Let me tell you: when it rains, it pours.
And pour it did—not just in the literal sense, either. Monday night saw 17 strong, determined ladies came out to brave the elements in the name of YPH. Hallelujah! It was raining women. Ladies, thank you. We salute you.
After doing our signature YPH dynamic stretches by the wall, our ladies set out for a 3.5 mile run along the river up to Millennium Bridge, back past Clifford’s tower and up the Shambles before heading home to the Minster Inn. As the rain came down harder and harder, the smiles got bigger and bigger. Were we mad? Probably. But we were strong in our numbers and loved every second of it.
It was great to see so many faces, both familiar and new. Some were veteran runners of the club while others were out for the first time. It made no difference. No one was 'too slow'. No one was left behind. It was a pick n' mix of the very best kind, with each woman bringing a unique flavour to the YPH tribe. Danielle the gazelle was the definition of tough, leading the pack with future baby Smithson in tow, no doubt chanting "Faster, mummy! Faster!" Katie, Rachel and Hannah were right there with her, just as strong, striding and supportive as ever. The Ellwood ladies, Mel and Lisa, made a family outing of it, as did Carole Whitby, who ran beside sister Stacey and her handsome furbabies Einstein and Rolo. Hannah T. strode like a natural as she came out of a 10 year retirement with grace and pure grit. Helena and Lucy made the rest of us look bad, with perfect form and bright, technicolor leggings, only to be outdone by Jeanne with her neon jacket and electric, rather mischievous, grin. New face Rachael B. kept in tandem with Victoria and enjoyed herself in spite of herself. All the while, Dee and I had to keep pinching ourselves to make sure the whole thing wasn't one big, glorious dream. I'd also like to give a shout-out to our incredibly supportive YPH men who stood behind their ladies so they could make it down. Simon set up camp at the Minster Inn with Grace, Lee wrangled kiddos off the scene and Mark pretended he was looking after Eliza, rather than the other way around. To these and the rest supporting behind the scenes, thank you. We really are Stronger Together.
Again, to all the ladies, thank you and well done. It was such a joy to see so many down and running side by side--and with such strength. Keeping that spring in our stride, let's keep the momentum going! We hope to see you all down soon at Wednesday night training, Sunday long runs or at the next Ladies Run on Monday the 3rd of June.
Until then, in the immortal words of DeeGeeBee: Run happy, be happy.
Your Ladies' Co Captains,
Deanna and Dee
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