Dudley Ladies Dublin Divas'
On Monday 31st October some of
Dudley's finest divas', Pam Edmunds, Kerri Pearson, Gail Edwards, Raj
Sanghera, Anita Zammit, Brenda Hunt, Jenny Fraser and Jo Ashley, crossed
the Irish Sea to take part in the Dublin Marathon, here is Pam's account
of the weekend:-
WE DID IT !!
Had a brilliant weekend , in Dublin's Fair city'
where the Dudley ladies ran so pretty and we saw sweet Molly Malone !
(statue) After doing the touristy things
like shops and of course the Guinness brewery and lots of sampling, we
had a quiet night on the eve of the marathon feeling very jittery and
apprehensive as we retired to bed early leaving our men to boost the
profits of all those lovely little Irish bars.
Up at 6.00am Monday morning after having very little
sleep, the hotel did special requested porridge for brekkie
Opened a couple of good luck cards from Sheena &
Tracey Bennett which made me all emotional but at least salted the oats.
It was a long walk to the start and after stretches
and good luck kisses we were off.
The weather was really kind as the sun only came
out at 19 miles prior to this it was a lovely chilled breeze that kept
us cool , idyllic marathon conditions. The course - well, would run it
again next week ...well perhaps not that soon but fairly flat only 1
major hill that I can remember.
Lovely little Irish folk were shouting 'Well
Feckin done !! you're bloody marvellous' in a strong accent which was a
constant reminder that you were in the Emerald Isle .
I'm glad we had our Dudley Ladies vests on as
supporters were calling our names out to cheer us on and that is so
important after 20 miles especially ! This is where I met up with Kerri
and together we encouraged each other along the 6 miles and 385 yards
to the end that felt like a very long 10 miles away ! .
Personally I enjoyed it however the last 5 miles were
very hard ...just kept thinking ..c' mon this is just a Dimminsdale run
....then , keep going only an Awbridge to go ...but the last mile seemed
to never appear, then we saw our hubbies who shouted keep going , the
finish is just round the corner which gave us the last spurt we needed.
At this point Kerri and I had goosebumps and tears
in our eyes as we could visualise that medal round our neck. and then
there it was and you still can't believe it until you actually pass
through it We stole a kiss from the lad who awarded us our medal ,
we think we deserved it !
Raj and Gail both came in with a smile, Raj too had
had a good race and Gail who was a virgin marathon runner did
brilliantly, saying ' Well that was OK ....I feel OK ......I'd do
another definitely !! 'Now it could be the endorphins but I'll hold her
to that !
We also met three other Dudley Ladies who we had met
at the Guinness tasting stop the day before (might be why I can't
remember their names!) They all completed it and did really well.
After collecting our kitbags we all retired to our
hotel to rest our weary legs ready for the celebration champagne drinks
and meal that evening
Very funny scenes in Dublin the following day as
there were lots of hobblers and stiff legged folk all over the city
centre wearing marathon finisher T shirts ! But it was great that total
strangers said Well done or asked how was it for you .
None of us could do stairs very well and struggled to
get up once we were down ..but was all that training worth it.?????..all
those miles in the rain all those long early Sunday morning jogs along
that very long canalside ...those hills & railways tracks and all those
bananas & piles of pasta ..............YES ! .................
I'd say if you've never done a marathon DO IT !!! its
a life experience you will be proud of forever and a memory like no
other that you will treasure ! ...
From happy Pam ( endorphin juices are still flowi
