United we Stand..A Momentous Day, Part 1

Saturday September 5th 2015 will forever be remembered by the Marathon Mary's. On that momentous day we completed the 5K we had spent 10 weeks training for. I was excited and nervous that morning and had an omelette for breakfast and my usual good coffee, and strolled out the back door for some fresh air, only to here GASP say " If you come out to the year I'll give you a bit " ! Well, I thought...has he no respect for the pre race ban on sexual activity???...turns out he was talking to the bullock peering over the ditch at the back of the house, and was referring to a bucket of meal ..... GASP took off with the two boys to have his car NCT done ,so I had some time to mentally prepare myself for the day ahead, thoughts of Heart Attack Hill invading my brain. I drove to BMM's house, on that very hill, to collect my t shirt and race number ( no.114) and realised the next time I climbed it would be on foot....gulp ! The Marathon Mary's looked totally fab in their matching luminous yellow t shirts and I was greeted by a Jaffa Cake and smile...a good start. There was a serious buzz at the clubhouse as we proceeded down to the pitch for a final mass warm up. Gentle Gary and the Silver Fox took the lead and we had soon increased our heart rates and were ready for the off. Pacts were formed between Mary's who matched in pace to stick together ,and off we headed to the start. Sonia O'Sullivan strode past like a running goddess, at which point I realised this was serious ! The cold chill had left the air to be replaced by glorious warm sunshine, so the BG was in a lather in her long sleeved rash vest. With assistance and advice from myself and Trotting Tara, she removed the article from beneath her t shirt with the expertise of a woman who had stripped before, and threw her undergarment to my startled, yet happy husband...the hussy ! And off we went !
The BG, Trotting Tracey and myself as a giggling threesome and Cantering Clare and MILF Mullarkey as a twosome . Ahead of us we could see the "real runners" racing off as we took it handy, recited Gentle Gary's advice of starting slowly and we were well on our way. We were overtaken by a woman pushing a buggy and a 70 year old man with a limp, but nonetheless felt that we deserved to be there . 1k came and went, 2 k marked by a balloon just past Lynch's, grabbed a plastic cup of water at about 2.5k and in my effort not to stop running, managed to spill half of it down my front while gulping the welcome refreshment. Then we rounded the bend and up ahead she lay...Heart Attack Hill. Oh boy ! Ok girls, here we go I uttered, as Trotting Tracey reminded us of Gentle's words to lean in and move your arms...so we did...and we climbed it ! It helped that GASP and the 2 boys were half way up at BMM's house cheering us on and making me smile. All I could think of was the downhill section to come and was so delighted to have managed the hill, felt ready for anything. Poor Trotting Tracey at this point felt somewhat nauseous, either that or it was an effort to gain attention from the man mountain that is Big Brendan, who was the steward at the top. She beckoned me on, like a dying mountaineer, who did not want to hinder her fellow man and slowed to a slower pace until she felt able to ramp up her speed again. I was trotting along happily, when I heard my name called only to find Trotting and the BG, freshfaced and smiling at my hind quarter. Like the 3 Musketeers ( Stooges ???) we saluted and dug in to finish the last kilometre. Trotting Tracey seemed to have completely regained her composure ,just as I was losing mine, and suddenly grabbed our hands , beckoned a 4th Musketeer Courageous Conlon ,and together we ran, and I mean ran, the final 200 yards...till I thought I would die ! We crossed the line, cheered on by the crowd, panting, sweating and beaming in 36 minutes and 28 seconds and the feeling was INCREDIBLE ! I was ecstatic. What a feeling. Happily we drank our Capri Sun's and turned to cheer on the Mary's still running down towards the finish. Then, out of the mist ( bare with me !) came a sight I will never forget. One of the Mary's, Galloping Glass, had sustained a knee injury back up at the top of Heart Attack Hill. The Silver Fox and Gentle Gary ran back up the last kilometre having finished the race to assist her down and over the line. Well, let me tell you, there wasn't a Marathon Mary there that did not fall in love at that moment with those two gentlemen. Bravo ! My knees went week, but for a moment , obviously affected by the Adrenaline ( and possibly Oestrogen ) I suddenly thought that the bitch could have faked it, just to get Gentle Gary's arms around her.....oh yes, I checked that she was truly injured, and satisfied that she was in fact in agony, conceded that she deserved his attention and marvelled at her having crossed the line...epic.
Proud, tired and elated we made our way to the group photo with Sonia O'Sullivan, who looked somewhat threatened by us...we make for quite a imposing group ! We laughed and smiled and happily headed off, safe in the knowledge we would be back together that evening for the party...and what a night it turned out to be ........ !