Tatton Yule Yomp -12th December 2010

Today was the day.... I have been training for this day for a long time, even running on ice in sub zero temps. I was ready to run my first 10K. It should have been done on 1st March 2009 but cancer kind of got in the way. I finished my treatment in October 2010 and I must admit some of the side effects are starting to get better such as the aching joints and hands.

Today it was all about sticking the V's up to cancer and drawing a line under the last 22 months. I was also raising money for the Love Hope Strength Foundation because not only is it a global cancer charity but its co-founder Mike Peters has got me through my own fight with cancer because of his music, his tenacity, his positivity and the fact he will never give up.

 I have managed to raise over £700 for the charity. I was going to dress up as Rudolph but as it was my first official race I decided to wear the names of fellow cancer fighers on my back. Sadly, some of those fighters are not with us now but remain with us in spirit and love.

 There were some crazy fancy dress costumes as you can see by the photo above! Amazing! There was such a lovely feel to the event, it was well organised and friendly. My nerves of last night needn't have got the better of me. There was freezing fog which was terribly hard to run in, alot harder than sub zero temperatures. The fog got to my chest and set off an asthma attack but I kept going. I hooked up with a guy called Andy half way through as he was struggling. If I had carried on alone I know I could have improved my time by 10 mins but sometimes, other things are more important, and people are more important to me than times or personal bests. He thanked me for my companionships, told me he would never have got around if it werent for me.

Crossing that line was amazing. All of Andys friends were shouting for him and I egged him on. My name came over the tannoy and I was handed my medal, something I will treasure forever.

A big and huge thank you to my lovely friend Lesley Kenton who not only took me to the race but sat there waiting for me in the freezing cold, took photos for me and was there to cheer me on over the finish line. That meant the world to me, thank you Lesley xxx

Not too sweaty but damp because of the freezing fog. My chest hurts right now but I have time to recover. I now need to set a new challenge for myself....... what will it be???