June 14. Day 165. Going up

 On the map it was marked as "Heartbreak Hill". We call it the streets where we live. Today thousands of Brisbane residents took part in the annual City2South, a nice little 14 plus kilometre run culminating in a climb up Highgate "heartbreak" Hill pretty much right outside my door. While there was also a shorter five kilometre event for families it also featured the hill.
I confess no-one in my family did actually run the race but we did walk up and down our section of the hill a number of times. This allowed us to
1) cheer on the competitors
2) enjoy the free music and
3) get out beyond the race course. It surprised me how many residents arrived at the road blocks unable to drive anywhere because they had failed to see either the notices in the letterbox nor the giant posters that have been on the route for weeks.  Some took it well. Others not so much. The competitors were, however, taking the event in very good spirits despite (or perhaps because of) the light rain that just kept coming. There were a few kids hitching lifts on Mum or Dad's shoulders or swinging their way up the hill but mostly there was just the sounds of reassuring voices and pounding feet. The whingers were still home in bed (or at the road blocks having a discussion with the traffic control people). As is the way with these charity events, they may be a nightmare to organise and cause a degree of disruption to residents but the rewards are huge - both for the charities who benefit and the people who take part.