Kendal Colour Dash

The day after the St George's 10k at Great Langdale we hit the road again. This time it was to Kendal for the first St John's Hospice Kendal Colour Dash, a 4k out and back route from Kirkbie Kendal School including a trip up and round Kendal Castle. Having done a colour run last year we knew the boys would have a great time at this, Sam especially.

We arrived in Kendal and parked up at the leisure centre next door in time for registration opening. Andy bought some bags of powdered paint and a coloured visor for each of the boys.

The 'before' pic!

We also spotted some of our running friends and Walney Wind Cheetahs. The wind was making us not want to take our hoodies off but we eventually shed them and Andy dashed to the car to put them away and we headed to the starting area. I lost track of William for a few seconds before spotting him on the playing field dancing to Taylor Swift's 'Shake it Off' which was being played by the DJ.

The crowd of colour dashers gathered for a warm up and then we noticed from part way across the group a cloud of colour rising up and the next thing the colour was everywhere! We opened up our bags and let the boys go for it!

Both were absolutely covered as the air horn sounded to start us off. I ran with William (or at least tried to keep up with him) for a turn around the playing field before being covered in pink at the first colour station. We then headed out of the school grounds and onto a path towards the castle. We'd lost track of Andy and Sam by this point!

The next colour station was blue and the cloud was so thick we couldn't see at all until we were out the other side! I believe Andy had a little trouble coaxing Sam to leave the blue area as he kept wanting to go back in! Then we climbed up the hill towards the castle and William was amazed with the view. 'You can see all of Kendal up here!'

Heading back down the hill we hit the orange station, then the red one shortly before turning back into the school. And there waiting for us was a medal!

What a fantastic surprise. We stayed close to the finish so I could get a photo of Sam and Andy coming in. Well, that is, I waited and William found a pile of pink powdered paint to be busy with.

 

We left Kendal thoroughly messy but had a ball taking part and for a good cause too.

The 'after' pic! 

Jacob's Leg It 10k

One of the things I've loved since we all started running is going to new places and trying new runs. I spotted the Jacob's Leg It 10k (formerly the Belle Vue House 10k) on a twitter post and on closer inspection I signed up straight away. It's a charity race where all the proceeds go to the National Autistic Society so although it was taking place in Ormskirk (a nearly 2 hour drive) I really wanted to support it. Even better, when I checked out their facebook page, I discovered there would be a children's fun run as well.

The run is named for the son of the director of O2 Ormskirk (race sponsor), who like Sam, has autism. There is a tendency for some children with autism to 'leg it' hence the rest of the race name! Sam was very much a bolter when he was younger. He has chilled out as he's gotten older, but getting into running has at least given me and Andy a decent chance of being able to catch him when he does decide to sprint off!

We got up very early yesterday and left the house just after 7am in order to get to Edge Hill University for registration opening at 9am. The sky was blue and the sun was out, but I was getting a little nervous about the freezing temperatures! Luckily, by the time we got there it had warmed up. It was a fantastic location in terms of facilities. There was a massive car park just off the running track where the start/finish was, toilets were inside the university building and plenty of them. I collected my running number, and we went back out into the sunshine to wait for the children's race to start. William was desperate to run as he was enamoured with the track having never run on one before. Sam was a happy flappy boy, watching everything being set up and listening to the music being played from the DJ's stage.

The children's race started on the other side of the track to the finish and involved 3.75 laps of the track. William was able to do this one independently whilst Andy ran with Sam and I saved my legs for the 10k! After his first lap, William gave me the thumbs up with a cheeky smile and kept going. Sam was right at the back but seemed to be enjoying himself.

Once William had passed me for the third time I jogged across to the finish line to get his photo and cheer him in. He was given a certificate and sweets for his efforts and looked very proud. Sam was the last one in but got a huge cheer. I'm not sure if he thought his certificate was a race number as he tried to smooth it onto his shirt! I have laminated both certificates now as William wants to take his into school for show and tell this week.

Once the boys had finished, I got myself ready for the 10k to start. I'm very glad I decided on shorts and short sleeves as the sun was really warming things up. The run started with nearly a full lap of the track (managed to get a high five off William before I disappeared) before leaving to wind round the grounds of the university and heading out on the roads.

I suprised myself with the speed I did the first kilometre in but managed to find a good pace once on the road. Just coming up to 5k the course turned onto an unpaved and rather pot holey lane with a slight incline. Must admit I had a walk for 30 seconds or so here as my legs weren't liking it. I was very glad to get back on the road. At about 6k the course takes you through woodland where the water station was and this was quite nice, and luckily not muddy. The path then opened out to the back of the university and the last 2.5km takes in the university grounds, including half a lap of the running track to the finish. My garmin said 1.05.39 which I was really pleased with. And the official chip time was 1.05.29 so I was only 25 seconds off the time of my last 10k. And just to make things better I was handed a medal which the website hadn't mentioned on signing up so I was very happy. I also got a bottle of water and mars bar (which I got one bite of before William begged it off me).

We headed home feeling very tired, but in a 'had a fab time' sort of way! It was great to come to a new place to run and know we were supporting a great charity. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone and I hope we come back again next year.

5k Virtual 'Run with Jo' for the Epilepsy Society

Last month we signed up for our first 5k virtual run. It's a charity run for the Epilepsy Society and was to be done in the month of February as St Valentine is the patron saint of Epilepsy. We have a number of friends who have children with epilepsy so the cause has meaning for us as well.

We decided to do the run on our usual Sunday morning run with the Walney Wind Cheetahs. It was a cold morning, but there was no wind to speak of so it felt a little warmer than it was. It was however very foggy, although that was a bonus for the boys as they liked the idea of running through the mist! 

I guess the foggy, cold weather may have put off the other cubs that morning as our two were the only children who came along meaning it was a very exlusive run! We set off along the path from the Abbey Mill cafe. Sam did his usual stop/start routine but William ran really well, and looped back for us all when he reached each set of gates. We got to the end of the path and stopped briefly for a photo, before heading back via a journey round the 'secret path' (the off road path that runs parallel to the paved path). 

We got back to the cafe having done 5.1km each, completing our task! Then it was time for teacakes and hot drinks of course. 

We returned the following week and our medals had arrived! We received them at the end of the run that morning in lovely sunshine and with the others who had taken part in the virtual run that day. Sam loved his medal and was very happy to show it off! 

There's still a bit of time left in February, so if you'd like to take part in Jo's run you can register by going to her website here! 

Sport Relief 2014

What a great day to start a blog about being active as a family! We (that is myself, Laura, husband Andy and our boys, Sam and William) have just had an incredible afternoon at Barrow Park, taking part in the Sport Relief 3 Mile Run. The weather was lovely and sunny, a proper Spring day. The boys were excited, especially my youngest, William, who is 4. The prospect of gaining a new medal for this run was very exciting for him!

We started off at the back, as we usually do on a run. (We are not the fastest but we get there in the end!) We had incredible support from the back markers as well as all the marshals we passed who were cheering the boys on. The sweets offered at the top of the biggest hill in the park were a great motivator for getting the boys up it! With jelly babies clutched in both hands, the boys flew round much faster than we were expecting. William was amazed to see a teletubby running as well at Batman and Robin on bicycles!

Photo taken by the lovely marshals at the top of the hill! 

William and I finished together and received our Sport Relief medals from the Mayor and Mayoress of Barrow. A few minutes later, Andy ran in with Sam. I think we all came into the finish in under 45 minutes, a time we were very pleased with! And of course, it was a charity run for Sport Relief and as a family we managed to raise £98 in sponsorship which was much higher than our £50 target!

Sam sporting his new medal whilst polishing off his jelly babies at the finish!

We'd gladly take part in this run again, the community atmosphere was brilliant. I'm still on a high several hours later! Thanks to all who organised, marshalled, sponsored and took part. You are all amazing!