Rolling Back The Years

There are black clouds gathering above Manchester as the morning of the Great Manchester 10k dawns and we head up the motorway. The dogs and I are supporting, L and Daughter are running. The things people agree to when their guard is down.

Daughter has promised not to swear (much) but even so L arrives with her ‘tin hat’ at the ready. Oddly no one seems to know what a ‘tin hat’ is, simply assuming L is doing the race in VE Day themed fancy dress.

Daughter manages to park us in a single carriageway alley right in the middle of Manchester which we totally block but apparently this is fine because she works there. It proves to be fine.

The girls are in one of the later waves so don’t trouble the likes of Betsy Saina, Gemma Steel, Stephen Mokoka, Bernard Lagat or the great Haile Gebrselassie. They all get a head start.

The rain holds off (it wouldn't dare) and the support crew head out to do some serious cheering (and barking) at the 1k point and then the 9k point. Daughter seems to be grimacing a smile as she passes.

Doggo manages a jog from the 9k point, you can see him rolling back the years (in his mind at least) and I reckon he could have probably kept going all the way to the line on Deansgate had Daughter not shot him an evil look that dared him to overtake her. We’d also have probably had to administer CPR to him.

We rendezvous afterwards by ‘the man with the tin foil balloons’, unfortunately we’re at different balloon sellers but we get that sorted eventually.

We head to the Stoker Arms for Sunday lunch, where the guest ale is from Nottingham in the form of Navigation Apus.

When we get back home I calm L down with several OP's in the Peacock.

(Sunday 10^th May)