Marathon Viewing

Went into London with various family members to watch the men's Olympic marathon. While Hoggy tried to work out the best place to watch the race, the rest of us amused ourselves.

When we arrived at Paddington, Hoggy told Aidan that if he ran at the wall on the platform it would open up and let him through, as in Harry Potter. Aidan gave him 'the look' and told him not to be so stupid, everyone knows that's at Charring Cross. I'm not quite sure what Hoggy was hoping for.

We sat on the Embankment and watched the runners flash past. Once again, there was a great atmosphere with thousands of people lining the route three-deep and all cheering and waving flags.

Hoggy with London skyline

Scarey Sis and Nephew Aidan

Cousin Rachael

I liked the bank of photographers on the back of a truck focusing their lenses on the lead runners - a bunch of Kenyans and a lone Ugandan who eventually won his country's only medal. We had a couple of Brits competing and they received a resounding response, but there were lots of cheers and support for everyone.

Cousin Rachael commented that she forgot how many non-English people there are in London, particularly at weekends and events - I love London; it's such a cosmopolitan city!

Photographers in action!

Waving the flag(s)

Week 26: Keep on running...

We are halfway through the year - which means we have passed the shortest day in this hemisphere. Things will get brighter and the nights will get lighter, which all sounds good to me. Meanwhile, one of the chaps at work has developed a sort of lamb cartel. He goes down to the market and buys a side of lamb, then gets it butchered into bits and weighs it up in the staffroom. By the looks of things, it's man's work!

The Harbour Capital Marathon was run in near perfect conditions - relatively still, for Wellington, and the temperatures remained cool without being bitterly cold.

I cycled round the bays (on a wonderfully closed-to-cars road) to the turnaround point for the half marathon. I got there before the runners came through so it was peaceful. The marshals from the Wellington Marathon Clinic were friendly and cheerful, and when the runners did come through, they were full of enthusiastic support.

The runners came first in a trickle which mounted to a flood. I cheered for Him Outdoors, friends, colleagues, and complete strangers.

I love the expressions of commitment and focus from these runners. As I cycled home, I passed people at the back of the marathon who were on the homeward stretch. I acknowledged all of them because they deserve support. From the winners to the ones who set PBs; to everyone who tried and trained and pulled on a number and completed a race, congratulations!

If you feature in any of these photos and would like a copy, leave me a comment and I'll get the image to you.