Last weekend was Sport Relief weekend, if you hadn't noticed. Sam and me did our bit and headed off to Norwich to run our mile.
The weather this year was super, blue sky, warm breeze, lovely. Two years ago was so different, when it was torrential rain in the teeth of a gale. Sam was excited and hoping to beat his previous time of 12 minutes 45 seconds....whether he did or not he had £55 sponsor money resting on his shoulders.
We set off on the stroke of half past ten, and Sam zoomed off immediately. He had wanted to line up in the front row, and I couldn't see a problem with that. After a quarter of a mile the course turned a right angle around a park, and we waved cheerily at each other across the grass, before Sam got his head down and powered off again. I was expecting to find him bent over, hands on knees, a-puffing and a-blowing, around the next corner, but the next corner came and went, and the next, and the next, with no sign of him apart from the occasional flash of red in the distance.
Eventually I turned into the home straight and there he was, waiting for me at the finish line (see above). As you can see from the clock, I finished in 9 minutes 5 seconds. Sam made it in 8:15, which I think is pretty impressive for a six-year-old. Well done son!
Sam finished 13th from our wave of starters, but was beaten by the Blues Brothers. Dad finished much further back, and was overtaken by a giant banana.
Sam was delighted with his run, delighted with his medal, and happy to have raised money for a good cause. Later, at a family christening, Auntie Lou and Cas boosted his total to an impressive £70, great work young man!
If you sponsored Sam, thanks very much, if you didn't, there's still time:
Can't wait for the 2012 event!
