I have been so busy of late that I haven't had chance to catch up on many of the posts so I'll start by congratulating all of the new graduates and newcomers to C25K and encouragement aplenty for all of you going through the program.
Most of you I am sure will already know but, for those of you who don't, I lost my husband to cancer in March of this year. Although he couldn't/didn't run he was my absolute rock and support, coming with me to some lovely places to run while he acted as my driving support and did some photography on the way. Anyway, we decided that I would do the Race for Life for Cancer Research and he was really looking forward to seeing me complete it and was so proud of all my running achievements. Sadly that was not to be.
So many of you on here have helped me through my C25K journey to graduation and beyond. Running seemed to be the only thing that kept me sane and has become my solace and sine qua non.
Last Sunday I did the Anglesey Walkathon with my daughter, something she too had signed up for before Derek died. So I decided to join her and we walked our very first marathon together. What an amazing walk that was. I was so proud of her and I know Derek would have been too.
Yesterday I did the Race for Life for which so many of you sponsored me. I was amazed and humbled by the generosity of people I had never met but who had become my virtual friends and running buddies. I had run this route several times with Derek but yesterday was the first time I have revisited any of the places where we went together for my running so it was an incredibly emotional event for me and probably the hardest run I have ever done. I just want to thank you all for your incredible support and say what a wonderful community this is!
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!
In total I have raised £1,268 for Cancer Research and a very large proportion of that is down to you wonderful folk on here.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. xxx
Written by
hilbean
Graduate
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congratulations on completing the race for life, that must have been really hard with all the emotions attached to the event and the past few months , i'm sure Derek would have been really proud of you and all you have achieved. what an amazing tribute to him, very well done Hilbean x
Thanks PP. I have to admit I shed a tear or two at the end. I was so glad I had family there to meet me at the end otherwise I would probably have been a total mess! xx
Congratulations on a wonderful achievement. I'm very sorry for your loss, sounds like you have had some wonderful support on here and long may it continue. Xx
You absolutely are an inspiration. Cannot imagine how intense and difficult your run must've been and you are so beautifully positive. I'm sure your husband would be extremely proud. You're incredibly strong. Xxx
Thanks TTF. He was in my heart the whole way round and I kept thinking of the time when we were there together and whilst running I saw a kingfisher sitting on the edge of the straits and hoping he got to see it. He did and took a photo of it too. Shared moments even when we weren't physically in the same space. The memory kept me going anyway even though it is bittersweet xx
That's a lovely warm thought, the shared-but-separate moments thing, though I'm sure it aches like an absolute b**ch as well. I can only hope that when life throws me a grim bit I can respond with half your grace and strength. Xxx
Don't worry! I've been keeping the company of a certain Mr Jack Daniels tonight which may well be making my tongue a little looser than normal (and I'm not talking about the trainer!) Very unusual for me I must say as I'm generally virtually teetotal! But hey, something's gotta give!
Trainers are great now thanks. Took a bit to break them in but that's just because I have funny shaped feet Will definitely do some more Race for Life runs!
It must of been hard to complete the race for life. You are an inspiration. It is lovely that you and your daughter could do an event together, such an accomplishment. As things go quieter in the next few months remember you have a great support of running buddies here when you need them.
I've got tears rolling down cheeks right now. You are a very brave and wonderful lady. I too ran RFL at the weekend and you have reminded me yet again how important this charity is.
I've just read your post and I'm sorry I missed it before. Love the pictures and your Westie is absolutely gorgeous! You did so well to complete your run in such good time especially given how hard the course was!
I will certainly run again next year. It is such a devastating disease, even for survivors. When you witness at first hand the effects of chemo, and even your oncologist apologises that they haven't found anything more effective yet, it really brings home the importance of finding some other way of treating it.
I know it's sadly too late for you and Derek, but I have been so excited to see the 3 brilliant news stories this week about real advances in cancer treatment. I suspect we will all be long gone by the time they find a 'cure', but all those races for life are helping bring effective treatments much closer, and you are a complete star for going through with it after what you've been through this year. You ARE an inspiration. xxx
Thanks useit. It IS exciting and it's what we both hoped for. In reality we both knew it would probably all come too late for Derek (but you have to hope don't you) but we have children and grandchildren for whom we need to fight as do so many other people. And I will keep racing for life xx
I wholeheartedly agree, I've lost family to cancer and my mother had it even before chemo was available. There has been so much progress made over the years and even today they say there's another breakthrough. One day we will beat it completely but until then they need us women in pink to help any way we can.
Sorry to hear that Baileyb. It seems to affect an awful lot of people. I lost my mother and aunt to cancer too, plus a grandmother that died before I was born. Fortunately I have another aunt who survived it but it's quite scary how prevalent it is. Guess we just have to keep fighting xx
That was the hardest part on Saturday, hearing how many people have lost their fight and a lady who is currently fighting telling us her story, that was particularly hard to deal with. The most poignant thing she said was that she wanted to die with cancer and not of cancer well my bra bunny got a massive squeeze whilst I tried to hold it together. I lost my mum 45 years ago and cancer was fairly new and no one survived, from that time I've always supported. I then lost my mother-in-law a few years back so this charity has always been close to my heart. First time I've run though and it was tough physically and emotionally. I did the 5k this time I may try for 10 next year.
It certainly is a tough one. I saw someone who must have been in their late 20's/early 30's (was actually running behind them for a while) whose sign on her back simply just said 'For my son'. I had to run past her otherwise I would never have held it together! What a brave lady!
There were too many like that. I was behind a young lady who had mother husband and sister on her back. Too many by far. But the pink army is fighting back. What did you think of the dog tag bling?
Yes it was surprisingly nice and different. Bailey was wearing an official RFL dog bandana and he was the cutest dog there, but then I would say that. He's more into black and white whisky though. Accepts jd if pushed
Cheers! Well I timed it but very badly. Started timing it but we came to a complete standstill as there was a log jam going around the corner but then I forgot to turn the Garmin off when I'd finished. Reckon I did it in about 29 mins but that's a guesstimate really. I intend to go back and run it on my own some time soon.
Quicker than me, although rabbit holes, mole hills and hills in general slowed me down. Mine was approximately 43 mins but like you I had Garmin problems and nearly deleted my run by mistake!
Given that yours was a very hilly route and mine was dead flat I don't really think there's any comparison!! I certainly wouldn't have completed your route in that time
Oh hilbean you are such a courageous woman. Can't imagine how difficult things have been for you through Derek's illness and his recent death . He would have been so proud of you and your daughter Especially want to say thank you for finding the strength to still run for cancer research as I see the sometimes dreadful side effects of chemo and the drugs they use to fight cancer. It must have been so emotional to run that route but you did it and should be so proud of yourself.
Bless you. So pleased you managed to do that and your husband would be very proud of you. I ran my first Race for Life on Sunday and would never have been able to do that without the help and support of so many people, especially on here. It's a great group. Hope you are feeling OK today xxx
Congratulations again Hilary, that is such an incredible amount of money to raise, but it just reflects how moved we've all been to share this journey with you. You should be really proud of yourself, because we all are!
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Will definitely do some more Race for Life runs!
Wk5 R1 and Thank you 
Thank you....
Thank heavens I have you guys...
w4r2 YES!YES!YES! Thank You all!!!
Thank you C25K and all of you!!
