Sparkle Dash 5k Charity Run 6/8/17

Let's get one thing straight here, I am not a sporty or athletic person. I was in the netball team at school and I also played a bit of girls football but that was about the height of it. When I left school, the gym was the last place I would think to visit (I've been three times in my life time.)

Anyhu...
 
I have always wanted to do the likes of the Race for Life or the Colour Run, short runs where you raise money for a deserving charity. I missed out on doing the Race for life so when my manager at work suggested we take part in the Sparkle Dash, I jumped at the chance.

The Sparkle Dash is a 5k run to raise money for the Northern Ireland's Children's Hospice, a charity which supports children with illnesses and disabilities and their families here in Northern Ireland. I actually remember raising money for the hospice when it first opened when I was at school. 

There were three of us from my shop doing the run, myself, my manager and my niece Zoe who has just started working with us. We were joining forces with other ladies from 3 of the other shops in the Northern Ireland area. In total there were 10 of us representing our company. 

Regarding preparation for the run, I did absolutely nothing, seriously! Unless you count running up and down the stairs in work as keeping fit? I'm such a lazy couch potato lol.

Day of the run

As the run was in Belfast, Zoe and I had to leave Ballymena at 9am (yes 9am on a Sunday morning). The last time I was up early on a Sunday was when I was Disneyland Paris (blog posts on that will come eventually.) The night before I put my hair into French plaits which I managed to do myself, not very well mind you. I was actually quite excited about the run, despite not having done it before. However, I woke in the middle of the night with a very sore stomach which I was worried would stop me from doing the run all together. Thankfully I wasn't sick and the pain was gone by the time my alarm went off at 7:30am. I did feel a wee bit uncomfortable though and only managed a small slice of toast for my breakfast. I applied minimal make up but applied some cool glitter eye shadow to keep up with the sparkle theme. As I'm more Lazy Spice than Sporty Spice, I don't own much sports clothing so I pulled on my only pair of jogging bottoms that I wear once a year to the Girls Brigade (I've had them since 2002, no joke), the only gym type t-shirt I own and my Daisy Duck Addidas trainers which are about 10 years old. It was raining outside so I also wore my Primark Gryffindor hoody and my Hogwarts rain coat. Of course it would be lashing down in Northern Ireland on the day we are doing a charity run that requires us to be covered in coloured glitter and dry paint. I also sprayed the end of my hair pink with Superdrug's pink hair spray.



Here's me and my niece Zoe on our way to Belfast.

The rain seemed to get worse, the closer we got to Belfast. Belfast is about 45 minutes away from Ballymena by the way. Then we ended up getting lost as there were road works near by. However, we did manage to get there for 10am, the time we were due to meet the others. I was not at all impressed with the lovely Northern Irish weather. I stupidly took my hoody off, thinking I'd be ok. Zoe and I left my sister (her Mum) and my brother in law, then walked to the little registration tent to wait on the others coming. It was properly lashing down now and I was a sad Laura. We did take shelter in the little tent while we waited to register. One of the other store managers had all our paperwork and details so then we paid our £22.50 and got given our little goody bags. Our group then walked to where the food carts and stuff were to wait on the last of our team. I stuck my white Sparkle Dash t-shirt over my rain coat as I was blooming freezing and didn't want to take my coat off. Honestly, it felt more like winter than the middle of summer. The waiting on the race starting was unbearable due to the cold and rain. I was completely drenched and very, very cold. The man who owned the food cart kindly let some of us stand inside his van to keep warm. This did give me a chance to check through my little goody bag which consisted of: A yellow head band, a pen, little packet of mints, plastic bag (i assume to sit on in the car or use as a poncho), a pair of very trendy goggles and one of those snood type things. The goggles were to stop the glitter and paint from going in our eyes. We also wrote Quiz on our t-shirts with a marker pen but it didn't stay on very long.


Here's me and Zoe looking like drowned rats before the race had even begun.

I think we waited about an hour before anything happened. Then there was a warm up but I was far too cold and wet to move but I knew I had to put some effort in and ended up doing my own thing in the end lol. My rain coat didn't even keep me particularly dry either as I was soaking and very cold. 

I think it started at about 11:30am and I was never as glad. The best bit was that it actually stopped raining, yes the rain stopped for us hurray!. We started off walking then did the odd jog and run here and there. To be honest, none of us were in much of a hurry. 

The first colour was a lovely pink colour which is my favourite colour. It was all lovely and sparkly.

Dont I look trendy?

The green station was the worst as the person threw it right into the side of my face and into my ear. I'm still trying to get the green glitter out of it. Maybe they knew about me dressing up as Zelena from Once Upon a time and wanted to give me the green glitter face look. I was very thankful for the goggles. There was a yellow/gold station, a blue one, pink, purple, neon orange and neon green. I was like a glittery mermaid/unicorn by the time we had finished. Made blowing my running nose a right pain. I think the glitter stuck to our clothing more because of it being wet.

Look at my glittery hand.

I'm not sure how long it took us to go the run but we managed the 5k. It didn't actually take that long nor was it that bad. It felt more like a casual stroll with friends with the occasional run. The colour stations had huge puddles of the paint and some kids were lying in it as though they were making snow angels. When we finally did cross the finish line, we got given our medals.

We got a couple of group photos taken then it was time to go find my sister and brother in law in the car park. Just as we were heading back to the car it started raining again. My brother in law had put a sheet on the car seats for us but the glitter ended up going everywhere anyways. 

Before we headed back to Ballymena, we popped over to visit my older brother, Adrian who is currently in the Northern Ireland Hospice getting treatment for cancer. The lovely receptionist insisted on taking a photo of Zoe and I as she never got the chance to go down to see the run. (the two hospices are linked). 

It was then home to jump into a nice warm shower which I was never as happy and grateful for. My sister insisted I went to her house so we didn't cover two houses in glitter. Seriously, I think every room in her house had a sprinkling of glitter between me and Zoe lol. Even her three dogs and cat probably got a dusting of it at some point. I managed to get rid of the majority of the glitter except the green stuff in my ears. My sister kindly fed me some dinner too as I was starving with hunger. I was also very glad to get changed into dry, clean clothes too but as soon as I got home and did a load of washing, I got changed into my fluffy Harry Potter pyjamas. I have started to ache a wee bit and I have a feeling I may end up with the cold over the next few days. 

Despite the horrible rain, I did enjoy myself and would do it again in a heart beat. 

Here is the link to our just giving page

Just giving page

A few tips
1) Wear old clothing - You're going to get covered in coloured paint and glitter so no point in wearing your most expensive gym gear. 

2) Avoid heavy clothing such as jumpers, hoodys and jogging bottoms. If it rains, these will be very uncomfortable and it'll be harder to the get the glitter out of them. Gym leggings or shorts are ideal with a water proof jacket.
3)Bring a poncho or rain jacket - Just to be on the safe side. I was very thankful for my rain coat today, even if it didn't keep me particularly dry.
4)If you're bringing a bag or backpack make sure it's one that's going to be easily wiped clean. Avoid cloth bags at all costs. 
5) Make sure to wear the goggles provided to stop the glitter and paint from getting into your eyes and don't rub your eyes at all.
6)Bring sheets or plastic bags to cover car seats or to put your dirty/glittery clothes into. 
7)If you can, bring a change of clothes, though these may get covered in glitter.
8)Carry a bottle or two of water so you can wash your hands before eating etc. Pop a towel into the car too.
9) Have fun.