Last weekend saw the Perpetual Motion Coaching Christmas endurance party!
It was set to be a horrendous day with high winds and heavy rain. I even considered cancelling it at one point. Thank goodness I didn’t. It turned out to be a ‘lovely’ day, sure the sun didn’t grace us with its presence but neither did the rain clouds or wind.
With staggered starts, it meant we were able to accommodate the Covid rules. Around 11 people set off on the 6.5 k m course at 9 am amidst high banter and sporting the odd Xmas hat. Which I can happily report stayed in situ for the entire period. The loops ticked by, it was lovely seeing happy faces come in to refuel and have a quick debrief before they headed back out.
The second wave arrived and set up their check point camps ahead of starting at 12pm. The final wave started at 2pm. This meant everyone was out on the course, although well staggered, for the last hour. My kids went out on the last loop to collect up the trail markers and have the full experience of the course. A big thank you goes out to them and James for all their hard work setting up, supporting and tidying away.
This event was not about speed or competition but rather to unite us and provide an event during which we could have some fun. I did have a prize for the person who ran the furthest. This honour was taken by Carolyn who ran a slippery, hilly looped marathon. The prize for the most festive attire went to Lou and her impressive dedication to hat-wearing. The muddiest person went to Sue who whilst not falling over, was caked in a healthy layer of mud!
A number of us in my running group have a friend who has a rare blood cancer. I wanted to support this charity so half of all the funds went to blood cancer UK. Below is the lovely letter I received back from them after the donation.
"Thank you so much for hosting your Perpetual Motion Coaching Christmas Party for Blood Cancer UK. Your amazing fundraising brings your total to a fantastic £285! We are truly grateful, as the money you’ve raised means we can keep investing in life-saving research and providing vital information and support for people affected by blood cancer.
I hope your Perpetual Motion Coaching Christmas Party was a huge success and that you had a great time fundraising – please pass on a special thanks to everyone who braved the mud!
I personally really enjoyed the day, the feedback was great and I am hoping to put the event on again next year. So if you didn’t make it this year, you have not missed out, See you 2021 at the rerun!