One foot after the other... by hardinguk

This Sunday is my first race (Tunbridge Wells half marathon) and every now and then I am getting memory flashes of everything I should be doing before the race...

• Race t-shirt sponsored by mOma foods?  - Arrived in the post yesterday.
• Energy stores? - Pasta, pasta, pasta and a little more pasta for good measure.
• Taper running? - 2 short runs and stop/full rest 2 days before.
• Race Day Routine? - get there early, banana 20 mins before, stretch, warm up & VAS UP

The last point being the most essential of them all "VAS UP".

Anyone who has been to the start of a running event will see the strange but vital ritual of runners cracking open tubs of vaseline and rubbing it in places best left undescribed. The consequenses of not doing this are not worth thinking about. Until you have had a bad run/rub-in with Joggers Nipple or chaffing burns from your running shorts you simply cannot imagine how dibilitating it can be. So many times we have seen casulaties with John Wayne legs or hunched shoulders and stooping to stop any sort of contact between nipples and clothing. Get a friction burn on your nipple or down below and life becomes a world of hurt.

So today's "Top Tip" is VAS UP and don't be shy about it.

I have a number of people coming to support me on Sunday. Sponsorship has blasted through my target and looks likely to reach £6,000 + gift aid by the time the London Marathon arrives.

Thanks again to everyone and I hope to finish in 2 1/4 hours. It is a tough course and the weather looks like rain.......great.