What a sporting year

I'm just watching the Sports Personality of the Year awards and looking up at my half marathon medal. In case you hadn't noticed it's been the ultimate sporting year.

Dear grandchildren,

I was in London for the olympics, and I went to them and saw Federer playing on Wimbledon centre court, Ellie Simmonds winning a gold medal, and the prime minister handing out medals. 

Ellie was here

And a girl who came from a city I will always love, my university town, won the heptathlon with style and grace.

Jess Ennis in Sheffield

It was incredible. The atmosphere in London became so joyful and united that people actually talked and smiled at each other on the tube [they definitely won't believe that bit!] and I got to walk passed the olympic rings and then paralympics agitos on Tower Bridge every single day.

I even made friends with the creepy mascot!

In the same year, Andy Murray won the US Open and I stayed up with my sister in a sports bar to watch it happen...then I crawled in to work the next day still grinning.

My favourite sport, my favourite player

And before the Olympics even happened Bradley Wiggins (Wiggo the great) had already won the Tour de France, something people said an English man would never do. And Andy Murray had got in to the Wimbledon final. We cried when he made that final and we cried with him when he didn't win. 

The other hero in yellow

Finally, dearest grandkids, that summer I ran. I stuck to a training plan and I ran until I could run 13.1 miles. Then I did what every fat girl dreams of, I got a half marathon medal and I became a runner.

In my own yellow vest, hands off Wiggo