RUNNING Mates

Perhaps they were just too incompatible, but could she give up on Ellie for good?

- Cilla Moss

At first, I thought it was a brilliant idea. My friend Ellie was the most motivated person I knew; she was organised, positive and loads of fun, so who better to ask to be my partner when I decided to take up running?

Ellie was more of a salsa-class type of girl than a runner, so I thought we’d be starting on the same page. I used to do crosscountry as a teenager, but my exercise regime over the last few years had dwindled. Ellie would be the perfect person to keep me on track.

From day one I knew I’d made the right choice.

‘Have you seen the weather report?’ I texted her on Friday night. ‘It’s forecast rain tomorrow morning…’

I was fishing for a response like: ‘Shall we meet at the coffee shop instead?’

She didn’t take the bait. ‘No probs if it rains!’ She replied. ‘You won’t melt!’ She added a smiley face.

Good for Ellie for not succumbing to temptation.

It could still be fun, I thought. A run around the park on a Saturday morning, and a good gossip.

‘I’m so glad you agreed to this,’ I said, as we did a few warm-up stretches the next morning under an overcast sky. ‘We really don’t see enough of each other these days.’

‘And I’ve got so much to tell you,’ Ellie said. ‘You remember all that drama with my neighbour?’