My application for neighbour of the year

Karen Next Door is no more. She didn't die or anything, thank goodness. But she has now become Karen Marathon* having completed her first and (I kind of hope) her last marathon. She did it in the respectable time of 4 hours 54 mins and in the process raised over £1000 for Lupus UK. A-maz-ing.

I was ever keen to support throughout. Well, she's my friend isn't she. Plus she asked me to run it with her. Once the laughter had stopped I felt it my duty to cheer from the sidelines as it were.

My support came in a variety of activities - making a playlist for her so she didn't get bored of her music, going to the gym the odd time with her, sponsoring her, and (most proudly for me) lending her my iPod for the big run itself. It's like I ran it myself!!

Come the day itself I, of course, wanted to go see her run and actually cheer from the sidelines. She told me beforehand that it was the Antrim Road she was dreading most - long and uphill. So I decided that was where she'd want to see my cheery face. I got up early on race day and made it through police road blocks and stood and waited...and waited. I was there about 2 hours into the race and although there was plenty of runners going past, hardly any of them were women. So I waited some more, and eavesdropped nicely into conversations. The men beside me had run the Boston and New York marathons. At one point, I had to stop myself chipping into their conversation, totally forgetting that they neither knew me or knew that I had been listening, so discreet I am. (Correct spelling Brian?)

Anyway, I waited and waited some more. Let me just say, that if you're ever going to run the marathon then you should wear something totally distictive. Karen told me she was wearing blue, which turned out to be the most popular colour. As I looked down the Antrim Road there were loads of blue runners hauling their butts up the hill, but none looked like Karen. I did see a guy from YF from years ago running however. It was only slightly awkward as he said hey to me and as I did a double take at him and said hello back before he disappeared round the corner. But back to Karen though, I was starting to get worried, goodness knows she'd had her share of injuries over the training for it, what if something had happened?

I decided a better position was needed, plus Boston and New York had gone on so there was nothing to listen to anymore. So I moved and watched, and as finally as another haze of blue came up towards us, one stood out. Was it Karen?! A quick check of her number revealed it definitely was! I readied my camera, took a quick photo (all too quick as it turned out) and waved at her.

And nothing.

So as she was in front of me, I shouted 'Karen! Karen! Kaaaaarrrreeenn!' She was fiddling with her earphone so would surely hear that last one.

But nothing.

Ah well, I thought to myself, at least I got a photo of her.

Well, technically she is in the shot and smiling. No really, look behind luminous 2308. See the blue headband?

Other people around me gave me sympathetic smiles as she ran on past oblivous to my presence. All I could say was 'Forty five minutes standing here and she didn't even see me'. I know, poor old me eh?!

Disappointed, but not undeterred in my quest for neighbour of the year, I hot footed back to the car to move on to another vantage point - the area around Abbeycentre. Traffic was worse than expected and as I parked the car, I looked down the road to see a bobbing blue headband go past. Dammit.

I started the car again and tried to remember where was next on the route. Off round Abbeycentre I went and promptly got stuck in more traffic. Thinking quickly, I aborted the plan to get to the Shore Road, parked at the Door Store (Neighbour of Year Awards committee, I risked getting clamped by doing that) and ran, yes, ran down to the junction. I looked down the road and saw her emerge from the corner. But something else got my attention.

'Tina!'

I turned round, half expected someone to be calling a Tina beside me, or I misheard it and they were saying 'Seen 'er!' or something. But no, it was my friend Kirsty and her husband walking the route. We had a quick 'how's going/keep it up' conversation. Crucially, this took place as I tried to get my camera into burst mode.

Karen was getting closer and determined she wouldn't miss me this time, I started flailing my hands about, much like people do after accidents to show the ambulance where to go.

This clearly worked and she spotted me! She even smiled for the picture. Unfortunately, my messing about trying to get burst shots meant that I had somehow put it on timer. This is only remarkable in the fact that I didn't take a video which is my usual way to mess up a photo. Honestly I am so like an OAP trying to use modern technology it's unreal. In a panic I switched it off and on again during which time I had little conversation with Karen. She said she was feeling alright and I told her to keep going. See, ever the encouraging friend, me.

As she ran on past me, I tried to take another shot.

Yes, so it turned out to be in black and white this time. I don't even know how to get black and white on my camera! Although, I think this might look cool if you photoshopped the traffic lights to green. Yes, ok I am clutching at straws here.

Pleased that she finally saw me I went back to the car. I didn't run this time, I was still a bit puffed out from running the 200m down the hill.

*English language grammar rules would dictate that I use the Marathon part of her name first, but I won't remember that when I look for her number in my phone, so it has to go at the end. I should also probably call her Karen Pheidippides but as I don't know how to say that I'll go with the simpler Marathon. Plus he did die at the end of it, not a good omen if you ask me.