Our first competitive race and a prawn quinoa salad for lunch!

October 1st, 2019:

On Saturday, Cliffe and I will be running for the first time in an official race. The Bournemouth Marathon Festival is now a major event for the town and I will be tackling my first 10k on Saturday since 2017 when I ran the same race with Karen.

If you are about on Saturday (5th) please come along to the seafront and give us both a cheer as we begin the first step of a running program that extends all the way to the Hampton Court Palace Half Marathon in March 2020. The Bournemouth race starts at 4pm and the weather forecast looks pretty good.

My VI Guides are naturally really important to me. They don’t just offer course guidance, but also describe the route for me, pick out special attractions and provide motivation and encouragement.

I am really looking forward to visiting new places during this running season and of course considering the longer distances we intend to run. As we have trained in the summer, Cliffe has been continually banging on about the importance of pacing. He is convinced that to achieve a comfortable run, no matter what the distance, you really do need to organise your pace correctly and wisely. It is so easy to get carried away at the start of a race when all around you is setting off at different speeds. He firmly believes that his success at the London Marathon this year was down to metronomic miles, discipline, belief and a sensible considered diet. He tells me what a wonderful experience it was and the magical endorphin kick at the end lasted for days afterwards.

I am extremely confident for the Bournemouth 10k and of course I am familiar with the route we take. Heading off from Harry Ramsdens’ at Bournemouth Pier towards Boscombe and Southbourne, returning via both piers to the finish back at Bournemouth Gardens. It is all along the promenade and Cliffe says, if the wind is not too strong then it should be considered a sprint! I will be happy with a well paced 11 minutes per mile to see us home in around 1 hour 10 minutes. I will definitely be reminding my guide of his pace-mantra and looking forward to my very first prawn quinoa salad at lunchtime!!!

There will be little rest after Bournemouth as we both attempt The Great South Run in Portsmouth on October 20th. This is a 10 mile course and will be the the furthest I have ever run before. It’s going to be an enormous challenge, but I am really looking forward to the race and achieving something very special. Cliffe wants us to consider a constant 12 minute mile pace which will be tough… To be honest I will be happy just to get that medal around my neck.

You will all know how important Guide Dogs and The Dorset Blind Association are to me, so if you can consider sponsorship, as Cliffe and I set off on our ambitious 6-month running project I would be so very grateful.

You can donate money to either of the charities by clicking here: Guidedogs or Dorset Blind Association