[caption id="attachment_2545" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Team Firefly![/caption]

Yesterday evening at approximately 7.30pm, Firefly joined 5,000 women to take part in Cancer Research’s Race for Life in Battersea Park in support of a great cause. I’m happy to report that we all managed to reach the finish line: as an average, we did 5K in 41 minutes, with the top runner clocking in at an impressive 24 minutes.

We have plenty of fond memories of the night.

[caption id="attachment_2548" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The warm-up...[/caption]

After turning on our glow-in-the-dark Firefly antennae and doing an aerobic warm up (which some managed better than others), we took our places near the starting line. The atmosphere was definitely one of the highlights: there were so many women of all ages running, which motivated us all to keep up the pace. My specially-created “Race for Life” playlist pounding in my ears also helped keep me going until the end.

Afterwards, we staggered into the pub across the road (clutching our well-deserved medals) to treat ourselves to a celebratory drink or two. More photos were taken, this time with a lot more flushed cheeks. Some of us took a little longer to find the pub than others, as my lack of direction caused some colleagues and I to walk another 5K just trying to find the park exit!

[caption id="attachment_2549" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Time for a drink![/caption]

Thank you to everyone who sponsored us: we smashed our £250 target and every pound donated spurred us on to fly across the finish line. It may have been an unusual way to spend a birthday, but it definitely made it memorable. This morning there are a few groans around the office and we are all a little stiff, but it hasn’t stopped some of us from researching other running opportunities in the near future. The marathon next year, perhaps?  Never say never.