James points at the wall where a poster proclaiming about Round the Bays is hanging.
“You want to do it?” he asks excitedly.
I hesitate. Mingling with workmates outside of work?
“Michelle’s doing it,” he points at Michelle, who looks up slightly confused before realising what we’re talking about. “Oh yeah,” she exclaims, “Come do it!”
Now, for those of you who don’t know, Round the Bays is a run where you go around four or five bays at Mission Bay in Auckland. McDonald’s was offering to pay our entry fee if we gave donations towards Ronald McDonald House – which I thought was an amazing idea!
“Yeah, sure! I’ll totally do it!” I reply.
Two weeks before the day, I decide I should get some training in. The run was just over eight kilometres (just over five miles) so using Google Maps, I try to figure out a practice route. Seeing as I had two weeks I thought I’d start small and go for six kilometres.
Unfortunately I didn’t really think this through; the route I had picked went up this massive hill that just kept on going. It was one of those hills where you think you’re near the top and then it decides to laugh in your face as it continues in a steep climb around a sneaky corner.
Halfway up I was really sick of jogging so I started to sprint up the rest, which was a seriously terrible idea. I felt faint and dizzy from dehydration and stumbled my way around Mount Eden in search of a water fountain.
To my utter horror, when I did find a water fountain, it was broken and didn’t work so I ended up – out of desperation – staggering into a bathroom and greedily drinking from the sink (using my hands!)
I then decide to have a little nap on some soft grass, under a nice, shady tree.
I never went for another run before the big day.
A week before the run, James reminds us all that we’re supposed to be getting sponsored for this thing so that we can donate to Ronald McDonald House. Most people were only donating $10. In fact, the only person who wasn’t donating $10 was James, who had a nice big $50 by his name.
I grin. “I’m gonna one-up you,” I declare, “I’m gonna donate fifty-one dollars!”
“Woh-ho!” James raises his hands in surrender, “Okay then.”
I end up giving $56. And yes, I donated the most from our store.
The Big Day.
Natalie, Michelle, and there’s me blinking in the blinding morning sun.
Were we ready? Probably not. But we were excited! I was especially impressed by the not-as-bad-as-I-thought-they-would-be shirts that Maccas provided.
I was entrusted with the bus money and we all squish into a bus that was bursting at the seams. There was a couple sitting in the seats near me, and the man had proudly run it last year (but only last year) and was explaining everything that would happen in a very loud I-know-everything-and-my-opinion-is-more-important-than-yours voice which really got on my nerves. He was complaining about how f***ing long it was taking and “the buses dropped us off there last year! Why the f*** did they change it?! That’s stupid!”
His companion sat silently next to him, trying valiantly to ignore his wonderful words of faux wisdom. After another five minute barrage of unwarranted complaining, she finally turned to him and told him to “just shut up!” much to the relief of everyone around him.
Finally we were dropped off at the starting line. Or, well, as close as we could get to it.
Couldn’t even see the start from where we were standing.
So many people! It was amazing!
Natalie and I just so happened to walk a little faster than everyone else and within a minute we lost the rest of the Maccas crew. But while they had decided to walk the entire thing, we were going to run it.
And yes, I brought a camera with me.
ALL THE PEOPLE
We had fun running past all the walkers and weaving through the crowd, which got pretty tricky and exhilaratingly close to the harbour at times.
In the end, we split after I got a beautifully massive stitch and I reverted to the lamp post tactic: sprint two lamp posts, walk one, sprint two lamp posts, walk another one.
To my utter pride, I managed to finish under the hour, in fifty-seven minutes and ten seconds! I came 5868th out of 21,591! And with only one training run under my belt!
Necessary exhausted selfie at the finish line
I think I did pretty well.
A Year in the Life of a McDonald's Employee 