Today's new sponsor

A new sponsor - Advance performance
I am pleased to announce that we have a new sponsor in the form of Advance Performance of Peterborough and Cambridge.

Sam Hale owner of Advance Performance has kindly offered to give myself and Amanda a free V02 Max test which I am sure will be a massive benefit with regards to training efficiently in preparation for the race so THANK YOU SAM.

She will also be writing a press release or two on us which will be excellent advertising for the event and for our chosen charity MacMillan cancer support.

For those of you who have never been to advance performance - what are you waiting for !!! it is like heaven in a shop; you can find them either in Peterborough or Cambridge for those who don't live nearby they also have a website which I have linked below so get shopping.

Exciting Ocean floor race news.

Well how quick does a week go when you are busy !! It just goes to show how quick the ocean floor race will come around lol .
Well we have both been very busy with running , planning & working & contacting companies for help with sponsorship.
Today we had some good news & a massive parcel delivered to both of our houses from the lovely people at www.forgoodnesshakes.com
They have agreed to help us by supplying us with sports drinks & recovery shakes.
I absolutely swear by there recovery shakes & I used them doing my 24 hour thunder run win this year.
I can not recommend them enough!!!
I look forward to trying there new nectar fuel in the next few weeks & I will be trying out there new race gels too.
I will keep you updated to how I get on with them.
Keep your eyes peeled for some more very exciting news over the next few days.
Oh I nearly forgot I have entered the hereward ultra today & this will be my first race where I get to run with Amanda , I'm really looking forward to seeing how we get along on this & I will post a blog to let you all know.

Ocean Floor Race

So the Journey Begins !!

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.So throw off the bowlines,Sail away from the the safe harbour.Catch the trade winds in your sails.

EXPLORE,DREAM,DISCOVER.

(Mark Twain 1835-1910)

Well this is how it all started.

On the weekend of the 6/7th October I was contacted by my running friend Amanda Boldy who emailed me to tell me that she had won a competition on Facebook the fat feet competition to win £700 off race entry into the Ocean Floor race ( my first initial thoughts was damn I had entered that!!! ) straight away I offered my help & advice if she needed it ( I'm no expert but I do love ultra running ) & thought no more of it.

Then off I went to work , while there I was telling my dad about it & he said yep u do realise Amanda has won 2 entries don't u ??

I hadn't & it wasn't till later in the day when I contacted Amanda again that yep she had won 2 & she was actually sounding me out to see if I was interested in the other place !!

Well this was a opportunity not to be missed especially as the entry fee is £1695 pounds so £700 pounds of the entry was a once in a lifetime chance.

Luckily my hubby & mom & Dad agreed & I told Amanda yep I would love to run it. We also decided to run the race together as we have both never done anything of this magnitude & we could help each other.

So this is how it all started & now we are writing , emailing & generally bugging everybody we know for advice , help & funding for the trip as we still have the balance to pay & flights , kit etc etc to buy.

Luckily we have some wonderful friends & contacts & the lovely people of Talk ultra are giving us a spot on there show before & after the event !! Which is brilliant & running free mag is going to be following us.

The lovely people from Buff have also agreed to help with kit & we should have some very interesting news in a few days about a big sponsor fingers crossed .

Red Bull steeplechase challenge Oct 2012

Me & my dad entered this race months ago thinking we wouldnt get selected to compete & to our surprise we both did :)
Now to people who have not heard of this race i will explain how it works ,
Competitors are split into 2 categories male & female, all runners in each category are set off together making it a head to head race,forget time as its place which is important!
There are 4 steeples to reach & at each of the first 3 the slowest section of the field get eliminated.
With only 40 runners in total running the full 21 miles ( 10 women) & 30 men.

So off we head to the peak district ( a massive thank u to my mom for driving us) as my hubby was working at the chester marathon .
A very foggy morning greated us on our travels & I was hoping that this would lift or the race would be a nightmare.
We got to the start up at Castleton & looked at the surrounding scenery (gulp) it was hilly , gorgeous & beautiful also but very hilly, ( good job i like hills ) yes i know im strange lol
Race briefing done & off the men went, they were starting 15 mins before us women.
My dad was in this & he looked concerned as most of the men in the field looked either elite & at least 20 / 30 years younger!! (he wont mind me mentioning this) tough as hell my dad!!
The race was started by the local town crier which was a nice touch & the men were off!!
Straight up a massive hill!! Men were on there hands & knees & afterwards I heard by my dad that 2 chaps had actually threw up at the top.(nice)
Then we were next & then we were off gulp im sure I have never done a race with such a short run up to a mega hill, legs were burning & heart pumping & up & up we went, the view from the top was amazing & it took your breath away if only i had time to take a photo!!
My aim for this race was to finish in the top 10 & run the full distance without been eliminated, which was a strange foremat for me as with my ultra running im stronger later into the race, with this one i had to go for it from the start,i tried to get myself into a nice rythym but with the terrain been so hilly,muddy & undulating this was quite a task, but me been me I gritted my teeth & went for it , the first steeple was at 8 miles & I needed to be in the top 25 at this point to make it through to the next stage, I went through the first stage in I think 7th place & there were about 5 women pretty close behind, so i knew i had to keep plugging away ,
The next stage was just as hard hilly , muddy & complete with stiles & gates to go through !! would this race get any easier the answer was no, its funny as I was more concerned about staying in the top 10 than the distance & i was feeling pretty good and more & more confident that I would make it & I was starting to pull away from some of the other women, I did get passed by 1 and I was quite pleased because at least for a little while I had someone to follow as I was scared of getting lost as some of the race arrows were very small & at some points u needed to have your wits about you to make sure u went the right way. ( this I will go into more details later !!)
So I got to the next stage in 8th position & now the women were down to 15 & I was in the clear by a good few mins from the next person ,
This stage was 5 miles long & I ran 90percent of this stage on my own with one women in the distance & I couldnt see anyone behind, quite a strange feeling with there not been many marshalls & the odd walker every now & then to pass,
This stage for me could have completely ruined my race if I hadn't come across a couple walking , I had been running for about 3 mile & was heading to edale yha & instead of turning right I went straight down the road & now as I was on my own I was getting a bit concerned as i hadnt seen a arrow for a while, luckily at the bottom of the road a came across a couple who I asked if they had seen any runners & there answer was no!!
Sh#t I had gone the wrong way, so I had to turn around & run back up the road re tracing my tracks & hoping that I hadn't lost to much time or more importantly places!!
Yep I looked at the top of the road & yes there was a arrow I had missed damn damn damn & another female was just heading towards me , at this point I was mad with myself for missing the arrow & I asked the lady what position she was in & to my horror she said I think 10 or 11!! Gulp now I had to do something quick & with less than a mile to go to the next elimination point I realised that I may have completely cocked up my race!!
Head down & off we both went I was really hoping that we werent going to outsprint each other to get the final spot, as we turned the corner the clock/counter signalled that 8 women had gone through before us , so luckily for me no sprint was needed & I was actually the 10 th female to get through by the skin of my teeth.
So now I had reached the final stage & had 3 miles left to go, as we turned the corner straight in front was another big hill, this was were I had to make my move . As the female in front looked like she was struggling & this would be my chance to catch her & catch her I did , I wasn't going to be the number 10 in this race .I could see I was slowly catching the lady in front, as we got the top of this hill I was told by the marshall that the last 2 miles was down hill ( I did tell him that he best not be lying ) & I would say this was the easiest bit of the course ( thanks guys)
With 500 metres to go I knew I was safe in 9th place & was running out of course to catch the lady in front as she had also sensed that the finish was near,
Around the next corner & I saw my mom & dad shouting me on , & at this point I had just a road to cross & there was the finish in Castleton village.
A big well done to my dad for running this race & you did well to beat some of the younger chaps in the race.
This has to be one of the hardest races I have ever done, but also one of the most enjoyable, scenic & best value for money events around, (ok they maybe could of done with a few extra marshalls, & bigger signs maybe ) but all in all for the 1st year I give it 10/10!!
We got a lovely medal , a red bull hoodie & 2bags , a red bull towel , free food at the pub at the end ( & even the chef did me some vegi food) & as much free drinks as u wanted.
All in all a brilliant event.
And after all is said & done as Buff say 's Flat is Boring!!

Look out for my next blog which will feature news etc etc on the biggest race I have ever entered The ocean floor ultra 2013 with Amanda Boldy 160 miles across the Eygpt desert.

The Adidas 24hr Thunder Run 2012

What a amazing weekend this turned out to be!!

Where do I start , well firstly I have been going on for the the last few years about me & my hubby getting a campervan/race van for my ultra events & finally 2 weeks ago Ben purchased a Mercedes vito van!! Ok this isn't a camper, but 2 weeks later with me & Ben working on it we now have Bertie the Buff Mobile, this been our home for the Thunder run weekend.

So on Friday 27th July me,Ben & my dad set of to Catton park the home of the Adidas tr24 thunder run, as always I like to be early & we were there just after lunch, to get a perfect pitch in the solo field by the start/finish line.
This was one of my first big events where Buff were present & it was great to meet two like minded down to earth sporting individuals who like me love the Buff products.
Thanks Heather & Harry your support was brilliant all weekend !!

The event this year was the biggest yet & since it is the Olympic year Adidas had arranged a giant screen for us all to watch the opening ceremony!! ( This was a great idea)
We lasted about 30 mins before we headed back to our camper for the night .( not that we didn't want to watch it , but I didn't want to be tired for the race the next day.

Race day.
Up nice & early for porridge & to sort Buff kit & make sure everything was ready for my race, once again I was very lucky to have a brilliant support team consisting of my hubby, sis in law Rosie, my soon to be Bruv in law Rob, running friends Nat & Tony & not forgetting my mom & mom in law who both came along through the day but didn't camp due to looking after my dog & not forgetting my doggy mascots Hendrix & Dexter .

12 o'clock Sat race start.
This year me & my dad both had a aim of how many laps we wanted to do & we both knew if we stuck to our plan then hopefully it would work ( & I would run over 100 miles )
So bang the gun went & off we all went nice & steady not to get dragged by some of the fast relay guys & girls.
The course had been changed this year due to heavy flooding etc , which was perfect for me with my love of hills & I felt great for the first few laps & I got myself into a nice relaxed pace.
I had told My hubby that I didn't want to know what position I was in as it was such a long race & anything could happen
Once again it was a very warm day & I was really hoping for it to cool downs bit, luckily around 4/5 ish it was starting to get cooler.
My hydration & eating was going great & I felt really good , this went on till about 2/3 in the morning & then I started to get tired & I honest thought I was going to fall asleep running , my lap times started to slow & luckily my hubby told me to stop & have a little rest , this comprised of me getting in the campervan for 45 mins with a hot water bottle on my legs.
This amazingly did the trick straight away & after my power nap I drank some For Goodness Shakes & I ate a homemade lemon curd flapjack & then Ben ( my hubby) dropped the bombshell that I was in about 4 th place ( thanks) & he told me not to worry & keep plugging away at the laps & to remember the Hare & the Tortoise.
So off I set out again & I felt not to bad at all, the marshalls & the crowds were brilliant with some lovely friendly comments I had its that solo Buff girl again, Go Buffy & u look good in the Buff lol that one did make me smile after running for hours.
The next few hours I just kept plugging away until Ben suddenly told me that I was in 3rd place & I was catching the 2nd place female with every lap!!
I think it was on my 16th lap that I passed the girl who was in 2nd place & she had started to walk, So I thought I was pretty safe with the next girl been a good lap behind & time was running out.
At the start my aim was to beat last years 16 laps where I finished 2nd female & I had always wanted to run over 100 miles ( as up until this race my dad was the champion in our family as he had already done 100miles in 24 hours when he was a bit younger ;)
& I had told Ben that my ultimate would be 18 laps, so when I came in after my 17 th lap, I just had to go out out again as I had enough time ( a massive thank u to Tony Wallbank for running my last lap with me) also it looked like the girl who was winning had stopped for some reason , but I wasn't 100 percent certain so I just went for it.
You really can't believe how adrenaline gets u & my last 10k was run in 1.11 not to bad after 23+ hours on your feet.
As I came down the finish line it was the most amazing feeling to see my family & friends tell me that I had actually won 1st solo female completing 18 laps (112miles).
A massive thank you to my support team for all the help u gave me this weekend, u are all amazing & I owe u all big time.
A massive thank you to Buff for supplying me with my amazing comfortable kit & it's great to be part of Team Buff Uk .
My Dad did amazing to complete 10 laps & a massive thank u for all those training runs which we have done in the early hours & it just goes to show if u put the effort in you get results !! ( next year 12 laps for u dad ;) x

The icing on the cake for me is that I have won both of Patricks races in the same year Tr24 & The Buff Lightning 12 & then too find out only 3 men beat me in the thunder run this year with the winning man doing 20 laps & the 2nd & 3rd both did 18.

So next year boys watch out as I'm coming to get u !!!