You couldn’t make it up !

Paula’s report:

We were due to fly from Heathrow – Fire. Airport closed. No information from American Airlines so we booked a flight from Manchester-Frankfurt-Munich-Lyon. 

Then AA offered us a flight that would have landed on Tuesday meaning we would have missed the competition. 

We drove to Manchester and en-route booked another flight from France to Montreal to Orlando and hired a car to drive from Orlando airport to Gainesville.

The flight light from Manchester left late so we missed our flight to Berlin, meaning we wouldn’t have made the other flight from France.

So we’re stuck in Frankfurt where we were given a hotel for the night. 

No baggage

We now have to pay to leave Frankfurt – either we go home or we try to get to Florida. 

We went back to the airport on Saturday morning and saw a flight from Frankfurt to Orlando with the same airline. They said it was full but we managed book it ourselves on Sky Scanner. The price was increasing. 

We managed to book two seats but by the time I’d hit purchase I’d had to spend an extra £stupid!!

We were told that our luggage would be transferred from the flight we’d cancelled – the one to France.

We got on the flight to Orlando after messaging the GB team manager asking them to register us, collect our numbers etc  and that we’d be competing in the morning.

We arrived at Orlando – no baggage. Whilst waiting a staff member returned my passport that I didn’t even know had fallen out of my bag on the plane!

We reported our luggage missing and were told that it was on its way to France and they would receive it on Monday! Wow.

We left, extended the car rental because we’d have to come back to collect the luggage as it included Janelle’s rucksack with her kit in it. She’d intended to have it as carry-on luggage but they made her put her rucksack in the hold due to lack of space. 

I repacked my case into a hold-all and redistributed my stuff into Janelle’s suitcase.

We repacked our cases outside the airport at Manchester as time was ticking by.

Madness.

At Orlando airport more money was spent on the extension of the car hire. My rucksack and Janelle’s carry-on was all we had. We dashed to a sports shop, getting there at 9:50 (closed at 10pm) and ran round getting a pair of trainers, joggers, socks, training tops, leaving at 2 mins past 10. I had a set of GB kit, my spikes, throw shoes – Janelle nothing. 

We had a message from one of our friends who was competing in the pentathlon on the Sunday morning and she  said she’d lend Janelle a full set of kit. 

After leaving the sports shop we drove from Orlando to Gainesville. 2 hours. We arrived where the pentathlon athlete was staying and she’d left the kit at reception. 

By now it was nearly midnight.

We drove to a local 24hr store and bought eggs, milk and basic toiletries. It was then onto our accommodation where we were stared down by a very large raccoon. We checked in.

5 hrs later, after very little sleep, we got to the venue and somehow got through our 60m heat and semi. 

Both of us got to the final. Janelle in one pair of borrowed spikes and then in another.

Yesterday we were jet lagged and sore and we came 7th and 8th in the 60m at the World Masters Championships

Our luggage still isn’t here.

All our toiletries, other clothes and medication are in those bags.

Side note- I haven’t had my heart medication since Friday and I’m struggling with cognition and response. It is difficult to process stuff now as I’ve just gone cold turkey on my hormone medication. 

Really hope our luggage arrives today (it did)

Just to think that 19 days before we left, our biggest concern was that our accommodation had cancelled on us, then the alternative cancelled too, so we had to get last minute accommodation further away from the original accommodation that was a lot more expensive

We spent so much money to get out here, then even more to actually arrive.

It is Janelle’s first international and she pbs in borrowed kit after the mess of the journey we had and then she pbs again in the semi. We both got faster from heat to semi.

The tank was empty by yesterday.

I’m proud of us being at this competition.You only live once and we are at the World Masters Championships. 

There are worse things – although- I’m an unmedicated menopausal woman, who isn’t sleeping, can’t really follow instructions well at the moment and will be let loose on a heavy  shot put in a couple of days!

Anything could happen.

Watch this space.

Graham, Jill, Lesley, Jan, Stuart, Angela & Sandie

Twin Lakes 20  

‘Twenty Miles of Magic’

Report – Jill Wilson

On Sandie Owens’ recommendation some ten of us joined around 950 runners at the Twin Lakes event in Milton Keynes – one or two laps of a beautifully scenic (and flat) route around Willen and Caldecott Lakes, alongside the River Ouzel and the Grand Union canal. An off-road route mainly on cycle paths with a bit of gravel and canal towpath thrown in for good measure. 

And what a recommendation it was – the perfect ‘long run’ for anyone training for a spring half or full marathon. 

Seven of us – Kate Sergent, Kath Pester (both doing the 20 miles), Angela and Stuart Maclean, Jan Turner, Graham Wilson and me, Jill Wilson (all doing 10), stayed over the night before at a lakeside hotel with a ten minute stroll to the start after a leisurely breakfast, where we met up with Sandie Owens and Lesley Hay (both doing 10 miles). A very civilised affair. 

This was Kath’s longest run to date – in prep for her first marathon – Manchester in April. 

Also there were Katy Liddell, Katie Wilcox and Clare Goodwin – although we didn’t actually see them…..too far ahead maybe?

It was a misty start but slowly it brightened up so we could enjoy the scenery.

First home of our little group in the ten miles was Graham in 1:40:15, closely followed by Kate and Kath in 1:47:26 on their first lap of two. Also under the two hours were Sandie (1:49:10), Lesley (1:49:33) and Stuart (1:56:03). Just over the two hours were Angela (2:02:16), Jill (2:04:04) and Jan (2:06:46). 

And a whole lap later (well done ladies – fabulous performances) – were Kath (3:39:04) and Kate (3:43:04). ‘Loved every minute apart from mile 18. Buzzing’ said Kate – we were all buzzing Kate – a fabulous day. 

There were also some super age category results – Jan Turner was first, Graham second, Kate third, and some tremendous results from those we didn’t see….. Katie Wilcox completing her ten miles in a superb 1:21:31 and coming 3/79 in her age category; Clare Goodwin achieving 2:55:30 in her first twenty miles and 6/59 in her age category, and Katy Liddell completing the ten miles in 1:42:39.

And I think we all agreed – lovely medal and quality T-shirt.

On a personal note, I jeffed this race (as did many of the ladies) as I am recovering from a virus and although it was slow, it got me to the end. More importantly I finished the ten miles knowing that if someone had said – go on Jill, you can do three more to make it a half – I could have done it. So much of running really is in the head isn’t it?

The happy smiling faces – at the start as well as the end say it all – we had a blast!

It was a longer course than she would normally run and and it was clear that Saskia’s training with the club is paying off with a fantastic second place finish. This qualified her to represent Warwickshire at the National Primary cross country last weekend where her excellent form continued and where she finished as the 2nd Warwickshire year 5 girl to finish with a time of 9:38.