Following a bad fall from my horse just over a month ago, my Oxford half marathon medal was brought in by my family to dangle above my hospital bed alongside a card from a friend with Mr Bump on it wrapped from head to toe in bandages. Ringing in my ears were the words of the surgeon who whispered on the day after surgery that the Spinal team had done everything possible and I would still able to get up and walk whilst handing over a large grey back and neck brace that would make me, if you have seen Gladiator, look like the Commander of the Armies of the North.
Incredibly gingerly, but hugely grateful, that very same day I clambered into it whilst still strapped up to every beeping monitor, pinned canula and even the bed. Sheer good luck and good fortune meant I was going to be ok. The marathon medal that glinted on the headboard of the bed reminded me that things were still within my reach (given time) and I would, should I choose to, make a full recovery.
This will be my year I have now said to myself – let’s start again!!
It was only a year ago to the day that 10 of BWF Trustees, family and friends began our final countdown to participating in the Oxford Half Marathon. A wonderfully attended, well-routed and well-supported, extremely flat 13.1 mile race across and around the beautiful town. Amongst the runners there was a mixture of excitement, nerves and apprehension coupled with the expected few fallouts from training injuries. We had self loaded questions like ‘will we manage the distance?’, ‘have we raised a decent amount of money for the charity?’, ‘have we trained sufficiently?’, ‘how sore are we going to be afterwards?’.
Needless to say not only did we all survive the experience but moreover we surpassed our own expectations which led to feelings of euphoria and being brim full of confidence.
It’s amazing that even as intelligent mammals all capable of projected thought we still doubt the incredible power that lies in our own desire to succeed. When the time comes, we rise to the call and competitively pit ourselves not necessarily with the aim to outdo our neighbour but challenge ourselves and to push ourselves beyond where we think is possible in our heads.
And that is the power of the human spirit.
As Rudjard Kipling said in his poem ‘If’:
‘If you can ….. watch the things you gave your life to, broken, and stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools’
If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same ….
If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run, yours is the earth and everything that’s in it’
Fi’s Motto
Don’t ever give up
😊