Sue's Sports Starter by Sue_Thearle

Well even though I appear to have come up with brilliantly ingenious ways of trying to get out of running the Hairy Haggis Celebrity Relay – I am now just 72 hours away from the big Edinburgh off and still in one piece. My latest trick, it seems, is to drop things on my feet, which now summer is here and everything, means potential disaster as I am currently sporting a selection of rather super open-toed sandals. I managed to flail for a jumbo jar of marmite on Tuesday which fell, in slow motion, onto my left foot.

It landed on an area of which I am sure will develop into an attractive bunion in my later years and the whole family held its collective breath. With the children sitting in the room waiting patiently for their Shepherd’s Pie, I had to tailor my response accordingly. “Oh……………..blast,” I muttered quietly as I hobbled off to get some ice. But no bones broken and happy days. And then yesterday it was my son’s robot, which landed on my right big toe….. Ouchie, as I say to the children. Again happily no lasting damage, so I have thus far, avoided a Dave Beasant moment (for those of you far too young and groovy to remember, he was a goalkeeper who managed to rupture ankle ligaments in the process of dropping a bottle of salad cream on his foot)….

So notwithstanding falling jars of stuff and an ash cloud that looks like it has drifted away for the time being, I will make the start line. Alas two of my teammates have fallen by the wayside and so the team now consists of my good self, Gregor Townsend and chef Alan Murchison, who is running a half marathon for our relay team, before heading off to finish the whole race. Gregor will then do 8 miles, before handing over to yours truly for the final errr sprint finish…… So after the galloping gourmet and the British Lion we have Sue the Cyclone Thearle….. Hmmmm perhaps not.

However the training has gone pretty well so fingers crossed the temperature won’t hit 90 on Sunday and I will be able to bring it home without heat exhaustion. But whatever happens I am pretty sure I will be in better shape at 21 miles, than most of my fellow runners and for that reason alone, I have no complaints. So wish me well dear chums, once more into the breach and all that…….I’ll see you on the other side…..

www.justgiving.com/Sue-Thearle