Race for Life 2014

On Sunday I am running the Race for Life in Lancaster. This year for the first time I am doing it with my little boy - I only realised whilst taking part last year that younger boys (under 13) can take part. He was miffed when his big sister was allowed to run with me at Preston last year and I had told him he wasn't allowed. When I did my second event at Heaton Park he came to cheer me on but he wasn't really up to running the distance last year (nor was I!!).

So this year we have done a little bit of training - not that he is keen on non competitive running. He has also done the Grasmere Gallop with me although he hit a wall at 4km and struggled to keep going. The course is apparently partially hilly (not surprising when the university is on a hill), this should be a lot easier than the gallop which had a long ascent.

Of course this is all about raising money to fight cancer and my son is doing it for his Nanny that he never met. She died of cancer just before I married and so my children only know her through stories and photographs.

If you would like to sponsor us then please follow this link:

Scottish Power's High 5 Challenge and the Race for Life #high5challenge

Having enjoyed running the Race for Life in Preston in June I was very excited to be asked by Scottish Power to run again yesterday in Manchester for their High 5 Challenge. They paid for my entry fee and have donated £200 towards my sponsorship. It was great this time to be involved with a team of bloggers from across the north west. We all arrived with our special blinged up High 5 gloves:

There was plenty to do in the Scottish Power tent including posting our own high 5 message on the wall:

My daughter and I took our turn at doing the Cancer Slam dance and I am waiting for the video to appear on Facebook! Hopefully I don't look too awful ;-) I didn't risk doing a high 5 jump before the race as I was already nursing an injured leg which I had to strap up for the race.

Update here is the video:

 

After what seemed like ages it was time for the warm up. I was with Chayz and Charlotte with the other mad runners. It was a really hot day and not a good one for running but we were all determined to do our best. After a minute's silence and a cancer roar the hooter went and we were off!

The route turned out to be pretty hilly which was a nightmare in the heat. Good job there were 4000 of us out on the course plus 1000s of supporters to cheers us on in the heat. I have to admit I walked up every hill but attempted to run the rest of it! I was never going to beat my previous time of 29 minutes though..

One of the best parts was the high 5 people at about 4.5 km in who encouraged us to keep on going:

  

They did lie about the fact that was the last uphill section though! Eventually the finish line came in sight and I just about managed to up my speed on the home straight to cross the finish at a proper run and a time of 37 minutes. It was a great relief to be handed my finishers medal and a bottle of water! 

It is always a fabulous atmosphere at these events and we stayed around for a little while longer to soak it up:

I am glad to once again have been given a chance to help raise much needed funds to fight cancer. Roll on 2014 when I will be out there again getting hot and sweaty for a good cause! Nickie and I are on the case to organise a massive blogger team at Preston race for life so watch this space... Here are the other fab blog posts by the lovely ladies in the challenge:

Race for Life: Preston 2013

Yesterday when we arrived at Moor Park for the Race Life 2013 the weather seemed ideal for running 5k as it was cool and overcast. The sea of pink was the only splash of colour:

There was a real buzz in the air as 2000 women and girls gathered together to raise over £100,000 for Cancer Research. We had a mini karaoke session with YMCA and I Will Survive belted out! Then we warmed up before doing the official Cancer Slam dance:

Then the army cadets helped us to line up as runners, walkers and joggers to head to the start line. My daughter as usual had herself right at the front I was further down the crowd. The hooter went and 2000 of us set off on the 5 km route around the park. At this point the sun came out which was fab for spectators but not for the runners..

It was a real mixture of people running of all ages and levels of fitness and in the walkers section there were plenty of buggies and people using walking sticks. But we all had one aim to help raise money to beat cancer. 

About a 1.5 km in I caught up with my daughter who was finding it tough going without any proper training. I was taking it fairly easily due to my calf muscle threatening to pull again but managed to alternate running and walking to protect it. It was a lovely feeling to be in the home straight and running towards the line with a sub 30 minute time! Then I had to wait a few minutes for my daughter to finish the race:

I love her face showing both a mixture of exhaustion and pride! She was very much in need of the restorative bottle of Aqua Pura we were all given:

She didn't even want to smile for our photo either:

We went to cheer some of the other finishers across the line. It was lovely to see people doing the event together as families and obviously supporting each other to get to the end. These were some of my favourite moments:

Then it was time to slowly make our way back across the park to the car with just time to pose for a photo or 2 on the way:

A lovely way to raise money and have fun at the same time! If you want to sponsor us our page is E and B Race for Life

We will be back!

Reasons to be cheerful week 24 Race for Life

This week Michelle has vlogged her reasons to be cheerful so you can see and hear her telling us all about it! As for me I'm not that brave so I will stick to words and photographs! For me this week it's all about the Race for Life with only a few days to go... Here are the reasons it is making me cheerful:

1) Raising money for research

The main point of the events are to raise much needed funds to find cures for cancer. Having lost family members to varying types of cancer and seeing others battling their own illness it's an important cause for me. My daughter has previously run in memory of the Nanny who died before she was born. This year her father is battling cancer so she is even keener to do her bit. No doubt she will be coming round hassling asking friends and family for sponsorship or sending them the link to our Just Giving page. So pleased to be doing our little bit to help!

2) Quality girl time

We don't often get a lot of time to just be the two of us girls so running the event is a chance to spend time together. I had hoped we would manage some training runs together but that hasn't happened! Her preparation has consisted of digging out as much pink from her wardrobe as possible.. We have both got the new t-shirts though hers is a wee bit big and mine is a cosy fit:

We don't often wear matching clothes but this is a special occasion! I will have to get someone to take photos of us together on the day.

3) The big team

There is a big team of Aqua Pura bloggers running or walking at events across the country. It's a great feeling to be part of such a large group of women and girls (some fighting cancer themselves) that are prepared to go out and get sweaty for such a wonderful cause. We are all writing about our own experiences and reasons for taking part which are all very different. Hopefully between us all we raise a lot of money to find cures for this dreadful illness.