How Tough is Tough Mudder?

Voluntarily receiving 10,000 volt shocks to the head is not everyone’s idea of a good weekend. And the electrocution at the end of Tough Mudder is certainly no laughing matter. My teammates and I had joked earlier in the race that we should have been training by licking batteries at home, but in reality, nothing could…

Running Back to Myself

It was a holiday, I suppose. But it was also so much more than that. It was a homecoming, and a reunion, a coming of age, coming back to my self. When I was 16, my mum and I moved halfway across the world to Victoria, British Columbia, where we lived for nearly 5 years. I…

Let’s Play #MinsGame

Hobbled by sciatica and going slightly stir crazy, I’ve just played the #MinsGame, which motivated me to sort out my sh*t and helped keep my head in check. With that in mind, let’s think of this as a mental health post rather than a physical one for a change. The Minimalists, two former corporate workers who decided there…

Wild Runs with Sweaty Betty at Wilderness Festival

What makes a great festival? It would have to be great people, good food (for body and mind), music, art, literature, sunshine, fun and Wild Runs with us from a Sweaty Betty Zen Den. You won’t get the latter at any old festival though; for that you’ll have to get yourself to Wilderness Festival next…

It’s Never Too Late to Start

It’s not too late to start your journey into fitness. Maybe you didn’t like running at school. Maybe running around in a polo shirt and shin guards made you feel self-conscious, with a mouth full of gum shield and spit. Maybe you didn’t like being shouted at for shuffling your feet when you were passed the ball…

Revisiting the Race for Life

My running journey began in earnest back in the mid-90s. Prior to that, I was a keen swimmer and cyclist who’d dabbled a bit in running but never taken it very seriously. That all changed with a Race for Life 5k, which changed my life as it has for many other people. A friend asked…

Sweaty Betty Roga Brunch

The Roga revolution continues apace. Last weekend we teamed up with Sweaty Betty for a fantastic Roga brunch. We started with a city run, followed it with yoga between the fountains in the stunning Victoria Quarter and then back to the store for food, glorious food. All of our Roga events are carefully themed and…

Hello Roga!

Two fantastic things are happening in Leeds this summer.* One is the start of the Roga Revolution, the other the opening of the exciting new Hello Work co-working space in Leeds Dock. We were lucky enough to combine the two with an energising, packed-to-the-rafters Roga workshop recently. Running is great, we all know that. Yoga…

How I Fell in Love with Running (and You Can, Too)

If you’re a beginner runner, it’s hard to imagine loving running sometimes. It can seem that there are slightly bonkers people who were born loving running, and then everyone else. With me and running, it certainly wasn’t love at first sight. Running was someone else’s thing, and I didn’t really want much to do with it…

First Olympic Triathlon – Nailed It!

I completed my first Olympic Distance triathlon – The Cleveland Short Course – last weekend. I had a (mostly) marvellous time and I am so happy I womanned-up and took the plunge. The Practice Swim My main reservation about the triathlon was the open water swim – having not had a chance to ever practice, I…

Lakeland Trails Coniston Marathon Race Report

Last year, I made my running all about PBs and, with some sweat and swearing, I did rather well. Good For Age London Marathon 2016 here I come! All very well, of course, but you can’t keep going faster forever now, can you? Well, maybe some people can but I doubt if I have the…

To Tri and Fail, or not Tri at All?

I am currently contemplating my first ever DNS at a race. This would be a first for me – I’ve had tantrums by the side of the road in a marathon, I’ve nearly been sick during a half, and I’ve slogged myself ragged and missed my target time by 17 measly seconds in a 10K….