I’d walked the Pennines and the Moors, I’d walked the Yorkshire Dales,
The Highland Way in Scotland and The Cumbrian Way in Wales,
But now that I was old and grey, long distances were not,
The sort of thing that I could do, it was best that I forgot.
Those days that I had joyfully walked the country far and wide.
For me twas ‘time to stand and stare’ and forget all useless pride,
So I, for my hundredth birthday did,
A hundred miles with a walking frame, and raised four thousand quid!
For the following year at 101, I was forced to use a trike
My balance had gone, I walked with two sticks and would never
again ride a bike.
I cycled 1000 miles and raised another few thousand quid.
But my thoughts returned to The Great North Run and I nervously
put in my bid.
They granted my wish, I was over the moon,
The arrangements were made and so, very soon,
With the help of my friends, I was getting in trim,
For the walk of my life, ‘thou the chances were slim.
The big day arrived, there we were at the start
With thousands of runners all keen to depart,
and the run of our lives, one we’d never forget,
(Not knowing that fate had decreed we’d get wet).
In our team there were three: Sue, Gavin and Me,
With a wheelchair thrown in, prepared for the worst,
Of one thing we’re certain, we’ll not be the first.
To cross the red line 13 miles far away,
But this thought didn’t stop us enjoying the day,
For the first 9, 10 miles we baked in the sun,
Our time was quite good and we joined in the fun,
With thousands of watchers lined up on the route,
Who cheered us loudly – the kids were quite cute,
Then all of a sudden, the heavens fell in,
In two seconds flat we were soaked to the skin!
The streets ran with water about three inches deep,
We waddled like ducks rudely wakened from sleep,
But with no thought of stopping, we put our heads down,
‘In for a penny – In for a pound!’,
Our hardy supporters were waiting for us,
As we three crossed the line and walked to our bus.
