, but they had just as much potential to knock me off course. Let’s hope the Class of 2012 stays strong and focused!

Meanwhile, my middle son has surprised us all by getting selected to play for one of the high profile football teams in our area. He decided last year that he was a goalkeeper. He enjoys playing there, but it’s fair to say that nobody at our friendly, local club had picked him out as a future Peter Schmeichel! Anyway, he went along to a training event at this bigger club a while ago, told them he was a keeper and had a great day out. They asked him to sign for them, which bowled us over to say the least. The emphasis is on having fun, which of course is the only thing that matters at this tender age, so we’ll see how he gets on. It’s good for him to have some new experiences, so we’ll go with it for now. We won’t be signing any expensive endorsement deals just yet, though…

Here we are in Olympic year! After seven long years of waiting, the Games are almost upon us. For the first time, I’m hitting January and thinking; “Great! It’s a new year!” Normally I’d be pulling myself together and trying not to moan about the weather. I’ve got no right at all to complain about the wind and rain that has battered my poor old house over the last few days. Because for the first time as a mum, I spent Christmas with my family away from home in much warmer climes. We were lucky enough to be invited by Royal Caribbean to enjoy a cruise from Florida to Mexico, via Haiti and Jamaica. Non-stop sunshine and so much for the kids to do. Jon and I felt able to relax and let them get on with their own fun; quite a rare treat with three very lively boys.

There were 5,000 people on board, but the ship was so vast and the service so good that it never felt like that. Those crew members earn their money, let me tell you. The only disappointment for my youngest was not seeing Captain Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl; I said that perhaps they were pillaging elsewhere on the high seas and that we couldn’t expect them to catch a modern ship with their sailing boat. Christmas Day itself was spent in a seaside house on the Floridian coast. I’d been quite unsure about being away from home, but I needn’t have worried. Some of Jon’s family joined us and made it feel properly festive. We had a tree with stockings under it, a very early morning and a long day enjoying all the little presents that Santa brought.

Best of all was the Christmas Day swim; I’ve heard people talk about it, but I never thought I’d do it! That plus a sirloin steak BBQ made it a very different, but very enjoyable day. The highlight of the whole trip was running bare footed on the beach. It feels so different running like that. The sand was just right – not too soft, not too hard – and even Jon noticed that I was beasting it. I just felt so great. A long, sandy beach, no people in sight; what more could you want? Even the two massive blisters I got under my big toes didn’t spoil it for me! Despite all the running, I managed to put on some serious weight, due mainly to a daily breakfast of pancakes and maple syrup. Oh and a margarita in mid-afternoon!

When we first arrived, the pancake stack looked impossibly huge; by the last day, I was eating the lot without batting an eyelid. Yum! And now it’s back to reality. But like I said, this year is a very special one, so although the diary is mad from now until September, it’s going to be a year that we’ll all remember. I’d like to think that by the time the Olympics actually arrive, I’ll have lost the excess poundage I picked up in Florida. And on that note, I’m off to paddle down the lane in my running shoes…now where’s my wetsuit??

When I arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, to take part in the Action Aid 10k run, I knew things would be a little different from my usual race experiences. There were the obvious factors like the heat and the thinner air (we were at altitude), meaning that a fast time wasn’t really on the agenda. In fact, it turned out to be the slowest 10k I’ve ever done! There were 36,000 people on the start line wearing red t-shirts. We were all milling around, waiting for the start, when suddenly, we were off…well, sort of. It seemed like I’d gone 100m when the runners ahead of me all stopped to have a boogie to the band playing at the side of the road. I thought “OK. Time to get dancing.”

And so it went on; we jogged round a few hundred potholes before stopping again to have a little dance to a band, or chat with people at the side of the road. I found myself running alongside a donkey on more than one occasion, which was a new experience for me. I’m not sure race organisers in the UK would make of the arrangements in Addis Ababa, but I have to say it was a fantastic experience – one I’ll never forget. Running in Ethiopia is massive, because if you make it to the top, you escape the grinding poverty that most people are stuck in. I went to the home of one of the sport’s greatest role models, Haile Gebrselassie. He and I both won our World Championship events back in 1993, but amazingly, he’s still going!

He’s treated like a king in his home country, yet he’s a kind, humble and warm man. He made me feel very at home and I must say I learned a lot about displaying trophies; he has a massive room full of his awards, cups and medals. It’s like a sort of mini-museum. Mine, on the other hand, all sit in a cupboard in the house! I got the chance to see what Action Aid have been doing out in the rural communities of Ethiopia. They’ve built schools and health centres, which have made a huge difference to people’s lives. I met one lady at a clinic who used to have to do a round trip on foot of nearly 6 hours to get help. Now, she’s there within an hour, thanks to Action Aid’s new centre. Great work!

I came home to the Sports Personality of the Year controversy; this year’s list of potential winners contains not one single woman. Pretty surprising, when you consider the great females out there, winning championships and medals. I wonder whether it’s time to look at the voting structure. By all means, give magazines like Nuts and Zoo a vote, but why not give votes to some female magazines too? We need strong, healthy female role models to inspire young girls to get into sport – or at least to aspire to be fit and healthy. All of the guys on the list are great performers, of course, so we mustn’t take anything away from them. But personally, I’d like to be able to consider a female candidate, rather than be asked to choose only from a list of men.