Useful Stuff for Virgin Runners
If you are going to run a marathon from scratch as I did, getting started can be immensely daunting. Luckily there is a wealth of information out there if you know where to look. I am not a personal trainer, nor am I a fitness guru, so I won’t give any advice about training or stretching (besides I don’t want anyone to sue me if I give out the wrong advice!)
For helpful advice about training schedules, nutrition, stretching etc, visit
www.michaelgarry.com is a personal trainer whose website has some useful stuff on it
For women runners I can also recommend: www.Running4Women.com
This year’s London Marathon was promoted by Real Buzz and their website has lots of great information on it. To find out more go to: www.realbuzz.com
To find out more about the London Marathon visit:
Entries for the ballot usually have to be in by October, and it is extremely unlikely you will get a place this way. The best thing to do is to find a charity (charities which support the marathon can be found on the website) and run for them. This of course means a commitment on your part as you will be required to raise a certain amount of money. I had to raise £1250 for The Children’s Trust, and in the event raised £2300, but it was quite a daunting task in the beginning. I have made the decision not to run in the Marathon this year, partly because I felt I couldn’t ask people for money again, given how generous they were last year.
If you are raising money for charity it is essential in this internet age that you set up a webpage with Justgiving as this is a brilliant way of raising money, and incredibly easy to do. For more information go to:
To find out more about the amazing work The Children’s Trust does, visit:
To find out more about the Twin’s Research Unit at St Thomas’ Hospital, which does such important work in discovering genetic links to different diseases, visit:
I am indebted to the wonderful people at the Wesham Road Runners group who have kindly linked my site to their and help me promote the book. One good turn deserves another, so if you want to find out more abou them go to: www.weshamroadrunners.com.
And this has nothing to do with running, but everything to do with courage and inspiration. My friend Taryn Mckeiver has just published a book called A November to Remember, about her battle with bowel cancer. It was my great privilege to edit what is probably the most important book I have ever worked on. Taryn has a website that you can find at www.anovembertoremember.co.uk Please visit it to discover more about her remarkable story. And to make it vaguely running-orientated, we did run the Race For Life together this summer. Taryn is also taking part in the Great South Run this October.