Sole survivor

Ah, the camaraderie born of shared effort toward a common goal. Yes, I'm talking about the "Eco-Marathon" - the half marathon round the lake five minutes from my house - that I've entered which I have been busy thinking about training for very soon. Readers with a cut-and-paste memory will recall that I signed up to struggle round the lake partly as an act of local solidarity with two neighbours who vowed (nice newspaper headline word - a lot shorter than 'promised') to join the 8,000 runners in October. Well, turns out one neighbour left it too late to apply and the other forgot about it, so the upshot is I will be the sole representative to uphold the honour of my street. Now, where did I put my trainers?