And for the competitors today - it was about keeping the feet moving forwards......

"The great thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving."
Oliver Wendell Holmes.

This was an excellent quote to share with my brother as he contemplated today's duathlon in the torrential rain which we were staring at forlornly out the kitchen window. I already knew that I would be moving in the direction of the cafe in Ballachulish - by now, AFTER the event and not before as we were already a little sluggish, but as he is not accustomed to running, and there were two running stages in this event, his day was a little more daunting. After some thought, he comforted himself that his general direction would be forward, and that he just had to nip down to Glencoe, progress through the event, stage by stage and then jump into the car and head south to the party in Glasgow that he was REALLY looking forward to.
This went very well and he took 10 minutes off his practice time, coming in 27th out of more than 60 competitors. He sat in his car and got half changed, and then stepped out the car to speak to someone, shut the door (with all possessions including wallet and car keys inside) and heard the locking system kick in with a 'thwump!' He has a very nice, leased Saab. A very nice, malfunctioning Saab. The Saab lady on the end of the rescue phone line, said that she needed a payment over the phone before she could send someone out. The fact that he couldn't get his wallet which was locked in his car, meant that she couldn't send help - sorry. He did give a very convincing tale of woe, about being in the middle of nowhere, just off a mountain and very wet, with only a friend and his mobile, and being close to perishing. But no, if he couldn't make the advance payment of £120 she wasn't sending help.
Thankfully his tale of woe was only to test her level of compassion and not quite true, as I drove him to the nearest garage, where a very capable man came and opened the door for £60 and then drove off saying "nip in and pay the fee when you're ready."
So my brother continued on his forward journey, having actually been very calm and upbeat about where he was, but always clear in his own mind that he would still get to where wanted to be. I hope he doesn't have too sore a head tomorrow. Well done, Bro.