St Andrews Sport Relief Run 2008

Six members of StAKC ran a mile for charity at this year’s event hosted by the university’s sports centre. One of us – Alastair – had never run a mile before but the team effort helped him pull through. To make things more interesting we ran in hakama and gi and some of us in full armour as well. Clearly the hakama is made for riding, not running and we had to adapt our stride to the yards of cotton covering our legs.

People were quite intrigued by our get-up but we were not the only ones to spice things up by wearing unsuitable gear. There was a group of kayak enthusiasts wearing helmets and life vest who carried paddles where we had swords. Both groups acknowledged the other group’s commitment with a friendly nod and wave in which must have looked like quite an alien encounter on a spring day on the university’s playing fields.

We have managed to raise £350 for charity and there are pledges for another £150. Thank you to Alastair, Derek, Ezra, James and Stephen and especially to all our sponsors. It has been worth the while and it was less cold than our traditional kangeiko on the beach.

Michael Gratzke, Dojo leader StAKC