Bristol Half

The day before was a bit of a rush trying to get the last of the gorilla suits ready. We had nearly everything, but one missing mask. David and I started the day 7:30 in the radio Bristol studio being interviewed by Ali Vowles. This was great fun and we also received £10 from her. It must cost them a fortune every time someone comes in raising money. Having said that, Ben Prater caught me for £10 for his London & Berlin marathons, so it looks like we’re even so far. I will have to try harder! However, it was also very humbling. The guests before us were an 11 year old girl and boy who were trying to get into a team to swim the English Channel. (I guess we should stop now, or find something extreme. Mucking about running kind of looks easy now, knowing what other people are up to.) There was one wonderful moment when Ali asked the boy what his chances were of making the final team. He said they were pretty good as the team manager was his mum! As they say, never work with children and animals! The animals were next on…

Anyway, back to the story. I left the studio and rushed to Clevedon to pick up a gorilla mask for Chris (oldest son). I was there by 9am, just to find they don’t open until 9:30. Oh well! 9:30 the shop opens: “One gorilla makes please.” “Sorry we stopped selling them last year.” “B*****.” Back to Bristol where I found a full gorilla hood in the shop in Kellaway Avenue. That took care of Saturday. Sunday: Chris and me are going to join the other 11,000 runners daft enough to pay £30 to run around Bristol. We arrived just in time for the photos with the fantastic St Peter’s Hospice team. Great fun and what a superb crowd. When I joined the queue for the loo, the others warmed up with Mr Motivator. He must be trying for the pantomime this year as he was dressed as one of the ugly sisters. We started the race near the back so we could go slowly and prise money out of the incredible crowds. We had great support all the way around the course, with people giving generously, with every penny counting. I must say, those that gave notes were particularly appreciated as the coins started to feel very heavy after the first mile! We were cheered all the way round the course from well-wishers, St Peter’s supporters (there were lots of them) and the course marshalls. The marshalls were brilliant, and it should never be forgotten that these kinds of events don’t happen without the time willingly given by these volunteers, so I would like to say a massive thanks to them.

David even said that one of the young lads helping at the drinks stations shouted to David that if he slowed down he would have put some money in David’s bucket. At this, David turned round and ran back to him to take him up on his offer. He gave a very generous £2, for which David was duly thankful.

Also a massive thank you to St Peter’s for all the support they gave to us and the other St Peter’s runners.

Sunday PM was easier. Shower, food, beer and then slept all the way through the rugby.

The Bristol crowds did us proud. We raised nearly £400 in loose change. The only problem was that when we finished we didn’t know what hurt more - arms or legs!

Mike

Running Gorillas

Mike and I are running the Bristol Half dressed as Gorillas. Mike has run the Bristol Half as a gorilla for the last couple of years when raising money for his Marathon des Sables challenge. We thought we would use this tactic again to help raise funds for St Peter's Hospice this year. We've had a lot of interest from the local press about our TransAlp challenge. So with us running the Bristol Half dressed as gorillas, we had a press photo call on Sunday. We met up with the photographer at Ashton Court at 10.00. We thought it might be quiet there, but we received quite a few strange looks from walkers (and their dogs). The two horses that went past didn't seem to bat an eyelid.

You can tell by the beard that it's Mike on the right here!

We had fun in the cafe at the Mansion a little later. It was the young children that didn't know what to make of these two hairy gorillas. One three year old boy approached us from the safety of a small pillar between us and him, but when we both grunted, he ran in a slightly terrified manner to his mummy. I blame Mike, since I was working on my computer at the time as you can see...

Now in the middle of a week's training running up to the Half, with a short 8 mile run around London in the pouring rain. The advantage of rain in London is that it keeps the tourists off the route, especially on the South Bank.