Hopetoun House 10k run for Cancer Research UK

Some months ago I was pushed into signing up to do a 10k run around the grounds of Hopetoun House near Edinburgh, to raise money for Cancer research UK, given the charity it didn't take me long to say yes.

Well, yesterday it had finally arrived, the day to do the 10k run.

Now for those who know me, I do not have a runners body nor a gym bunny body, despite me having a personal trainer now, Richard Kerrigan at the Newhaven David Lloyd gym, if anyone else wants to sign up for some decent (but evil) workouts.

So, yesterday morning at 6am the alarm woke me out of my slumber.  First job after feeding my girls, Loco and Taz was to make my porridge with blueberries.

Then I headed out to meet Beverley and Fiona to make our way to Hopetoun House.

We arrived at Hopetoun House and met up with Elspeth and then bumped into Jamie.  Graeme appeared out of nowhere to cheer us on just after the warm up.  The warm up was run by the personal trainer of Beyonce and Madonna. Not a patch on Richard.

So, just after 11am I crossed the start line, well it was 2 minutes and 4 seconds after 11am to be precise.

The grounds of Hopetoun House are stunning and at some point I really want to go and have a proper look round.

When you are jogging round you don't notice everything, up the hill around the lanes and then back up the Z hill and then downhill was where I made up a lot of time.

The worst part was between the 7k and 8k markers where as you turn towards the house, you realise you have to go back out towards the lake and around a few more twists and turns before you get onto the home straight.

As I approached the final turn, Graeme, Charles, Elspeth, Fiona, Beverley and Siobhan were there to give me a big cheer, in fact Beverley ran the last part with me.

I crossed the finish line at 1 hour and 19 minutes, so if I take the 2 minutes and 4 seconds off then that makes my race time 1 hour and 17 minutes for which I am extremely proud.

Finally a running blog for running

Following a challenge by text from Elspeth Finlay and Beverley Hope today I have entered a 10k run, in Edinburgh on 17th October.

Sadly, neither of the girls were actually going to do it unless I threw my hat in the ring, such is my power.

So, the gang of four - Elspeth Finlay, Beverley Hope, Fiona Lang and my good self will be hot footing around the gorgeously stunning Hopetoun House on the Cancer Research 10k run.

Starting in front of the stunning Hopetoun House the 10k route takes in the roads and paths of the picturesque venue. Utilising the beautiful grounds around the house it moves out onto the surrounding small farm roads circling the estate. Once back into the venue the route takes in much of the sloping estate grounds where you may see a deer or two on your way past the lying ruins of the historic Hopetoun Estate.

The ground underfoot is a mixture of flat road surfaces, mixed in with uneven soft ground, which take you over the hills and back into the leafy paths of Hopetoun House. This is a cross country route with a road race feeling.

I will therefore be using my running blog as a diary, or blog in the 138 days to the run on October 17th.  So watch and read about my progress over the coming four and a half months.

If you feel you can sponsor me, however small an amount, I am running for the Bobby Moore fund and I would greatly appreciate your support - you can sponsor me here.

The Bobby Moore Fund raises money for bowel cancer research in memory of Bobby Moore who died from the disease. The Fund was set up by Bobby's widow, Stephanie Moore MBE, in partnership with Cancer Research UK in 1993.

To date, the Fund has raised over £12 million pounds, which has the objective of raising money for cutting edge bowel cancer research, and raising awareness of its high risk symptoms. Thank you for helping to tackle bowel cancer.