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Showing posts from October, 2021

Women's 10k

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I ran my first in-person 10k race in almost 2 years and am proud that my post-marathon legs could sustain a fast pace. Guest appearance by Oor Wullie. Why Women's 10k My friend/colleague Kez made a comment about running a 10k with me. I wasn't entirely sure if she was being serious, but I told her about the Women's 10k coming up, and she said yes. I had not run an in-person 10k race since the Aberystwyth Charity 10k, the last of my 2019 10k races . I was quite excited at the idea of doing a 10k race again. A Castle start The race started on the Royal Mile near the Castle. It made for a great backdrop for our pre-race photos. Kez and me. Mandatory jump. It was a rainy morning, so we were lucky to get blue skies for the race. Skipping the queue I'm conscious of the fact that I obsessively talk about toilets on this blog, but it's an important part of the race experience.  The Women's 10k probably had the fanciest setting for porta-potties with the Castle right beh

Edinburgh Duathlon

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I did my first duathlon (run 5k, bike 25k, run 5k) a week after my first marathon and managed to run my second 5k at a faster pace than my first. Last week a marathoner, this week a duathlete. Why Edinburgh Duathlon A job well done to online advertising. I saw the Edinburgh Duathlon advertised on my Facebook feed. I only started cycling last year when I got a bike during lockdown. This seemed like a good local opportunity to try out cycling racing in addition to running. I posted a message about it on a running Teams channel at work and ended up doing the duathlon with my friends/colleagues Billy and Stratos. The duathlon was originally scheduled for April, but because of Covid, it got delayed to October. One week of my marathon. So no, I didn't originally sign up to race a duathlon right after a marathon. An early start The race started at 8am. I set my alarm for 5:10am. It was still dark when we got to Gosford House in East Lothian where the race was held. (The Edinburgh Duathlon

October 2021 challenge: Manchester Marathon

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I ran my first-ever marathon in Manchester, clocking in at just over 5 hours and never stopping once while I ran.  An American marathoner. Fundraising for JCWI in 2021 This is the 10th recap post of my 2021 monthly running challenges. These challenges are part of my fundraiser for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI).  Read my blog post on why I'm doing this fundraiser My previous recaps Donate to my JustGiving page Recapping the horrors of UK immigration each month As part of my fundraising efforts, I am also raising awareness about what's happening in the world of UK immigration each month. I want people to understand just how much awfulness happens in 28 to 31 days. My recaps will be over on my Medium site. How the UK immigration system hurts people: October 2021 Why Manchester Marathon I wanted to do a marathon in 2021. Ideally in October. I got an email from FindARace.com back in January that there were still places for the Manchester Marathon happening O