As she waited for the race to start, Hannah warmed up with her usual tricep stretches and side lunges. She jumped up and down and jiggled her body to loosen herself up. Anxious to start with, Hannah stopped still and her nerves increased when the organiser’s voice suddenly sounded on the tannoy. Hannah took a deep breath before giving her team mates a quick thumbs up.
“On your marks,” he said.
Hannah quickly positioned herself accordingly.
“Get set.”
She dug her leading foot into the ground in readiness.
The starting pistol fired.
Hannah propelled herself forward and with Wethersham Hall behind her, set off on a jog down its tree-lined avenue. She didn’t care that Mel, Liv, and Francesca were racing ahead. Preferring a steadier start, Hannah had a plan. In her mind, if she conserved enough energy, she’d not only finish the race, but would overtake her team members one by one when she completed the last leg with a sprint.
As Hannah settled into her own pace, she couldn’t believe how quickly race day had come around. It didn’t seem two minutes since Beth and Archie had left for France, and Liv was suggesting she, Hannah and Mel sign up. Hannah had hoped Carl would arrange an earlier ferry home, so Beth and Archie could be there to cheer her on in person. However, Hannah pushed her disappointment aside, and keeping her head up and chest out, told herself it was only right they got to enjoy the last couple of days of their holiday.
Hannah followed the runners ahead when they took a right and after a short distance picked up a path that hugged a huge expanse of playing fields. Hannah had done all her training on either concrete or the treadmill and running on grass was a different experience. The shock that usually ran through her feet and up to her knees was less impacting thanks to the softer surface and while running had consistently given Hannah the headspace to think, without traffic and meandering pedestrians to consider, she was pleased to find her mind felt even freer.
A fellow competitor overtook Hannah.
“Good luck,” the woman shouted as she passed by.
Hannah called after her. “You too!”
Other than beating Mel and Liv, Hannah didn’t care where she placed. The fact that she was taking part in the race at all was something to be proud of. In the space of a few weeks, it was as if she’d become a different person. She’d got fitter; she’d mooted a new direction workwise; acknowledged it was time to give Beth and Archie more responsibility; and for a short while, had even considered opening herself up romantically. Hannah frowned. Until Gabe had reminded her that matters of the heart brought nothing but misery.
Hannah glanced over her shoulder, pleased to see she’d got round three sides of the parkland. But her positivity was interrupted when she began to feel the burn in her legs. Her muscles had clearly worked harder than usual due to the undulating fields.
She reached a bridge and leaving the grass behind, ran onto a trail that cut through woodland. Aware that this was the longest stretch of the run, the light dappled around her, and the terrain grew even more uneven, which wasn’t just tiring, it put pressure on Hannah’s weak ankle. Forced to constantly negotiate the rocks and logs that lay in her path, while avoiding overgrown nettles and scrub, Hannah had to concentrate on her environment as much as she did her breathing. It would have been easy to compensate by slowing down, but Hannah knew she couldn’t afford to. If she didn’t keep up her pace, she’d never overtake Liv and Mel. No way was she losing their bet.
Hannah’s foot caught in a pothole, and she yelped as she tumbled forward. She put her arms out to break her fall, wincing as her palms slapped the ground. A searing pain shot through her ankle.
“Jesus! Are you okay?” another runner said, stopping to help.
Hannah hauled herself up into a seated position, and pushing her fringe away from her face, gave the good Samaritan a fake smile. “I’m fine, thank you. I just tripped. Don’t let me stop you. You go, finish the race.”
The good Samaritan didn’t appear convinced.
“Honestly, I’ll be all right when I get my breath back.”
“Are you sure?”
Thankfully Hannah was at last taken at her word and the good Samaritan headed off.
Left to her own devices, Hannah cautiously wiggled her foot. Her ankle hurt, but the fact that it moved without making her scream told Hannah it wasn’t broken. Looking around at the leafy wilderness, she wanted to cry. She pulled her phone from her pocket ready to ring for help, before staring at the shattered screen. Tapping it regardless, she tried to get into her contact list, but to no avail. Hannah’s shoulders slumped. Wanting to cry even more, it seemed she was on her own.
Hannah knew she couldn’t sit there all day, and careful not to further injure herself, she managed to haul herself back onto her feet. She took a step forward, but flinching, quickly realised she wasn’t going to get very far unaided.
She glanced around the woodland floor until her eyes settled on a broken branch. Hopping over, Hannah balanced herself as best she could as she picked it up and tore off its excess twigs. Testing the branch out for size, she insisted it would make the perfect crutch. Tears finally sprung in her eyes as her predicament set in.
Hannah had been looking forward to showing Beth and Archie her medal when they got home from France, but after falling there was no way she could finish the race in the allotted time to get one. Hannah whimpered. No way could she win her bet.
She took a deep breath and despite everything, a determination suddenly swept over her. “One thing you can do.” Hannah mustered every ounce of willpower she had. “Is finish this damn race.”
CHAPTER48
“Come on, Dad. We’re gonna miss all the action.”
As they made their way through groups of spectators, Gabe hurried Roger along. Getting to the other side of town on a Saturday lunchtime had been difficult enough, but Gabe hadn’t anticipated the added trouble it took finding a parking space once they’d arrived at Wethersham Hall. The hour-long race was well underway and, no doubt, runners were already crossing the finishing line. Gabe wouldn’t have been surprised if Hannah was one of them. He knew she’d trained hard and was more than capable of smashing it.
