As the events of the weekend show, sometimes you can give all that you have until there is pretty much nothing left to give and people can still treat you badly.
Manchester was good, whilst I was there completely on my own I did enjoy my own company. I long discovered life is not about about the place where you are, its the people you are with. I can go on holiday to Skegness and still have a great time if I go with people I want to be with and enjoy the company of. Whilst Manchester is a great city, without people who you love there or want to be with, its like any other place on the planet – lonely.
The Manchester 10k was a great achievement. The day was filled with emotion, and I dont believe I have been through so much of an emotional experience in a long time. The day started off with a text from Policeboy saying he had hurt himself and as such Thorpe Park would be off – I hate being right and predicting the future but hey it was inevitable. Saying that I did not let this get to me, and I carried on, this day wasnt about me but about the people out there who needed supporting and this event I was supporting was there to show that (as well as raise some money to help the people out there that need it). Warming up for the race was good fun, around 10,000 people following some “geezer” on a platform waving his hands about. We then all sang “You raise me up” which frankly almost had me in tears, especially looking around and seeing so many people there to do something for someone they love. Messages on the back of the t-shirts expressed why they were doing the race, some just had dates reading “Dad”, others pictures. At times I was really fighting back the tears.
Then we were off. I started pretty slow and aimed to ramp up over the course. But then I found myself behind a young lady who had a picture of a little girl on her back, saying she had died of brain cancer. Every time I saw something like this the tears would be suppressed and it would turn into anger and determination, every step would be a step for someone else out there who was suffering. Around half way around the course the tears started to get the better of me, and I admit I may have had a little cry then pulled myself together and pushed on harder, and faster. As much as I dont ever like to show emotion like this, sometimes it has its place.
I crossed the finish line in 55:07 and felt very happy that I had achieved something.
As for Policeboy… well lets just say sometimes its better to concentrate on your achievements in life and not dwell on your failures, especially where you have tried your best…. its not quitting its re-focusing on the more important aspects in life where there is an opportunity to achieve much more with people who deserve your time and effort.