Gym Knickers and Rain

So, Kirkby Malham was a resounding success all round, and we are all buoyed up and ready to head off to Edale primary school next.   It's not just for the younger generations of pupils though, we are in talks with getting some secondary schools involved too.

I distinctly remember being a teenager at a school near Casterton and being told to run up and down the Cumbrian fells in torrential rain in horrific P.E knickers (at this point i'll just point out that it's Ellie writing not Matt or Andy,  i don't think they have ever worn gym knickers...!), I'm sure it was character building or something similar.
Either way I don't remember being all too enthused about the idea.  It would be fantastic to get teenagers hooked on running, and turning it from something you dread to something you look forward to and you never know where it will take you.
One of the most inspiring points of Andy's presentation yesterday at Kirkby Malham was when he brought out his 'Beginners' swimming certificate, which he was awarded when he was 8, for swimming  10 yards.  Everybody starts somewhere and Andy went on to swim the English Channel, at this point I heard jaws hit the floor.

Dreams can happen if you work hard enough at them and want them badly enough, and I think it's so important to make young people believe that.  We should be out there encouraging them  to think big and exciting.  And here the lecture endeth ;)