I’ve completed a 7 km run in the heat of a sunny, summer Budapest today. I’m exhausted. I did it as part of an Embassy team: six of us running in relay and so completing a marathon between us. Our aim was to help the Robert Burns International Foundation (RBIF) raise money to buy a special minibus for the Hungarian Junior Paralympic team. To date we’ve raised half the amount. And I hope the marathon will have got us most of the rest of the way. I would like to thank all of those who registered as charity entries for the race and supported the Hungarian Junior Paralympic Squad.
The cause was important. But it was also a lot of fun (in retrospect anyway) to run round the streets of Budapest and along the Danube as the crowds cheered us on. Really hot, though. And the distance between the 5 and 6 km mark seemed to be really long. Luckily I caught up with a friend with just over a km to go and we finished together. How do marathon runners do that 6 times over?
There was a really nice atmosphere. After the run (and some time for recovery) I was able to chat with some of the paralympic team about their plans. What they do is inspirational. And the team around them so dedicated. Please take a look at the RBIF website to see what we’re trying to help them with. And please think about a modest contribution.
Meanwhile, here are some pictures of the day. They give a good feel for the event and the fun we had.