13 notes for 13 miles and not so many smiles. In honour of the half marathon efforts by myself and Niamh which were run the very next day after a match that had about just as many conflicting confusing emotions. 

Mile 1 : like many long winded stories , the beginning is often uneventful and this was no exception. Not many slips trips and falls, knees in tact, they were off. And in the words of the commentator on Sunday”well this certainly isn’t the fastest of our runners but they are the best dressed”  we do love our purple. ( although the white and maroon of pelicans would clash less with the ginger midfield squad of cambridge south L2s. 

Mile 2: one ginger found herself (Hayley) in right back and earned POM votes for holding the fort on that side. No longer was there a sea of bronze to contend with in the middle of the pitch. No wonder pelicans never ventured to Hayley’s side of the pitch- great game. Neither did south head over that side much, but that was less of a conscious effort. What was a conscious effort was said right back changing her skirt after the match, after wearing it the wrong way round all morning. I promise it was the wrong way round , I wasn’t just facing the wrong direction. 

Mile 3: I think this was probably around about when the pelicans scored their first after some forcing play through the centre of their attack and a goal that I’m sure was well deserved, but the construction of which I actually can’t remember. Knees and south staring to creak under the pounding of pavement/Astro.

Mile 4: the u turn of the half marathon route where you see the runners just ahead and also just behind. Everything’s a little tense and you can’t decide if you just need to pee to make the pain go away. You decide against it and push through hoping for the best. Thanks to the efforts of some  cracking runs around the top line by Jess and liandi, the pain of south’s saturday eased a little also.  

Mile 5: no longer need to pee but do need to barricade the knees for some cobbles and look like you’re enjoying it for the crowds outside fitzwilliam museum. Feline on Saturday was the inspiration we needed, holding strong in centre back and driving forward to help with the midfield who were being worked hard .  

Mile 6: almost half way but not quite. Not sure what to think. Confusion all round, some people still able to form coherent sentences, but most of us unsure where in cambridge actually is granchester and why is it so far away. Far away like the halftime whistle, the moment of reprieve we needed to pull ourselves together and give the pelicans a bit of a run .

Mile 7:  past the halfway mark into the village of granchester - finally found it. Like the back of the net, south found their way to a great goal and were met with cheers and relief as the score was evens stevens. 

Mile 8: had to have a long hard talk to yourself that you’re going to get though it and you’ve been in this much pain before. You know exactly what to do and how to pick up the pace. Again drawing on the firm and fantastic half-time talk merely moments before from Paul, the girls started to pass better and find each other’s sticks, rather than the oppositions. Things were looking up

Mile 9: theres still three more to go. No wait, four. Four? There can’t be four. There was four. And there was a good solid 15 mins of pressure from south pushing into the attacking D and making chances for themselves. Finally back in the mindset of the game at hand. Just keep trying. 

Mile 10: zigzag all over the place through the tail end of the countryside into trumpington road. The road that, just. Never. Ends. Some silky skills from the pelicans centre midfield , matched by the equally as impressive dribbling from Dani on her reverse side . reminded me of the zigzags of wobbles along trumpington road. Except the two gals on Saturday had a hockey ball well under control and I had a severe stitch that sliced thought my duodenum at every stride.

Mile 11: finally back in the centre of town, re-orientated and on the home straight. Quick jelly baby for energy. The south team had a burst of enthusiasm about this time too, with Rachel pushing up the wing and special mention to the wonderful Lydia for some truely beautiful saves. Kicking those pelican strikes away like my hopes and dreams of being what they call “an elegant runner”. see photos . 

Mile 12: the one for the fans. Through the centre of town where you’re just about to cry but have to look good for the paparazzi. Time for a glow up, wiping the sweat from your face, and snot from your upper lip you run on. South fought valiantly till the end kept pushing  as the weather made it impossible to stay cheery. Both sides were clearly disgruntled at the conditions and their own game. But almost at the finish line. Pelicans get a penalty corner.

Mile 13: there it is, the big banner, the crowds cheering your name, the free lucozade and banana you’re not sure tou want, are finally within reach. But then bam, out of nowhere. You lose a toenail. Or pelicans knock one in off the back post. Either or, just as painful and as slow motion as they can be. It’s done. The run is over, you can relax , take a breathe and remember that at the end of the day it’s not about the taking part. It’s all about the winning. Or something  like that.  We live to run another day and next time we’ll have ourselves ready for a “PB” I think the running community call it. 

This however is where the similarities between saturday and Sunday end. On Saturday we came 2nd and on Sunday I came 2674th.