Katie's Classics

I had been struggling for motivation a bit this week and hadn't been out but I had decided that I was going to do my Local Landmarks run - www.llhm.co.uk/local-landmarks and I had been really looking forward to it all week. Not being people for doing things by halves me and the future Mrs Katie went the whole hog. She didn't run with me today because she is still a bit broken but we will swap roles soon when she does her local landmarks. So here is my run (solo and at appropriate distances from other runners) ... (I must also acknowledge how lucky I am that these world famous landmarks are on a 13 mile loop from home)  Bag drop attendant was suitably grumpy To be honest I could have done with the starting gantry being a bit bigger but in times of crisis you make do with what you can get I suppose! Neighbourhood number 1 - Greenwich. The Royal Observatory and the meridian line - good place to start really! The Naval College - In less contagious times...

Well.... my annual leave renews at the end of January and I had some days to take. I fully expected to spend them at home inside reading a book and having to go out running, against my will, in the cold, wet, windy misery of the English coast in January. Last Thursday this was looking likely - the sea was rough and there were a LOT of stones where there shouldn't have been stones! For those familiar with Brighton sea front - this is the worst I have seen it in 10 years of living there. However, an area of high pressure settled in and it has been a glorious extended weekend. Huge kudos to the Prom Parkrun sweepers who went out and moved a lot of the stones for Saturday morning before the council came in with the big machines and to the 514 people that turned out on Saturday morning in the glorious cold. Now for a note on the cold and appropriate clothing for those long winter runs (I did one of those as well in the sunshine on the prom). I am the kind of runner who lik...

Yesterday I did  my first Parkrun of 2020 after missing New Years Day injured and it was my home run of Hove Prom Parkrun. Easily the best Parkrun in the country! The reasons being: 1. I just need to roll out of the front door and I am there 2. It is flat (although the weather can be challenging at times) 3. It has the sea - which makes me happy (although as in point 2 can cause weather related challeneges)  and then there are all the reasons why I love Parkrun generally - even though, when asked, I will always claim to hate running. The diversity and friendliness of the Parkrun community amazes me. It is such a supportive atmosphere. My 2020 challenge is a marathon but for many it could just be to get out in the fresh air more, do a bit more exercise, meet people, to get stronger, to get faster or just to run a 5km. Parkrun, whereever you are allows you to do all of these things. You can run - Hove prom has some seriously fast club runners if that is your challeng...

I am having a slightly later start to my fund raising campaign than I had initially planned. Largely because a minor life event happened. As of November I am engaged to be married. The date of said wedding is in June. For those of you paying attention to my sporting calendar you will have noticed that June is in between the London Marathon and Ride 100, not to worry though because we are both taking part in these events. So, as you may infer, we are as mad as each other! Training started in November, while we were on holiday in Lanzarote. An all inclusive week for swimming and running in the warmth before winter training really kicks in here in the cold. What was a lovely idea, and I know that the Canary Islands are famous for wind, but it was exceptionally windy. I thought Hove Prom on a bad day was a struggle, Lanzarote provided me with a 45km/hr wind along the coast. Which made for a really nice run in one direction.... less so the other. Unfortunately the future Mrs Katie i...

Here is my Virgin Money Giving page for anyone who wants to sponsor me

I have just completed a year of madness. 15 sporting events in 13 months from my first ever triathlon - Brighton Sprint Tri - in September 2018. To my first Olympic triathlon in September 2019. I did (at least) 1 event a month in between, ticked the London to Brighton bike ride of my bucket list and discovered a love for open water swimming. I did all this because I wanted to and because I like a challenge. However, the support I have had throughout has been amazing and I wanted my next challenge to be bigger and for a cause. Not being content with just running the London Marathon I have decided to attempt all three of the London Classics in one year - except, because I have already done the 2 mile Serpentine I will finish my year in September with the Serpentine Super 6! I will be doing all of this for the Youth Sport Trust @YouthSportTrust for many reasons, chief among them being that sport, especially for young people, is so important for mental health, personal identity, co...