Thirteen miles to go at the start line of the race
It’s a marathon not a sprint, so I set a steady pace
Actually it’s half of that but let’s not get pedantic
It’s lit-er-ally figurative, no need to stress semantics

But if we’re being honest, I’m in it for the cash
I wore a giant hood, pockets sewn in for stash
Jogging on my slight-of-hand picked pockets full of goods
Taxing the rich to give to the poor as I ran the robbin’ hood

The last mile was the hardest, hood laden down with loot
Three Rolexes and piles of change, and one designer boot
But all this for a good cause, for the children in the woods
To raise some cash and have a laugh I ran the Robin Hood

Of course it's just a story, if you read my earlier verse
You'll see my tale is metaphorical, a simple play on words
But Robin Hood raised money for those less fortunate than him
And running for a charity means everybody wins!

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I did it everybody! I completed the half marathon today. I feel wrung out but satisfied. During my one previous half marathon 15 years earlier (it took me 15 years to recover) I didn’t train properly and I walked some of the distance. This time I set myself the target of jogging the whole way, no matter how slowly (slow and steady is my mantra), and I did it! It’s an amazing feeling (sore legs and giant blisters aside). I don’t know how it’s possible to feel exhausted and restlessly euphoric at the same time, but that’s how it feels!

One thing I was totally unprepared for was the emotion of it all. I’d been told people lined the streets to cheer you on, but I didn’t think much about it, but I’m not sure I would have made it without the support of all those lovely people.

I’ve never high fived so many kids, there were children holding home made signs to slap for a power up, families dishing out sweets, marshals with water and constant encouragement, other runners supporting each other and people cheering my name as I ran: it didn’t even matter that it wasn’t my name! (I ran in place of a friend so my bib had her name on it). I came close to tears on a few occasions, as I was overwhelmed by the support of all these people who patiently lined the streets to cheer on total strangers. It was pretty special.

I spend a lot of time thinking about the energy in the world. My other half harbours suspicions that I’ve lost the plot, with my consistent meditation practice and book reading on raising my vibration, but one thing was clear from my run today: the energy we put out into the world matters. The positive energy, the love and the kindness that all those people were giving out today made such a difference to me. I soaked it up like a sponge and it kept me going to the end. I might not run a half marathon again, but you’ll find me on the side lines next year cheering the runners on and trying to repay some of the kindness that was shown to me today.

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Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this weeks Sunday rhyme time.

If you’d like to donate to Wild Things Forest School which is the charity I ran for then please follow this link to their crowdfunding page, where you’ll be able to find out more about all the good work they do with inner city children and refugee children in Nottinghamshire.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/wild-things-ecological-education-collective

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