I WAS one of those 6,000 runners who lined up in vain to run the Sheffield Half Marathon on Sunday, the one that was infamously cancelled 50 minutes after it was due to start.
No-one had delivered the water for the on-course water stations so the race couldn’t go ahead. But that was not the most remarkable thing to happen on such a strange day.
I was due to run for Breast Cancer Care and wore, for the first time, the charity running vest I will be wearing at next week’s marathon in Rotterdam. I’ve had it modified with the Running With Diane logo and the name of the marathon.
So there am I, in among 6,000 other runners randomly thrown together from various parts of the country and a young woman standing near me sees the wording, leans across and says, incredibly, that she too is running next Sunday in Rotterdam.
What are the chances of that? An unbelievable coincidence, given that I only confirmed I was entering Sheffield a month ago and only picked up the vest on the Friday before the race. Then what are the chances that in the middle of 6,000 people I happen to be standing near the only other runner in the crowd who is also running in Rotterdam?
And what are the chances that this young woman’s name would be Diane?
Someone is smiling down on me and wishing me well. I will not let them down...
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