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East to West in a Vest: Sunday 27th June 2010 Diary
Princes St, Edinburgh - After posing for some pics (see attached), we set off on our epic run/cycle at 07:02. Martin, David and Michael (the latter was advised by doctors not to risk his bad ankle by cycling at all! The boys a machine!) on their bikes and Karen and I running.
Ratho (9.3 miles)- Sadly had to say goodbye to Michael, who had already done more than he should with that ankle! Karen had only planned to run with me this far, but she decided to carry on to Broxburn...!
Broxburn (13.7 miles) - Karen finished her run and was then mobile in car carrying supplies for us along the route with mum, Sandra. Dru met us at Broxburn and was my next running companion.
Linlithgow (22.4 miles) - Karen and Sandra brought some hot chicken soup! yum! My legs were starting to feel a bit tired. Steve relieved Dru on the running front, his jokes kept me laughing! Linda met us on her bike too.
Falkirk Wheel (32.8 miles) - Wow what a long dark tunnel just before Falkirk, think the council need to get some higher watt bulbs in there! What a lovely suprise to see Irene (Peters wife) and our families and friends lending their support, it really helped us all!! Pictures taken with family etc (see attached) Hot food was most welcome! We were all feeling tired at this stage, the cyclists were starting to get tender behinds! :-) Jackie joined us on her bike, Willie (& friend) ran with us for about 6 miles too...but the biggest boost was Peters Brother Eddie relieving Steve...it was like running with Peter himself...even if the heavens did open up!
Auchinstarry (42.3 miles) - Between Banknock and Auchinstarry we were traveling headlong into horizontal rain. I was in a dark place for a few miles, I had also started inexplicably making 'female tennis player' type rythmical groans to keep going (weird!). Eddie was amazing, he kept me strong! Irene and others met us there and continued giving us all incredible support. Karen and Sandra were again on hand with more hot food...really, really needed it! Knees were really sore, left ankle too, thats where 'deep freeze' comes in handy!
Lambhill (53.6 miles) - Got soaked again!! We said goodbye to Jackie, but said hello to Scott (who joined Eddie and I running). Knees and ankle attended to again, and the last of the hot food. Almost there!!
Maryhill Locks (56.2 miles) - Wasn't a major check point but felt very emotional, as it was the run Peter and I used to do from this point back to Abbey House.
Abbey House, St Vincent Street, Glasgow (59.5 miles) - We all felt very emotional at this point, Eddie particularly so. Eddie would often go to Abbey House to meet Peter after work. Got some pics outside (see attached)
State Bar, Holland St, Glasgow (59.8 miles) - We made it !!!!!!! (and yes...we had slightly underestimated the distance!), We arrived at 21:15, 40 mins ahead of schedule. Pictures taken outside (see attached). Irene, Karen and others were there ready with Peters favourite drink Guinness for us all. Martin and David had been there with me from the start and were absolute rocks of support, as well as keeping us all on track. It was a really long day, so painful, so emotional. We were all totally fatigued, but somehow the pain was lessened by our thoughts of you Peter...
...we hope we all did you proud my friend!
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On behalf of everyone involved we would like to THANK EVERYONE who kindly sponsored us!!
We would also like to Thank everyone who supported us on the day!
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Peter Carr was a very dear friend of ours. He was simply the kindest man with the biggest heart, a man who was passionate about everything he did...and believe me he did a lot for many people - his family, friends and local community. Everyone who knew him loved him and those of you who never knew him would have too if only you had been lucky enough to have met him...
Peter died of bowel cancer in Hairmyres Hospital, East Kilbride, on Tuesday 2nd March 2010 roughly 2 weeks short of his 45th birthday and just weeks after being diagnosed with the condition. He left behind his loving wife Irene, son Conor (13) and daughter Orla (8).
In order to help the charity which Peter's family have asked us to support, and to honour two of Peter's greatest passions running and cycling, please sponsor Martin, David & Michael (who will cycle) and I (who will run) in our attempt to go East to West in a Vest for Peter.
On Sunday 27th June 2010, we'll be setting off from Princes Street in Edinburgh then following the canal network via Broxburn, Linlithgow, Polmont, Falkirk, Kilsyth, Kirkintilloch, Bishopbriggs, Maryhill and Kelvingrove Park finishing at one of Peter's favourite pubs, The State Bar in Glasgow, next to where we used to work together in Abbey. This is a total distance of 57.7 miles (hopefully in around 10 hours!)...and those of you who know me know that I'm no distance runner!!!
Peter, like me, always preferred shorter distance races like 5K and 10K but we always spoke of doing a marathon together one day...this run is over 2 marathons back to back...one for each of us...
Our £3,000 target will allow Bowel Cancer UK to provide an awareness training package (including all associated costs i.e. trainers, venue, travel & subsistence) for up to 12 volunteers in Scotland, all with personal experience of bowel cancer who are post treatment to:
- Provide 1 to 1 peer support to others currently dealing with bowel cancer
- Deliver awareness raising presentations in local communities
So please dig deep and donate now !
To find out more about Peter's life please visit http://peter.carr.muchloved.com
Updated on Apr 16th 2010 at 11:52 AM using the JustGiving iPhone app
Ran my first 20 miler last Sunday...legs very sore! This is why I prefer short distances...20 miles should only be done in a car!!! :-)
