Sunday morning 15th January was definitely a thermals, umbrella and welly day as 25 volunteers assembled at Gaskell Motor Bodies in Great Harwood to receive their briefing for marshalling the annual East Lancs Hospice 10k run. The Provincial Trailer was the meeting point for the volunteers who were made up of Brethren from 11 Lodges and across all the Halls in the District.
Once the marshalling points were allocated and the briefings were delivered, the Brethren reluctantly stepped from the relative dryness of the trailer canopy into the howling wind and torrential rain to make their way to their posts.
The main event began at 11.00am and within 20 minutes the front runner came charging up Cut Lane to the 3 mile marker like a blur, he was closely followed by the second and third positions before the flood of the main body of runners hot on their heels. The rough terrain along the route gave many opportunities for the runners to splash their way through the muddy puddles, with the end of the route seeing hundreds of bedraggled but happy runners crossing the finish line to collect their medals and have a well deserved hot drink.
In total, there were over 500 runners taking part in the main race and the juniors shorter run. Denise Gee from the Hospice said she hoped the event would bring between £8000 – £9000 of much needed funds.
All the Brethren were cold and wet by the end of the morning, but all spoke of the inspirational effort shown by the runners. Maybe there should be a contingent from the East Lancs Brethren entering the run next year… or maybe not!!