Sunday 1st October 2023
It's dark at 6am, and it's dark at 5am. Quite different from when I first arrived at my brother's place in June. It was strange having to put a light on to get ready for the race. My bus was scheduled for 7am so I headed out into the light drizzle ten minutes before, because I do that type of thing. I was excited because I spotted a fox slinking across the street. However even three more fox sightings couldn't keep my excitement up because by 07h10 there was still no sign of the bus. This meant that it was not coming. Plan B and C had to be made up on the spot. The next bus going onto the city was an hour away so that was out. My only option was to run down into the town centre and reassess the longer part of my journey from there.
I set off on the wet pavements, trying to dodge any puddles. I was trying out my 'barefoot' style shoes which seem to not aggravate my neuromas but I hadn't run in them at all. They turned out great, apart from the thin sole surface which meant I felt the rather uncomfortable stones on the tar road. Running the three kilometers into the town did help ease the panic about getting into Glasgow but it heated me up in the rather wet conditions. I also enjoyed seeing some of my favourite buildings in the different light, so had to take pictures. Finally, I got on a bus and by the time I met up with my cousin, the sun had come out- yey!
Being a road race, there were the mandatory queues at the portaloos, hundreds of people everywhere, and loud music. The difference being in Scotland, was the Scottish accents of the Public Announcers. I loved it, even if a lot of it was lost on me. The start was extremely well organised in spite of there being around 20 000 people, I never once felt too crowded.
After the fun warm-up, we set off on the lovely route lined with amazing support. Choirs, bands, DJs, piper band, people with bells and whistles and lots of clapping. It was great. It got a little quiet on the bridge over the river but the view was fantastic.
We stopped in at a small supermarket because we both felt hungry munched our chocolate on route. The last couple of kilometers was very festive again and I always love this part of a race because it's nearly done and I know that I've made it, plus there's great support and comments from the people.
The weather stayed glorious all day and I had another bus 'fail' when my bus back to my brother's, decided he was turning back to the city and we all had to get off. I was a bit annoyed but started to laugh when I realised that I was sounding like a 'real Brit', haha. I passed the half hour wait talking to a Nigerian couple at the bus stop and their experience as teachers in Scotland.
My legs feel stiff, my feet are tingling and my brain is buzzing. But my heart feels full and my new t-shirt is all red and cheerful. It was a great day!
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