OK it was always going to be a super Sunday with so much
going on and we were always going to be pulled in many directions. We had opted
to attend the Speed of Light in Holyrood park as opposed to the League cup final
at Hampden park for the simple reason – I had convinced myself I was a jinx, as
far as Super Killie were concerned having attended the last two cup finals and
been bitterly disappointed.
We awoke to a beautiful morning and spent the time learning
and going over our choreography – not a phrase I ever heard myself saying but
there you are you should never say never. On the drive through to Edimburgh, we
were both suffering from a bout of nerves – although I found myself being
nervous about being a run leader at the Speed of light super sunday as well as being
nervous about the cup final.
As luck would have it we arrived at Holyrood park car park and
a space opened up for us right away - a good omen for the day ahead? It was time
to concentrate on the job at hand. The
first hour went past in a flash and before we knew it we were gathering
runners, briefing them and heading up the hill to start our session. Kristi was up first as head run leader and I
was the tail run leader and the team managed to complete 8 of the 9 legs,
fairly successfully. We were looking
after the Pink team and they were awesome.
All too quickly we were departing the hill, only now did my
thoughts return to Hampden park – and despite having my mobile permanently logged
on to twitter I wasn’t getting any updates. It wasn’t until we got off the hill
and was crossing the road on way to the Marquee that I got the result that I
had been waiting and wishing for – Killie had lifted the League cup. Yes!! that
put an extra bounce in my step, bring on the third session!
(Jo)
As John said there was a lot going on and not really being a
footie fan I couldn’t understand why he was so nervous about a “silly” cup
final. Especially when there’s nothing he can do to affect the outcome. I was
more nervous about appearing professional to the runners who turned up and not
some idiot floundering about unsure about they were doing.
We arrived at 2pm to be briefed, given our bids, radios etc
and to have a quick chat with out fellow runleaders. Then the moment I had been
apprehensive about was here, the first set of runner had arrived. So after a
quick talk to myself I was ready. Leo and I made up the green group and despite
a few wee mistakes I think we coped well. The runners we had were great and they
all seemed to be enthusiastic. I just hope they enjoyed the experience as much
as I did. After swapping over comms to Ann and Graeme, Leo and I headed back to
base. John was just behind us singing Paper Roses!!!!
(Mo)
After a quick break, and a bit of gloating, sorry Leo, and a
congratulatory hug from Ally, a friend and runner from Strathclyde parkrun, we
were back on the job - briefing our second pink team which included Ailsa and
Ian – Ailsa barks out orders to us at our weekly circuit classes in Harburn
Hall. A chance for revenge, well not
really!. Armed with head torches we headed
back up the hill in the dark – a whole new experience from the afternoon
session. It was quick insight into how
focused and concentrated we were going to have to be in August. The paths that
are quite obvious in the afternoon sunshine are so much more difficult to pick
out in the dark. However, it has to be
said night time running is exhilarating and it is amazing how quickly your
senses become sharpened by the darkness. As far as I was concerned the darkness
brought the pink team together and that is how it’s got to be on the night - we
are in this together. Unfortunately, time just got away from us again and we
were only able to complete three of the legs before it was time to swap team
leaders and let the fourth session take over. The pink team were a little
disappointed that their time on the hill was over – never mind, guys in 5
months we will be doing it for real! It took a bit of time for Nick and Paul to
get to us and relieve us of our comms. Our Pink team stuck together and we
headed back to base.
I had promised myself a wee celebration after my stint as
run leader, if Killie won but alas the tragic end to the cup final for one of
our players meant it was a little subdued. However on a personal note – it was
truly a super Sunday.
(Jo)
It didn’t seem any length of time before the next sets of
runners were ready to go. I didn’t know
any of the runners in the first set we had but the second set was different.
Two friends had been assigned to my group, Ally and Laura.
The temperature had dropped by this time and it was getting
dark. I could see that the runners were getting cold so we did our briefing and
I was keen to get going. After a wee bit of a delay for a runleaders photo
shot, we were heading up the hill. OMG! how different it looked in the dark. As
John said the paths were a bit more difficult to spot and one or two things
that were obvious in daylight suddenly seemed more difficult in the dark. I had
run with my head torch before and it seemed ok running along the country roads
but up on the hill was a different matter. Note to self, buy a new head torch
before the next Super Sunday! We only managed the first three legs due to time,
so rather than have the runners stay up on the hill getting cold; I sent them
back to the marque, thankfully one of them knew the hill well and lead the
group back down safely.
After swapping comms again Leo and I headed back down. Near
the bottom I heard someone call my name and I turned round to find two more
friends, Ailsa and Ian. They were both buzzing and told me that they had been
in John’s group!
I have to admit I was buzzing myself, I hopefully did a good
job and hopefully the runners got a feel for what to expect on the night. After
getting home John was still buzzing and keen to see the winning goal, so on
went the telly and the computer! I made myself a nice cup of tea and headed to
the peace and quiet of the bedroom.
(Mo)
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