A couple of weeks ago I ran a 5k with my family in memory of my 15-year-old cousin that suddenly died at the end of the year. It was an amazing day and there were around 85 of us taking part. We were the biggest group out there and we were even on the ITV news. My stupid face is right up there when they are interviewing my cousin and her husband about the race and Evan.
We had t-shirts made and on the day put up a big gazebo with drinks and sweets. We also brought picnics to have afterwards.
There was a 10k in the morning and a 5k at 11 am. I decided to do the 5k as that’s what everyone else was doing, though I started to regret it as it was a hot day and just kept getting hotter.
We didn’t actually start the run until 11:50 am as it was delayed and it was SO HOT. I was dreading it.
It didn’t feel as bad when we started running, I wanted to pick up the pace but was worried about how I would be in the heat. Thankfully there were 2 water stops and I just dumped the water over my head which really did help to cool me down. I recommend this method!
I ran it in 31:10 with an average pace of 9:59 per mile. I was hoping for under 30 minutes but the heat just killed me. Anyway, it was less about the speed and more about raising money for Evans school and uniting as a family. Even my Dad walked it and he’s 71 and his joints are screwed, he has to walk with a stick sometimes.
Hoping to do it next year again.
It’s so nice you’re uniting as a family. Running 5 k in memory of Evan is a great way to remember him. Fundraising for his school is very inspiring. 85 people taking part sounds like a really good turn out. I’m sorry to hear about your loss. It must have been hard to lose a young relative so suddenly. I always find it difficult to cope with deaths of family members and relatives. It never does get easier. My husband always says that death is a part of life. That’s certainly true. Our society sometimes completely ignores the subject of death, which I don’t think is a good thing to do. People need their grieving time. We need to remember those we lost. Death is not something we can ignore. So, I think it’s great you run this 5k in memory of Evan.
It’s nice when you can put your running to something good. I spent many a summers day at Rother Valley as a child.