PRETTY MUDDY RACE FOR LIFE.
On Saturday 31st May I took part in the Pretty Muddy Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research. To say I’m no athlete would be this year’s biggest understatement - the only time you’ll find me running is if I hear the ice cream van coming down the street.But Cancer touches all of our lives at some point and this year it’s been my time to show it exactly who the boss is. My mum, sister, aunty, cousin and I (along with their friends and family) joined forces and signed up for the race. None of us really knew what to expect, but it didn’t really matter, we all had our reasons to participate.The day of the race came along sooner than I anticipated and as I got ready that morning, I felt the knots building in my tummy.What if I couldn’t do it?What if I let my family down?I soon snapped out of it when we got in to the car and sang along to the Smiths for the 2 hour journey to Reading.There is nothing quite like participating in a charity event – every single person that is there is there for the same reason and the energy that buzzed through the incredible atmosphere was like nothing I’d ever experienced. I don’t remember a time when I constantly smiled for hours straight, simply because everyone in my surroundings were making me happy, just by being.A lot of people are too scared to participate in ‘runs’, whether they feel too self-conscious about their weight or the fact that they aren’t proper runners, the list is endless. I was petrified, I have a weird phobia of people thinking I smell when I work out...we've all got our things, right?On that Saturday there was every type of person you could possibly think of and no-one was judging. We were all there to have fun, whether that meant taking the race seriously and running the entire 5k or walking and enjoying the sunshine, it didn’t matter, not one bit.I knew I’d want to run, not all the way (see above, re: ice cream) but enough to make me feel like my body had worked hard. There is nothing like a great moment in life, that really made you sweat. That probably sounds gross, but it’s true and really quite liberating. Mum, Lily and I all used Mitchum’s 48 hour Anti-Perspirant and deodorant which gave us the confidence to get stuck in, sweat buckets and not have to worry about being stinky! Once that was taken care of, there really was no excuse for me to be self conscious, and as it goes...Rolling around in the mud with my family, and feeling confident about letting others see me exercise was something I never thought I’d enjoy, but it turns out it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.
