On Sunday, RBD and I headed to London to watch my amazing friend, Kirsten, take her part in the London marathon. Now, I am not a "sad" emotional person, but I am the kind of emotional person that when stood on the side-lines cheering on one of my gurls, my eyes begin to water and my throat chokes. I am so proud of that girl and all of the amazing runners that day. Who braved the fear of their own failure, who ran the race for their own goals or in memory of someone they've lost or for a million other reasons and was truly one of the most uplifting and inspiring things I have ever witnessed.
It was the personification of Determination through gritted teeth, limping feet and steely, focused eyes. Determination leaked through each person in streams of salty sweat, soaking their vests and splashing on to their trainers as the sun blared down. It was offered up in attack against "The Wall", propelling them through, brick by brick, unwilling to waiver or be defeated. It was the action of a hand brushing away blood from a grazed knee and a stifling costume never being discarded (we saw someone carrying an actual washing machine on their back). It was a collective river running downstream between the crowds of animated supporters shouting the names of strangers and egging them on, Determination responded in weary smiles and fist punches to the air. It was in wheel-chairs among runners and arms not in pairs and arms slung around strangers shoulders and breathless encouragements of, "you're nearly there, let's do this together!" and the tearful faces when their eyes met the finish line and they slumped into the embrace of their beaming relatives and friends. Their prize a medal, a tangible sign of their Determination, to keep forever and remind them of the wonderful things that can happen when you believe in yourself, if only for a moment, if only for a day.
We want to be able to support more of our WomenWhoDo who embark on challenges to raise money for charities. We have set up a page on our website where you can submit your next charity event donation page: https://www.womenwd.co.uk/charity complete the form and we will try and get it listed on the website for you.
About the Author:
Emma is the Founder of Women Who Do, running networking events in Winchester, Southampton and Exeter. She has worked in marketing for 6 years. If you'd like to be featured as a guest blogger you can contact her on emma@womenwd.co.uk
