the mysteriously changing run to the finish!

The run route had changed mysteriously and wasn’t what it had been on the map (supposed to be out towards the town centre with a bit of an out and back in the first half and a twirly loopy bit towards the end). So combined with this surprise change and the fact it was also quite hilly and that i was hobbling, i had no idea how to visualise it ( it became an out and back and back again after about 7k then a mile to the end). What was really doing my head in (and everyone else’s as i found out later) was that there were no distance markers! So there was no way of knowing where you were, what you’d done and how far still to go! Everyone was asking everyone else on the way – madness! Asking the marshalls was fruitless also as they all kept giving different answers which was so demoralising (especially when you’re having to walk it!). There was a strange bit round a park which you did at the end of each out and back and many people went wrong as they weren’t sure where to go and how many times! The rest of the run was mainly along a busy main road – not very exciting – and a bit along a canal and through some suburbs.
As it was quite lonely on the second lap (i still couldn’t run but was out-striding the other stragglers) sometimes I felt a bit daft walking along a main road wearing a race number. Most of the stragglers were smiling and supporting each other as we passed but there was one nasty guy who said to me ‘good luck hon’ sarcastically and laughed to his mate! That just made me even more determined to finish and anyway, he was walking!! The people of Bolton were very nice and supportive but at one point i got mobbed by a crowd of young hooligans who were surrounding me and trying to trip me up (quite easy really, i was having problems with kerbs never mind small bullies) riling me about walking when i should be running and one trying to leap on me presumably to grab my sunnies! As it got dark and i was still out there with only the shadows and the owls for company i was waiting for an official to jump out with glowsticks but none came. In fact scarier than the teenage bullies was having to walk along the canal path in the dark. There was an aid station just before the start of it and i asked them if it was safe. They seemed more interested in force feeding me power gels so off i went. Maaan it was scary! Pitch black and all i could think of was axe murderers leaping out of the shadows! I couldn’t believe they didn’t have someone at least going up and down on a bike to check the stragglers hadn’t fallen in the canal/been attacked by werewolves etc etc. At the end of the canal bit i couldn’t even find the pathway that took you away from it back to the road it was so dark! The park later on was the same – you couldn’t actually see the cones and tape until you fell over them!
Finally, after 8 last long miles of random bunches of marshalls/happy bystanders/cheerleaders telling me variously i was anywhere between 8 miles and 3 and a half miles to the end (but not in order – i got something like 8, 7, 5, 4and half, 3, back to 5 then four and half then only 2 then back to 3 – aaargh! how to mess with an irongirl’s already frazzled mind!!) i got back to a cone junction in the park i nearly fell over and could dimly pick out the vague shape of a person. He turned out to be one of the race crew/new guardian angel and escorted me through the last of the pitch black bits agreeing with me how crap the race was! Then he grabbed my hand and made me run towards to the finish line (pain blocked out then – i could NOT walk up the finish chute!!) and there i was, FINALLY – a long long day out and an embarrassing finish time of 16.30 something 33? 34? Don’t know just too crap! But hey i got round, there were several points where i thought i might not make the cut off and how awful that would have been!! The worst thing is i actually trained for this one! Anyway i am still 6 X Irongirl and that’s what matters ;-)
phew, got there!