Sunday 15 December . . a cracking Christmas morning out . .

The Christmas Cracker 10k, organised by Weston Athletic Club, has been part of the south west's running calendar for years. I remember going along to support some friends taking part in it in the late 1980s. For some reason - I don't know why - I didn't get around to entering it and taking part until last year, when I grabbed one of the last 50 places.

Christmas Cracker, 2012

It's essential - compulsory even - to wear some tinsel whilst running this race. But it's better if you run in fancy dress. And most people do wear fancy dress. Last year my contribution was to wear a Santa hat and wrap some tinsel round my neck. It felt like barbed wire by the time I finished. Having taken part in it once though, I realised that it would be much more fun to wear fancy dress, and so this year I became an Elf for the day.

As usual the Larkers had a laugh driving down to the race. We were all in fancy dress and were looking forward to finding more Larkers and seeing what they were wearing. When we got there, Weston-super-Mare was full of all sorts of runners . . hundreds of Santas, hundreds of Elves, wise men, shepherds, Josephs and Marys. Some turkeys, some crackers, some dressed as runners, and for some bizarre reason . . penguins. Have I missed something? The Christmas Penguin? The Penguin in the Manger? The Penguin of the Lord came down? Good King Penguinslas? Who knew!

The race started under the Grand Pier and we ran north as far as we could before turning back and running 4k towards Uphill. At Uphill we stayed on the flat, and we turned off the beach before heading back to Weston. As soon as we could, the course took us onto the Promenade, where many of us had got soaking wet the previous Thursday evening in the most recent 5m Prom run.

As we got further down the prom and got closer to Grand Pier we could see the finish. The trouble was, we had to run past it. In fact we still had 2k to go, including a circuit of Marine Lake which took us across the causeway I'd last run over in 1992.

Crossing the Causeway in the Tough Ten, 1992

I'd run the whole race with Maggie, who'd wanted to take part but needed to take it easy because of a dodgy hamstring. We had a great time, nattering about this and that, and Maggie provided me with much needed encouragement as I struggled at times. The first 4k had been into the wind, along the beach, and it took more out of me than I'd have liked.

Anyway, back to the 8k mark on the Prom. As we ran past the finish area, we heard the announcer call out that Vanessa had finished, we saw Nicola and Yvonne, and Debbie, dashing towards the finish line. A little later we saw Paul in his stunning onesie. And then, after we'd crossed that Causeway, it was time for Maggie and I to hit the beach again. I looked across to the finish and it seemed so far away, and I told Maggie that I couldn't do it. I was all out of oomph. A few paces down the beach we got a big boost when Jim Plunkett-Cole took our photo. Alfonso was there too, to help him. But I still didn't think I could do much more than collapse across the finish line.

thanks, Jim . .

There's something about a finish line though isn't there. It used to happen sooner to me than it does nowadays . . but once I get the scent of a good finish line in my nostrils, I'm off. There was a fairy just ahead of us (really!) and Maggie suggested we try and pass her. The fairy didn't stand a chance! It was so good to finish, and after a moment or two we were back with the Larkers. Hugs all round, although Paul and Martin didn't seem to appreciate them. Or at least, not mine!

Tall Elf, Christmas Cracker, 2013

And then back to Weston College, Race HQ for the day, to collect our fab red t-shirts, and our mince pies, and climb all those stairs to get our bags and to get changed. Finally to the bar, to catch up with everyone, in time to see some of the penguins, our very own Larkers Alan and Sheila, get a prize for their fancy dress.

A great race, a great day out, and great fun. Thanks everyone . .