March 07, 2016

Running

By Fix Events

Great story from Philippa Cates, who won our 10K Women's Race in Richmond Park on 27th February. If any women out there need a bit of motivation to get themselves out and running in their local park, read on.

'When I first met my husband, Dave, my idea of a run was a 20-minute jog round the local park before opening the wine. Dave, on the other hand, had recently completed an Iron Man and the jog round the park constituted his warm-up. Our first runs together were a not-so romantic combination of endless waiting (him) and incessant whinging (me) as I failed to make it past half an hour without a reviving glucose sachet and/or thoughts of exchanging him for a slower model. One hazy evening in the pub, I allegedly agreed to do a half-marathon with him. Our training runs took place over winter after dark and involved head torches and wet feet. I thought we were crazy; a sentiment shared by our babysitter. However, that heady mix of endorphins, Lycra* and Deep Heat* soon became a way of life and I've not looked back. 

I now regularly run with my friend, Maeve (pictured right), who persuaded me to enter the First UK run. Just before the start, Maeve turned to me and said "you should go for it'. Last time I competed here I won a bottle of wine." What more incentive did I need?'