Events - Fat Girl Fit

Category: Events

Volunteering at the VLM

I wrote a blog post previously about he job of an event marshall, which you can read here. This post is not too dissimilar but focuses on the Virgin London Marathon in particular, though applies in the same context to any event. So many people say they’d love to volunteer and you can and should!

There are a total of approximately 6,000 volunteers at the marathon including the start, finish and on course with varying responsibilities. Events like these rely on volunteers.

So at the weekend the Virgin London Marathon took place. Where you there? Did you run? Where you a volunteer? Where you on the streets somewhere cheering for the participants? Even watching from home I personally find this event such an emotional one.

I have volunteered for four years now on the water station at mile 23. This water station is managed by one of my best friends Laura and is the best one (I am biased but it really is). I should also point out Laura has done this for around 15 years! So it was a bit of a surprise this year when we found that they had removed it from the course. We were offered to volunteer at the Lucozade gel/jelly bean station, which is a dual hub and runners pass it at both mile 14 and mile 22.

It was sticky!

I have described the experience to many as bipolar. I do not mean any offence by this and I am aware this is probably a terrible way to explain it but those that have taken part get what I am trying to explain. So what do I mean by that? Well it is a complete roller coaster of emotions. You will be inspired, elated for people, happy, want and do hug people, offer help to those who might be in a worse state than they had planned and want to cry at those who go past in floods of tears.

BUT…

It is an experience I would recommend to everyone. The atmosphere is second to none!

So what does the typical volunteer day look like? Well you get the option of two different shifts being an early 9am-3pm shift or a late 12pm to 5pm shift (though this may vary on other volunteer spots). I go in early to help Laura so we were on the train heading into London just after 6am. To the volunteer spot and help set up. This involves opening crates of boxes filled with gels and jelly beans, setting up tables with a mix of each and taking you position to hand out to the runners as they pass.

The day starts with the wheelchair participants, participants with disabilities, elite women, elite men and then the masses. The wheelchair participants never take anything though you do have to be ready just in case. The same can be said for the elites. When the first runners come through they are rapid! So rapid that they can take a gel/water etc from you and you feel like you’ve been pushed as they go past at such pace! This does mean, however, that some don’t get taken quite right and end up on the floor instead.

Once the masses start coming through the hours fly! You are so focused on getting the gels etc to them as they hold their hands out that you are none stop, cheering as you go, shouting out encouragement and calling names of those who have them on their tops.

You will also see people you know and that is amazing especially if you get to hand them a gel or water.

As the day goes on you move from those who complete the event in spectacular times to those who are struggling. This is not a surprise – 26.2 miles is a bloody long way! Then the sweeper vans come and then the roads open and participants who wish to finish are asked to move to the pavements to do so. These are the people who are hurting. They are doing it for lost loved ones. They might be injured. But they are determined. And they are the ones who really need the encouragement and it is heart breaking as the crowds that were hard to move through slowly disappear. This is when you need to go home but you can’t because someone needs to cheer them on!

There is of course the clear up operation but that is fine and once the road closures open the tidy up job is actually an impressive precision operation!

The day is, as I said, a complete roller coaster of emotions. It is an early start. It is hard work, really hard work. Don’t turn up if you are not willing to put in some hard graft for the day. You really earn your beer! But as I said it is an amazing experience and I will be back for more next year!

Category: Events

Gilbert Netball

This post is actually more of a guest post from my sister, who lives and breathes netball, along with my niece. Every week sees training sessions and games for them as well as umpiring and coaching. It is full on and way more competitive (when she is involved) than you might think. If you watch a good game of netball it can almost be like the rules are being broken – you can’t move with the ball but it is so fast paced that it looks as if that is being done continuously (though it isn’t).

The basic rules of netball are:

a netball team consists of seven players, each of whom have their own position and can only move in certain areas of the court
the goal shooter and the goal attack are the only two positions that are able to score and this can only be done from inside the goal semi-circle
a netball match consists of four quarters that are 15 minutes each
netball players are not allowed to run when they are in possession of the ball (if they do this is called footwork).

My sister plays for Essex Open Netball Club, as does my niece. My sister also coaches some of the teams and the club is known to have tough teams to beat.

When Gilbert Netball offered some tickets to a match I knew she would be much better placed than I to attend. She also had the opportunity to test and review some of their new kit.

Gilbert Netball dates back 160 years in sport initially in rugby and then moving into netball. You may recognise the name from the kit and balls seen used by the England team who won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year. This is not just a sport played in school and I was interested to read that adult participation was up 16.4% according to Sport England.

The game was last Friday and it was England v Uganda at the Copper Box in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The evening started with the opportunity hear some of the players be interviewed discussing the sport they love. The ladies won the match England 65 – Uganda 53 and they ended up winning the series also.

My sister even managed to meet some of the players and added some posts on her Essex Open netball social media channels. Interestingly enough one of the players, Olivia Tchine, plays for the same team as my sister and is one of the players on the England Futures Programme, the purpose of which is ‘To maximise players’ preparation & conditioning, developing them towards the Roses camp based programme, through exposure to high level training & international match play experience at identified opportunities.’

Olivia is not the only girl from Essex Open to move further into competitive sport for England with another former player, Christine Ohuruogu, going on to compete in the London Youth Games for both netball and athletics and then as part of Team GB in track and field and earning Olympic, World and Commonwealth champion status.

It didn’t take long for an opportunity to present itself to test the kit out with training on Sunday and a very good review of the kit. Extremely comfortable, breathable and very importantly leggings that are both squat proof and do not fall down – all the ladies out there will know how important this is when choosing sports kit! If you want to check it out yourself you can do so here.

The game tickets and kit were gifted, but all opinions are our own.

Category: Events, OCR

Commando Series with my son

This year was the third year that I have taken part in Commando Series. It has always been my season ender for OCR and I always feel like I end on a high as I genuinely love this event. And this year I took part with my son so it made it extra special. He has taken part in two obstacle runs before but it is not often so this was a lovely treat for me. However, he was not happy with me as he had asked if he would get wet and muddy and I had said not really – this was a little white lie and he found that out pretty quickly and was not overly impressed though we did laugh about it. I mean its a muddy obstacle run – I thought he was joking when he asked hence my answer.

Commando is set in the gorgeous Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, and gardens and its just stunning there and this run uses the grounds and streams and is something I love rather than an urban event. I have done a previous write up you can read here.

This year there were some new obstacles and the route was slightly different so it was exciting to see the changes that had been implemented. In previous years, following the warm up, we made our way to the start line and the run began. This year instead we made our way to the end of the lake and all boarded a a landing craft that then took us across the end of the lake where the run began. This was one of the new obstacles called ‘D-Day Landings,’ and is explained as follows:

‘a landing craft experience, based on ‘Operation Neptune’ from World War II – otherwise known as ‘D-Day’. Royal Marine Commandos were transferred ashore on similar vessels from much larger ships during the D-Day landings, whilst having to encounter many obstacles. Recruits will experience the combined thrill and terror of the ramp lowering under fire, having to take cover using hedgehogs, and finally neutralising the enemy. Keep your nerve as you step into the shoes of our WWII Commandos. ‘

Another one of the new obstacles required balance – I am always terrible at these sort of obstacles and as most people get over quickly I am usually teeny tiny steps whilst pleading with the person behind not to get on and wobble it – in this case my son. I feel like I could be the first person to fall off! It was called ‘The Mole’ and is explained as follows:

‘Testing Commandos’ speed, balance, team work and accuracy, recruits must balance on a ship’s gangway before launching onto the cargo net and climbing to the top of the mole. All done whilst carrying ‘grenades’, ‘The Mole’ is inspired by the daring 1918 Zeebrugge Raid, encouraging high level performance under pressure. Aiming to neutralise the enemy using ‘grenades’ upon their descent. Recruits must keep their nerve, show dexterity, and maintain a low profile.’

I was pleased to get to the slide – I remember this from the media event for this run and its surprising how much speed you can get on this. I went first and could see my sons face as he zoomed down the wet tarpaulin, which was quite funny. Not quite as funny as when he came out of the ‘leap of faith’ obstacle, which is a steep windy tube slide and he flew out of the end of it!

It wasn’t long before we had reached Peter’s Pool and I knew this was where we were about to get cold! This is effectively a lake crossing and again I remembered from the media event a tree trunk about half way across to climb over. The water was as cold as I thought it might be and it really takes your breathe away. This probably wasn’t the best time to stop and get a photo together before we got out ha ha!

Sheep dip came around quicker than I thought and I knew that my son would be sitting this one out as he had recently had a tattoo and was trying not to fully submerge the top part of his arm in the muddy water along the course. I was wearing my usual Mudd Queen kit, which is recognised by many who take part in these events and as he was wearing his Spartan top the marshal decided it would be fun for him to complete air squats as I did the obstacle and so I took my time (it was funny at the time I promise).

We finished with the 12 foot wall and as we crossed the finish line for the 1 lap course the first finisher for the 2 lap course finished – that was a tad embarrassing but kudos to him!

It was good to see more people at the event this year. I feel like this event is not as known as the more mainstream OCR events but it really should be and those that have taken part would know why I say that. I’ve noted in my previous post that you can decide the difficulty or your entry from just getting round (which was what we did) or to be treated as a commando so you see many doing additional exercises and carrying bergens and wooden rifles to mimic how a Commando would complete training like this.

It was nice to see the positive posts on social media that this event deserves and I hope to see it get bigger and bigger as years go on. Even nicer that as you finish you run past the castle itself and the poppies down the front of the building are gorgeous and with the event falling on remembrance weekend was a fitting tribute.

But don’t just take my word for it here is some feedback from a couple of others who took part in Commando Series at the weekend:

Claire Rosser from Team Elements

‘A great Sunday taking newbies around Commando Series – fab course and a good reminder of what OCR is all about – FUN!’

Vince James founder of OCR Wrongens

‘Blown away at just how much year on year this event gets better and better. Great work Commando Series this is a gem of a race. The team loved it.’

If you want to get involved next year then tickets are available!

My race entry was complimentary, but all opinions are my own.

Category: Events, Running

Beachy Head Marathon

Friends don’t let friends do stupid things alone do they? So when a group of Mudd Queens mentioned signing up for Beachy Head marathon I suggested to my friend Emma we should do the same and so just like that we did. It was months ago and seemed like we had an eternity to train and get prepared for it. But my god did it come around quickly!

I am still being treated for an injury and so is Emma and I think both of us were thinking this would not happen and the closer it got the more we tried to ignore it. We knew it was a tough course and we knew from others that there is a lot of the course most people walk, mostly because of the climbs and so we decided we would give it a go and see how we got on. I was terrified if I am honest – this was ambitious.

The game plan was to walk the uphills, jog the downhills and to jog/walk the flat sections. I had seen the pictures of the start and new it was uphill almost immediately but until you get there and start that uphill you don’t realise it goes uphill and then round the corner uphill some more and then still there is more to come, just up and up. So within the first mile I was really rethinking my life choices and wondering if this was the one stupid idea I’d had that was a step too far.

It started really congested and took quite some time to spread out. The run is all trails and takes on grass, mud, woodland, rocky paths, chalky paths and stairs – as if it was not hard enough there were a number of sets of stairs. One set of stairs was called stairway to heaven – I would have called it stairway to hell only it was definitely going up and up and up.

The first check point came quicker than we realised and Emma and I found ourselves high-fiving for getting to 4.4 miles (yeah I know 4.4 into 26.2 was nothing but it felt like a small victory). The second checkpoint at 8.8 miles and we stopped shortly after the 10 mile mark in a pub to use the toilets. I was surprised that up until this point there had not been a single portaloo and I’m not too posh to pee in a bush if I need to but this was quite open so not many places to hide!

At the 10.6 mile mark Emma told me not to look up. I looked up. I wish I hadn’t. It was of course another hill and the marshal at the foot of it said we were doing great and wished us good luck. Emma and I looked at each other and I think it was then that we both realised this was hard and we had 16 miles left. We went up that hill in silence after we had eaten some more mars bar from the check point and laughed at Emma’s now very large swollen hand (just the one hand always swells – and no that is no a mini mars bar that is just how big her hand had gotten).

The next check point was 12.2 and we knew we were almost at the halfway point. That should have made me feel better but it didn’t as I was thinking wow I have to do all that again. What I didn’t realise was that the second half was harder.

Checkpoint 16.7 came and as we approached we could hear music and this was definitely the fun check point – a live band, sausage rolls, soup and porta loos – never have I been so pleased to see a porta loo! This was also the stop we saw two ladies who were supposed to be doing the 10k but started with the marathon wave and just followed. I am not quite sure how they didn’t hear the announcements at the start or how they missed the sign where it splits or how you get to 16.7 miles and only then realise you are on the wrong route. Fair play to those ladies who carried on and I really hope finished!

Emma and I had decided that we would hit a high and get our second wind once we hit the 20 mile mark. The 20 mile mark was part way up yet another giant hill but it was still 20 miles in and still cause for a celebration in between catching breaths. Another check point and hot cross buns and tea and coffee on offer too! We were on the final stretch but my god did they make us work to get to that finish line. The last 6 miles seemed to go on forever. These were where we met the seven sisters or how I now call them the seven bitches.

The views were spectacular especially along the coastal part. It stayed dry and although it was bright the cold wind was savage.

The hills absolutely sapped all energy and life from my legs – the plan of walk/jog the flats soon turned to walk on legs that were getting more and more stiff. I couldn’t have made myself jog some parts even if I wanted and accepted that on some of the climbs even on a good day there would have been no way I would have been running them. It was the first running event I had been to that was more a walking event for the majority of the field of participants. We managed lots of laughs and smiles though – Emma is a much stronger runner than me and I am very grateful that she stayed with me for this event!

We must have spent several miles discussing in detail what we were going to eat that night. It was going to be an Indian and this was what was keeping us going too. I should note there was only one Indian within hobbling distance of our hotel Saturday night and they had no tables! I am pleased I didn’t know this whilst on the event as I may have given up all hope.

I think I lost part of my soul somewhere on the seven bitches and when a fellow participant announce at 23 miles that we had 6 miles left I almost cried. The final 1.2 miles saw us try and get a jog on. My calves and quads had almost fully seized up by now and although my jog was probably as quick as most peoples walk I was surprised I made myself do it until I could hear the tannoy and as we started the descent I could see the finish. Whilst I’m on the subject of walking – some of the participants out there with the walking sticks, man they are quick! I came to hate the sound of those sticks though as it meant I was being overtaken by a power walker or some of them used them like skis and I was scared of being whacked by one! I was going to finish this! I did not appreciate with 100m or so to go the spectator telling me to sprint finish – I was pleased at this point I was still walking, there was absolutely no chance of a sprint!

This was my longest distance I have ever covered, first marathon, first experience of Beachy Head and I can safely say never again. Ever. It was absolutely not quick and it was in no way pretty but we got it done. We completed Beachy Head Marathon. Shortly after the event Emma tagged me in a post that said ‘there is nothing more beautiful than when you prove to yourself just how strong you are’ and although initially disappointed with how much this course took it out of me and my finish time, I am proud of what I achieved, what we achieved together. This was not about a time, this was to complete it.

It was also my first experience of running with a hydration vest/backpack, which I got from Decathlon and it was awesome – didn’t even think about it being on and was so comfortable. I also used my Craft Fuseknit top I was given to review and it was perfect, super comfy, and I didn’t feel too cold or hot – if it ticked the boxes for this event I think it will tick all the boxes for any events I have in future!

Emma and I have now made an agreement that in future when one of us says shall we….. that we just interject with no. We have silly ideas and each of us always says yes sure lets do it.

Getting up on Sunday was interesting as my ankles didn’t seem to want to bend so getting out of bed and to the loo was a monumental effort and on the way back it was easier to just faceplant the bed than try and lift my legs and climb up. Think of the lyrics from the Ed Sheeran song ‘when your legs don’t work like they used to before’ well that’s me. Today was no different, please send help – my legs hate me and I would like to say sorry to them but assure them I will never do this again! Kudos to all those who run marathons and hike miles. If you’ve not done it before and my post doesn’t totally put you off then check it out.

Category: Events, OCR

Tough Mudder

At the weekend I flew back from Italy, packed my kit bag and then the following morning got up bright and early to head to Tough Mudder to take on the full.

I had previously done the new 5k event with The PT Barn, which you can read more about here. I had also completed the Tough Mudder Half, which you can read more about here. So now it was time for the full!

I was signed up with my bestie, Emma, and her boyfriend Dan. Emma and I do all of our obstacle events together but this was the first obstacle run that Dan would be taking part in and between us we were excited! The signs you see as you enter the event village always make me laugh and you see similar whilst on the course too.

We were starting as a team and we were finishing as a team. The run was as usual very up and down though didn’t feel as hilly as the course used for the half that Emma and I had completed. Here we are before and after:

I will repeat what I have said several times before but the thing I love about OCR is the teamwork and everyone helping everyone else out and with Tough Mudder not being chip timed this is one of the areas mentioned in their pledge that ‘Tough Mudder is not a race but a challenge’, that ‘teamwork and camaraderie before course time’ plus ‘help my fellow mudders complete the course’ whilst having fun!

As we made our way to the start line we found we were in the same way as a man who was completing his 100th Tough Mudder event that day – and was running with a backpack full of all the headbands he has earned over those events. This was pretty awesome and he actually helped us on the underwater tunnels obstacle giving a little helping hand push under the tubes.

There were some obstacles that I had not done before as they were not on the 5k or half courses. These included:

arctic enema – the name gives it away and I was that stupid person that came out of the end and said ‘my god that’s cold’ to which the marshal said ‘the clue is in the name’. You climb up to a platform, slide through a tube into a container of icy water, the submerge fully under a partition and then climb out the container on the other side.
electroshock therapy – I don’t know why I was disappointed not to have done this on the previous events, because now I have done it I can say that it hurt! A weird pain that is exactly what it says, a shock, but left my two teammates on the floor whilst I froze not knowing whether to help or carry on. As they started crawling I ran on and got shocked twice more – man that smarts!
funky monkey – I can’t do this, enough said! but kudos to those that did especially those that made it look super easy.
underwater tunnels – a large container of cold water with tubes to submerge yourself under and come out the other side then repeat three times.
cage crawl – I’d done a very similar obstacle at Nuclear Races and so whilst people were wondering how you tackle this I was straight in there and knew the drill, quite like this one!
walk the plank – now I will happily admit I didn’t even try this one. I knew there was no way I would be able to make myself jump from a height but stood watching people who did it over and over again – maybe one day I could muster the courage?

There were a number of obstacles that I was hoping to be on the course that weren’t including Just The Tip, Prairie Dog, Kong and Kong Infinity but most of all was disappointed that Shawshank was not on the full course as it was my favourite on the half and I was looking forward to doing that one again. But this just means I have to go back in 2019 for these ones! You can see more about the obstacles on the Tough Mudder page here.

When doing events such as Tough Mudder people often wonder how you train and think its the craziest thing to do but I am sure the same people would surprise themselves if they gave it a go and most would thoroughly enjoy it as it is heaps of fun! Tough Mudder also post videos with training ideas on their social media and have a whole section on their website regarding training for one of their events that you can find here.

I had a blast on Sunday and so did my team – I am by far the weakest runner and yet didn’t feel like I was holding anyone back at all and we all worked well together. It was also great to learn more from Dan about Runarchy that he is part of. Runarchy have a mission to inspire everyone on the planet to boost their mental fitness through exercise. They quote:

As a brand our mission is to inspire you to create mental fitness through running & exercise.

To achieve our mission, we promote a rebellious attitude to fitness & life. We want you to run, exercise and keep fit your way.

We value individuality, uniqueness and nonconformity. We want you to be bold, strong, fearless and free.

They are also very much centred around teamwork and so having Dan as part of the team with Emma and I was great and for a first timer he did awesome and smashed Everest too!

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I have been so pleased to be part of the Mudder Women group this year and hope to get more of those headbands in 2019!

My race entry was complimentary, but all opinions are my own.

Category: Cycling, Events

Essex 100 mile bike ride with the Specialized ladies

One of my best friends is a Specialized ambassador. Specialized are a bike brand and Laura leads rides for the Essex area from the Chelmsford concept store.

On Sunday there was an Action Medical Research event that she had signed up to with a group of her ladies from these rides and they were doing the champion route of 101 miles. I was asked to join and so went along – what is not to like? An event for a worthwhile cause, being on my bike with a group of awesome ladies and spending a day in the sun.

The ride started from Chelmsford and headed out to Suffolk and back. It was 100 miles of undulating road, but nothing too challenging, that was full of chatting and laughter and the occasional shout from Laura for me to power up a hill which is very often her just cycling up next to me shouting to attack it (it is these times I rethink my friend choices).

One of the best things about the events from Action Medical Research are the rest stops. not just some water and electrolytes but proper food including tea, coffee, juice, sandwiches, crisps, cakes, fruit, sweets and jaffa cakes! I mean jaffa cakes are essential you know. And the super friendly marshalls and volunteers at the stops too – much appreciated and they all help to make these events what they are.

There was also one rest stop with the best playground – not a necessity for a bike ride I grant you but a lot of fun that neither Laura or I could resist. We care not what we look like in full lycra, cleats, helmets and zipping along a swing or climbing up a huge tyre. Its a fun day outside in every sense.

It was a really gorgeous route along lots of country roads so relatively low on traffic and busy junctions were minimal. So many new places I want to go back and cycle to and one pub I will definitely be visiting, the Henny Swan.

We found funny named roads that made us giggle (yes we are that immature).

I have never seen so many thatched houses either – one lady in our group commented on one being a lovely thatch. Who knew that was a thing – sadly no further thatched houses compared.

A shout out to these ladies who were awesome. One lady is about to embark on Lands End to John O’Groats next weekend. Another only started cycling two months ago and this was her fifth ride with her furthest distance up until this point being 58 miles. Such a massive achievement even if post the ride she lost the use of her hands and was unable to cut up her Nandos chicken (I’m not being mean it was just very funny to watch).

We started together, we rode the whole way together and we finished together. And some of us even have matching cycling tans naturally.

If you are interested in joining one of these rides with Laura you can contact her on laura.specializedambassador@gmail.com or on her Instagram @lalalawson

#thesegirlsdid

Category: Events, Running

I Move London Relay

Have you heard of the event I Move London Relay? If not then I urge you to check it out.

What is it? Well it is more than an event, it is a movement and whilst you take part as a participant in either a 5km or 10km stage with a participant tshirt and receive a medal, it is so much more than just a running event! This is an event running for 30 consecutive days and nights aiming to cover 4,000 miles by 2,500 runners. The runners are starting and finishing every stage passing the baton (named Rod) to the next person. Once complete a Guinness World Record attempt will be successful.

Don’t drop the baton! I mean seriously don’t as that would mean the world record attempt is not valid. And yes running with the baton is somewhat terrifying. The pressure of knowing you cannot drop or put this thing down means you run the full stage gripping this with all your might.

I was lucky enough to be invited to be involved in this by the awesome Danny Bent who is the brains behind this – if you know him or have met him you will know this man has an infectious energy and if anyone could pull this off it would be him. I’ve taken part in the promo video and photo shoot and met some wonderfully amazing people who have all been as inspired as I am by this epic event.

The event is powered by ASICS for three amazing charities:

Money raised will be essential funds to help combat gang culture, homelessness and mental health.

The event started 29 June and is running until 29 July – which is great news as it means you still have 10 days to get involved and be part of this amazing movement.

I ran the opening 5k stage on 29 June with my husband and friend (in addition to a lot of simply brilliant people) and then a 10k stage on 7 July with a friend, which coincided with Pride and England winning a game in the World Cup.

The atmosphere running along the river and across Westminster and Tower Bridge is second to none with absolute strangers cheering you on.

What are you waiting for? Together we move London!

My race entry was complimentary, but all opinions are my own.

Category: Events, Running

Spitfire Scramble and packing for an endurance running event

At the weekend I took part for the third year in a row in the Spitfire Scramble 24 hour relay run.

I’ve written a post about this event before which you can read here. It is basically a running event that you can do as a solo or in a team of up to 8 members over a 24 hour period completing laps of just under 10km.

Having done it previously I knew in advance what I needed and what I’d packed before and never needed in the hope of getting it just right this year.

You can tell the people who do events like this regularly as the set up is like a military operation with clothes lines, grills, food tents and even their own personal sports therapists.

Now the event is a five minute drive from my house so it always feels slightly odd packing for camping when so close to home. This inevitably ends up including a lot more than you intend to take, when I could easily go back and forth to a comfortable bed, a proper toilet and shower (it’s seriously tempting)! But that would not be in the spirit of the event and so here is a little list of items I would class as essential going into an event like this (it’s a car full – couldn’t even fit the dog in!):

Camping – tent, blow up mattress (inexpensive and definitely worth it rather than sleeping on the floor), sleeping bag, pillows, fold up chairs.

Medical – rock tape, scissors, ibruprofen, pro plus, Imodium, piriteze (or any other form of antihistamines), salt tabs, blister plasters, ice/heat packs.

Clothing – I prefer a fresh change of clothes for each lap (this year I wore the same for 3 laps and I have terrible chaffing – sorry I realise this is tmi), visor, trainers (check the terrain), number belt, running belt, jacket (you may walk and night laps can get chilly), sports bras, spare socks, compression calf sleeves (if you use these), waterproof layers (check the weather).

Electricals – running watch, headtorch (mandatory for laps after 8pm), spare batteries, phone charger, battery pack, camping kettle.

Toiletries – towel, toothbrush and paste, brush, dry shampoo, deodorant, baby wipes, spare toilet roll (nothing worse than the porta loos after a weekend of campers and runners and potentially no tissue!), dry shower, antibacterial gel, jungle spray (there are so many bugs).

Food and drink – electrolytes, water (though there should be a supply), snacks, porridge pots, bananas, soreen, breakfast biscuits, there are usually vans selling food – we had jacket potatoes/pasta/pizza/burgers/noodles on offer here though I prefer to stick to what I would usually eat though food and drink will be totally personal preference, tea bags, coffee, milk.

Other – foam roller, money, lighter or matches, citronella candles, cool box, water bottle, black bags, bowls/plates/cutlery.

You’re probably reading the above thinking wow that’s a lot – it is a lot but better to be prepared and set up camp and have everything you need so there is no added stress!

Category: Events, Running

Colour Run

At the weekend I headed to Wembley for The Colour Run. I was taking part in this with my friend Emma and looking forward to being covered in dye and having fun for the second weekend in a row.We turned up and there were huge crowds of people all in the same white Colour Run tshirt that you are given as part of your race pack ready to get stuck in to some colourful fun. The atmosphere was great and there was music and a huge stand by F45 Training getting people warmed up and in the mood showing what they are about – I have never been to once of these gyms but seen great reviews and results from others.

There were people giving away Protein Balls – these are a firm favourite with me – if you have not tried them then do check them out!So with our tshirts on, metallic gold lightning bolt tattoo applied, glitter applied and sweatband positioned we were ready for the off. I was slightly confused here as you left under a start sign but it wasn’t actually the start, it was a walk out of the event village and then round to another part outside of Wembley stadium where the crowd were being given a warm up, completing a Mexican wave and as they controlled the numbers starting, you were let off in batches under the real start – in our wave we sang happy birthday to a young girl.This year was the hero tour and so there were a lot of people running in superhero capes and especially the kids seemed super excited about this!There is a huge mix of ages and abilities taking part and it is sold as the happiest 5k on the planet. On the website it says:

WHAT IS THE COLOR RUN?

The Color Run, also known as the “Happiest 5k on the Planet”, is a unique colour fun run that celebrates healthiness, happiness, and individuality. It was also extremely hot! Being so hot, for me at least, makes running seem very tough but this is not a run designed for PBs or a race.In addition to the dye stations there was also a foam station and this was amazing as it completely cooled me down – not for long but was so welcome!I did find it hard to navigate around people as it was very crowded and although the vibe from everyone is fab the run does take place on an industrial estate so it is not the most inspiring of landscapes.I wouldn’t normally think you would need a water station on a 5k, however, with the weather being as hot as it was I think it would have been a good idea especially as this could be someones first 5k, there are a young children, I saw quite a few people taking part with walking sticks and in the heat hydration is key!On the finish line was coconut water (I think I am the only person who doesn’t like this stuff) and a unicorn medal! Yes that’s right a unicorn medal – how awesome is that?It was also half a mile short and so my friend and I ran back to our car to make the mileage up to the 5k.The run finishes back the event village with a total party atmopshere – you are given another packet of dye as you finish and so the music starts, everyone is dancing and the whole crowd get involved with doing a mass dye throw – always makes for the best photos!After showering I have a rather fancy tie dye effect sports bra and my gold tattoo is still on my arm – secretly I don’t want it to come off!

My race entry was complimentary, but all opinions are my own.