ewein2412 | Entries tagged with race for life

My "aftermath" post is 4 days late because Life, nevermind racing, interferes with LiveJournal. Can I just say that yesterday was Mark’s last day of primary/elementary school, my last day of a 10-year-long association with Viewlands Primary School, Sara’s last day of her beloved Guides/Scouts troop who are now DISBANDED because they are all too old, AND our 12-year-old goldfish died. The goldfish was as old as Mark, possibly older, and we have had it since we moved to Scotland. When I left the house to meet Mark at the end of his last day of primary school, Fizz was breathing - when I came home, Fizz was dead. Definitely, all things considered, the end of an era.

We have also been to Mark’s "Leavers’ Assembly," Sara’s senior school play, cricket practice, the supermarket, and the shortlist launch for the Scottish Children’s Book Award. Which Code Name Verity is on, along with (in the Older Readers category) The Prince Who Walked with Lions by Elizabeth Laird and The 13th Horseman by Barry Hutchison. (I am so pleased to have finally met Elizabeth Laird, author of The Garbage King and Crusade. Given that The Prince Who Walked with Lions is a book I wish I’d written - so much so that I actually have a folder labelled "Alemayehu" in my work-in-progress folder - I am extremely pleased about sharing the list with Elizabeth Laird. Also, we had an awesome rushed Ethiopian experience swap and we think she probably crashed overnight with my aunt & uncle (Susan & Rog) in Woldia in 1968.)

But I digress!

Yes, Sara and I completed the Race for Life without incident - the weather was only marginally more cooperative than last year, and I didn’t end up carrying Sara’s hoodie and water bottle like I did last year, either. I finished in 38 minutes and Sara in 34. So we were both slower than we were a year ago. I wasn’t really expecting to be faster as I was much more cautious about training this year, due to an achy knee which I do NOT want to encourage.

lauradi7 discovered that we are in Photo 23 on the Dundee Courier website - we are the woman in blue and the teen in the navy sweatshirt!

But here’s a couple of close-ups.

race for life 2

Here's our cheering section. The beak is from his school play parrot costume from last week:

race for life 3

Late donations still gratefully accepted - our online donation page is here:

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/gatland-girls

OK, we're ready, and the Perth Race for Life is tomorrow. I will post another update when it's over. Sara is hoping for rain because she "likes running in the rain." I confess I wouldn't mind not having fogged up glasses!

Grateful thanks to all of you who put our goal of £200 over the top after my last post - see you on the other side!

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http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/gatland-girls

Hey everybody, next Sunday is the Race for Life again, and Sara and I are both running in this 5 k women’s only race to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Last year we were inspired to do this (Sara’s idea) because my friend Amanda had just had a double mastectomy. To all our delight and relief, she is now considered fully cured, and less than a month ago had the final surgery of her “rebuilding” (from which she is still recovering). It’s not over yet and we’re running again in her name!

Our goal is to raise £200 and we’re still £45 short of that, so if you’ve got even a couple of £ (or $) to spare, please consider sponsoring us! It’s safe and easy to contribute online here:

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/gatland-girls

If you’re a UK taxpayer, please tick the GiftAid box as well.

Many thanks for everybody’s support and good wishes - I don’t think I’ll beat my last year’s time!

No doubt a bunch of you will remember that my friend Amanda had a double mastectomy last year - quite a few of you very generously made contributions to a 5k run, Race for Life, in which I participated on Amanda’s behalf to raise funds for cancer research. ACB’s operation was so successful she is considered completely cured - she’ll never even have to have another mammogram. But the battle itself won’t be over for some months yet, as she’s in the first stages of reconstructive surgery now. A bit like rebuilding your ruined cities after the bombing stops… or something like that.

Anyway, I’m dedicating Code Name Verity to her. Because more than anything else, it is a story about friendship. But I have to say, the friendship in the book isn’t just based on my friendship with Amanda - there’s a bit of everybody in there, and if you’ve ever bicycled twenty miles in the rain with me or asked me to read or sing or ring at your wedding or be your bridesmaid or hold your chuppah, or driven me to the airport (or asked me to drive you to the airport), or helped me move, or come along on a punting picnic, or taught me to ski, or played recorder duets with me, or come along with me for a ride in a small plane, or - dare I say it - Worn the Socks - well, you know who you are.

Happy new year, everybody - I hope from the bottom of my heart that it’s exciting and GOOD.

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On a lighter note, here's me and Sara practicing for next Christmas, since we weren’t home for this one…

sand tarts and...

gingerbread whoopie pies.

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Also, look what appeared in Perth while we were in the States over the Christmas holidays - the sign says ‘Curiositeaz… Vintage Tea Room - Bringing the Past to Life - Vintage Curiosity and Gift Shop’

I have not yet been inside. I MAY HAVE TO GO IN COSTUME.

Thanks for all the good wishes this weekend! Sara and I are now back home having successfully completed our 5 k fundraising run for cancer research. The total contributions made by YOU, family and friends, amounts to over £600 -- about $1000 USD. THANK YOU!

It was pouring, as usual… I don't think I've ever participated in any kind of fundraising event in Scotland when it hasn't been pouring. Sara and I ran together for the first 4 k, at which point Sara sprinted ahead of me to finish in about 32min 45 sec. I followed behind at 34.48 (I was timing myself with a stopwatch, but Sara had to rely on the clock at the finish line). Tim says Sara was in the top 40 finishing and I was in the top 70, out of about 1200 participants, so we are VERY PLEASED WITH OURSELVES!

Kate told us the distance was the length of the Boardwalk plus back to Wonderland… So every kilometre or so we'd go, "OK, now we're eating popcorn… Now we're at the water park… Now we're at the shuffleboard courts…." However, North Inch in Perth is a beautiful place to run along the River Tay, so I had no complaints about the scenery.

Thanks again for all your support!

Lots of love,

E wein

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Race for Life raises money for cancer research in the UK.

The Fundraising page for me and Sara:

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/ewein0210elizabethgatland

My best friend from the Folklore Dept. at Penn is having a double mastectomy in 4 days. Given her age (mid 40s, like me), and the fact that her sister had the same pre-cancerous ductile growths in BOTH breasts, my friend is going for a pre-emptive strike. Once it (and reconstructive surgery) are done she will be considered Cured. She is stoic about it; I am a bit wobbly. Sara and I were discussing the situation (“Amanda is going to get better, isn’t she, Mummy? You say you always like to prepare us for the worst. You’re not lying this time, are you?”)… and the upshot is that Sara and I have decided to do the Perth 5 k “Race for Life” together and do a bit of fundraising in Amanda’s name.

Race for Life raises money for cancer research in the UK. As a Girl Guide, Sara’s been helping out on the support end of the Perth event for the past three years, and she was planning to run in it this year anyway, but when this thing with Amanda came up I decided to join her. We’ve set fundraising goals of £100 for me and £50 for Sara, and we share an online fundraising page here:

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/ewein0210elizabethgatland

If you are so inclined, please help us out by sponsoring us with a couple of pounds or dollars or euros.

( Small Irrelevant Media Rant )

The Perth “Race for Life” takes place on 26 June. I am sure you will hear from me again on this subject in the time leading up to it.

In other news… No news is good news.

The radio silence here re. my professional career is mostly due to me waiting for the All Clear to sound. At the moment, I am sort of bound by what I have referred to before as The Official Secrets Act. Oh what the heck, here’s an example (just an example, mind you). The work-for-hire series I’ve been writing debuts this spring in the UK. I can’t tell anyone what it is because it’s published under a pseudonym that doesn't belong to me.

You know, for years and years I used to pray not for my books to make me rich, nor for them to make me famous, but for them to be READ. And I suspect that finally a book I have written is going to be READ. But it won’t make me rich and famous, because I don’t hold copyright and it’s not in my name. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR.