Running For Enjoyment: When The Running Bug First Bit

I first succumbed to running Fever or to be more precise, when I first discovered that I enjoyed running back in September 2009. It was a Fun Run, specifically the Lumbard Fun Run.

My friend Annette from my local wargames club had shown an interest in doing the Lumbard Fun Run that year and she had always ran in it in previous years in addition to which she had been seeking sponsorship. Initially I just wanted to go down to the Fun Run, support her and cheer her on and then I thought: instead of just supporting her, why dont I actually run the race with her? It was then I decided to take part in the Fun Run itself. Unfortunately I only decided to take part in the Fun Run just over a week before it took place so only had a short period of time to raise sponsorship for the event. The charity I chose to help on this occasion was Cancer Research UK. Being a member of a gym at that time the only running training I had was on a treadmill.

Both Annette and myself decided we were going to do it in Fancy Dress so there was some discussion over what we both might wear for the event. It was not until the actual day itself that we both saw our costumes. Being a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean I had hired an excellent Pirate outfit from Twinkles Fancy Dress at Cleethorpes and Annette had become dressed as a bumblebee. For this Fun Run Annette also brought her lovely dog Flash with her and with whom she ran with. Flash was an incredibly enthusiastic runner on this day and he practically dragged her along. I ran with both of them and we all completed the 4 mile course in 45 minutes although there was a litttle bit of walking involved. It was during this run that I found I actually enjoyed the running.

The Lumbard Fun Run was won by Sam Atkin, then 16, of Lincoln Wellington Athletics Club in 19 minutes 24 seconds. As far as I am aware The Lumbard Fun Run has not taken place in Grimsby since then, which is a shame. It was a great event and loads of people took part.

Before the event both myself and Annette were photographed by the Grimsby Telegraph who talked to both of us about the event. Both the photos of myself and Annette and the write up of the event were published in the Grimsby Telegraph on September 21st, 2009. Photos of the article can be seen below: