5 prize winners as shown in image below.
Best of luck – please share with running friends if you wish 
Good luck!
PRIZE WINNERS drawn randomly at 16:20 10.02.2018 are:
See confirmation and more information in comment below
RunEatRepeat.co.uk Camelbak giveaway
This is an updated version of the competition initially run in December. The competition software used in the original turned out to be incompatible with the latest version of WordPress. My apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused any previous entrants.
]]>RunEatRepeat now a finalist in The Running Awards 2018!
This comes hot on the heels of winning the RunUltra Overall Global Blogger Award 2018, plus their UK Award and being a finalist in the UK Blog Awards 2018.
Second round of voting closes 15 March 2018 meaning people can vote again for their favourite.
To vote for RunEatRepeat.co.uk in the best Personal Blog category please visit http://therunningawards.com/vote/205/206#vote
- Select “Publications & Online”
- Select “Blog Personal”
- Select “Run Eat Repeat” and press Vote (You may have to create a temp account to vote for these)
This is the second successive year RunEatRepeat.co.uk has reached the final shortlist of best blog award at The Running Awards. Â Once again, it’s a real privilege to be associated with some amazing running bloggers I enjoy following.
Thank you to every reader and follower who makes this blog the success it is. In particular all runners who agree to be interviewed and share their personal story – you continue to inspire runners of all ages and abilities
Some more fascinating runner interviews coming very soon
I was incredibly humbled and proud to win the prestigious “RunUltra Overall Global Blogger Award 2018” and to retain the “RunUltra UK Blogger Award 2018“.
With this being a global Awards, a total of 105 bloggers were selected, then 64 shortlisted. Â To then be selected as the winner from over 7,900 votes cast, I was incredibly grateful to my amazing readers, Rochdale Harriers and network of supportive people who influence and inspire me in some way. Thanks so much to every single one of you! To call the final 24 hours of voting nail-biting is an understatement. It became like a tight finish of an ultra itself – with the lead swapping places constantly until the final hour! This was the message received from the RunUltra team after the integrity of the votes had been verified:Â
Congratulations! You are the winner of the overall RunUltra 2018 Blogger Award and also the UK 2018 Blogger Award.
The quality of the blogs this year has been extremely high.
We enjoyed reading your blog and we wish you a very successful ultra running year.
The prize for winning the overall global award is a Suunto Spartan Ultra Titanium HR. An incredible bonus and my first genuinely smart training watch with HR. This is set to open up a whole new area of training and improvement for me in 2018 and beyond. Let’s see how progress goes
For details of all the regional winners, plus the finalists please click here. Please read and follow their blogs too – there are amazing stories, advice and general experiences to enjoy!
All the best for 2018 and thank you once again for all your support and positive feedback on the blog posts
Paul Halford asked me to write a short piece reflecting on completing the challenge in 2017, plus offering some tips to those new to it this year. You can read the full post here.
Have a read and sign up yourself. You’ll be amazed at what you can do and it really doesn’t matter whether or not you complete the miles – it’s more about enjoying the challenge
Below are some of my own favourite pics from #Run1000Miles 2017
Here’s to a fantastically enjoyable 2018 of fresh air and trails!
Well earned rest cresting Rooley Moor Road
the married couple
My blog has been shorlisted in the Sports & Fitness category #UKBA18
I’d like to thank every single reader of the blog who has supported me since launch in 2015. As well as sharing my love of running and food, a big intention was to share runner stories – of whatever nature. That’s what can be really inspiring to other readers regardless of age or ability and your amazing feedback on social media really shows that
This is the first time I entered the UK Blog Awards and out of the 4,000 entries and nominations, I’m one of only 8 bloggers to have got through as a finalist! It’s great company to be in and the finalists are (in alphabetical order):
Swing Out Sisters Personal Training
Expert judging starts 31 January and the results will be announced at the Awards ceremony on Friday 20 April This is the judging criteria and the mission of the UK Blog Awards:
“The mission of The UK Blog Awards is to recognise the unique and resonant nature of the Internet community – from bloggers to Social Influencers and through organisations and individual creators. The UK Blog Awards is the most prestigious, and the only, multi-industry awards honouring online excellence.
Now in its fifth year, The UK Blog Awards continues to celebrate the most resonant and engaging content creators in the UK, those inside and outside of the prevailing trends.”
Better get more runner interviews and posts of my own done! Good luck to everyone!
]]>In this enlightening interview, Lynne AKA “Jogonhijabi”, talks about the importance of running and joy of #Parkrun.
How did you get into running and why?
I have always enjoyed regular cardio exercise at the gym however never ran outside until I signed up for a 5k Race4Life in March 2015. I was motivated to join the Pink Army as I liked the idea of all ladies together running for such a great cause. I had recently lost my Nan to cancer and whenever I saw a advert for cancer fundraising I would start to cry so I decided to raise money and and run in her memory. I was going through a stressful period in my life then and despite starting my training in December 2014 I loved being outside running through my thoughts.
What has running given you?
I soon found that running was a great stress relief and helped me work through some difficult emotions. I had also been diagnosed with stress-related high blood pressure and found running helped alleviate the psychological distress which in turn improved my over all physical health and have not suffered with the physical symptoms of prolonged anxiety since. In Feb 2017 I joined a running club, Dagenham88 Runners, and discovered a whole new world. Having been consistently a lone runner, I was amazed to find such a varied community of people. The social aspect of running has further helped me to beat periods of low self-esteem and fluctuating moods. I have never met such a huge expanse of people so encouraging and positive that it lifts self-belief ten-fold. Runners have also helped me to have hope again in human nature whereby I have witnessed such great acts of kindness, selflessness and support.
What have you given to running?
Having experienced this support from other runners I like to give back what has been given to me. I have volunteered at Parkrun, cheered on the sidelines to other runners during races and turned up to track night when I am injured. I have run with runners when they are struggling at the back and kept them company so they could finish. A lot of running is about the psychological strength we need to get through to the finish line. Friendly, kind words of support work wonders in getting us there. Words and smiles cost nothing. I organised a 5km walk/run in my local park to raise money for charity and the majority of participants were non-runners. It was wonderful to support them and encourage them and praise them for their great achievement.
What do you love about Parkrun?
Parkrun really sets me up for the weekend. It is worth sacrificing a lie-in. Far more happy endorphins are produced staying active and meeting positive people than lying in bed. I love the fact people of all abilities and backgrounds get together globally each week for the mutual love of running and being healthy. The first day I went to Parkrun I did not know anyone but was quickly taken under the wing of the marshalls of Barking Parkrun and became newly adopted as one of the family.
The common stereotype about Muslim women who wear hijab (scarf or other coverings) is that we are weak, oppressed and have no voice. I want to show the world that on the contrary, we can be strong, self-assured and community spirited. While many might perceive that hijab holds us back, I want to demonstrate that it can be the powerful force that helps us reach our potential and beyond. Finding our true self is the ultimate goal for individuals. If a Muslim woman loves to wear hijab as part of her identity and she can go out and make a difference in this world then that is beautiful and she symbolises a purposeful life. Criticisms have been that hijab prevents integration in the UK and other populations. I hope to show that hijab does not get in the way of building and maintaining relationships in our society.
How else can we #empowermuslimwomen?
Have you ever experienced negative stereotypes while running?
How do you handle it?
Fundraising for Gambia how can people help?
VLM whats your hope?
Lynne, thank you so much for reflecting on your running story with us. The very best of luck with Virgin London Marathon 2018 and your fundraising.
]]>“Ignore it, it will pass…” Â “This tendonitis is getting worse!” “Not cramping again?!”
These are all inner thoughts most of us runners will have had. Your instinct is to resist the pain. To fight it. Surely that will make it go yes?
Another technique is to try to ignore it by focusing on something else. That may be your running form, the landscape, the sound of your feet touching the trails. It’s all resistance in another form.
Well earned rest cresting Rooley Moor Road
“What is he getting at?” you might ask
Well I’ve found myself doing all of the above for years and, for me, none of it has ever worked. Instead, it has cost me energy, draining me of valuable stamina and efficiency I need to run. But it’s all I’ve ever known. That was until a June this year…
For a few years I’ve been using the Headspace app for meditating. It’s been a revelation in many ways. More than anything it’s developed my ability to take even a few seconds out and just ‘be’ – emptying my mind of any rushing thoughts by simply relaxing and focusing on my breathing. So what has that got to do with pain? Well here is my attempted and probably quite poor explanation.
Fronting up to pain
Through the Headspace pain pack, I learned the technique of actually focusing on the pain. Literally focusing on the very outer edges, then gradually getting closer to the central point of where it is coming from. Ultimately you put all your focus into the very heart of the pain itself. I learned that when you get there, it is not one tangible thing. It shifts and consists of so many elements. It’s no longer possible to feel it in the same way. In fact it seems to disperse – a total paradox to my way of previous thinking.
You might be wondering how you could use a meditation technique when in the process of running. I can only give you my own experience: I had an ongoing niggle in my right knee and right calf. When running the trails, movement would become ever more restricted and result in me struggling to run. Each time I was wishing it would go away – resisting it. On learning the new technique of focusing ON the pain, I gave it a try when running some local trails. As soon as the knee pain in particular kicked in and my movement started to be affected, rather than try to fight it, I actually started to focus in on it. Taking my mind gradually from the outer edges of the knee pain, right into the very heart of where it had been really hurting. I found that there was nothing there to tangibly hang on to, or to resist. The pain quite literally seemed to disperse like a fading ripple into my lower and upper right leg. My mind was immediately more rested, as was my body. My running form returned to something more (ahem) efficient. My trail run and the resultant benefits became more enjoyable and effective. My head was back in the pleasure of running trails.
None of this means the pain didn’t occasionally return. But I now had a way to manage it – fronting up in a relaxed and very calm manner.  This approach has been a major boost to helping me along the #Run1000Miles challenge 2017.
          
If you’re interested, you can read far more about this approach. Experts like @MeganJonesBell can explain pain management far better than I ever could. What I hope to have achieved with this post is making you aware of an alternative approach to our instinctive response to resist the pain. Instead try fronting it up and see if it benefits you as much as me
Yours in sport
Jeff
You may remember that Trail Running magazine Editor Claire said #Run1000Miles was about all participants having “their fittest year ever”
Well I’m one of literally thousands of people enjoying this very outcome thanks to the challenge and incredible community of people participating. The ethos was very much about this being inclusive and all about encouraging more people to get out and be more active.
The #Run1000Miles Facebook community is the very embodiment of this in action. Just spend anything from 1-10 mins looking through the incredible posts and you’ll see what I mean  No photoshopping here – all the beautiful realities of mud, sweat, rain, sun, wind, sweaty kit…
I was incredibly honoured and surprised to be asked to be ambassador for this challenge. Inspired by fellow participants, family, club mates and friends, I found myself hitting over 640 miles by end of June!
Much of this has been through doing ‘little and often’ rather than battering myself on some massive trail running routes to compensate for days without running. By ‘little and often’ I mean anything from 2 – 5 miles on a regular basis with some longer runs thrown in. Several of these little runs have also been very slow and steady.  All of which I’m sure has been critical to staying injury free (so far!) for the first time in more years than I care to remember
As we hit mid-August, my personal mileage is at 761. This is 2.5 times further than I ran in the whole of 2016 and comes only 3-4 years after being unable to do any exercise whatsoever due to chronic illness.
Having said all of this, the challenge has shown me that actually the mileage is relatively unimportant. It’s about just getting out there in the fresh air, being in the moment, being active when you can and are able.
The challenge has also inspired my kids to become regular runners – of their own volition rather than any cajoling from me. My eldest has joined our running club and is already winning prizes whilst our youngest is enjoying weekly track sessions as well as loving trail runs  Â
I’d love to hear how you’re getting on so far. How are you finding it? In what way is it helping you? Are you fitter than before? Has it inspired others to run with you?
Here’s some more recent pics from my running
Yours in sport
Jeff
Below are my favourites. I hope they inspire you as much as they do me  Feel free share the joy by passing on to your running buddies!
Run Forever
Nicky Spinks is a (s)hero of mine! Amazing athlete, amazing person and what she has achieved is beyond words. Awesome film of an awesome woman. Loved her team and the camaraderie. Tears, smiles, awe.
Paradise Lost
Absolutely love the raw honesty and vulnerability portrayed by Frosty in this film. Incredible cinematography. What an amazing land & culture Papua New Guinea. Haunting yet very uplifting.
Cape Wrath Ultra
Truly wonderful! Made me wonder at what it is to be alive and what we can do. Wonderful people, wonderful scenery, wonderful adventure. Blown away!
Mt. Marathon
Insane! Laughed out loud. Added to bucket list! Didn’t want it to end!
Life On The Fells
Inspirational. Fell running does indeed make you feel like a kid again. Gives you perspective when most of us complain about little injuries and you have people like Adam dealing with heart transplant and BG attempt!
The Bob Graham
Just love this story. The simplicity, the history, the mountains! Great music and imagery. Amazing.
The Crown Traverse
Brilliant, brilliant film. Adventure, friendship. Amazing traverse. Loved the 599.7 miles realisation at the end! Superb.
Trail Dog
Beautiful life lessons and joyous message. Incredible short film.
Beauties and the Bog
Excitement, awe, fun. Very uplifting film showing how great challenges in a team can be. Love the mix of sunset, head torch, daytime shots. Great music too.
Chasing The Distance
Fantastic film. Moving and humbling yet inspiring.
Running Sucks – Story of a Barefoot Runner
Love the sound of the slate scree! Great little film.
Yours in sport
Jeff
* Judging was as part of the Trail Running magazine team.
]]>Â That was the question posed by a running club mate as we both recovered from a chip-timed track 5k.
What he was getting at, in joking obviously, was the pain. You know you’re going to go through it. You know it will hit you and your brain will tell you “Stop!”. You know if you’re trying, you’ll endure self-inflicted pain.
When you push yourself, in either training or during an event/race, you go through this. Anyone doing any kind of endurance sport knows it. So why bother?
Well for a start, there are the endorphins on finishing. As GB ultra runner, Robbie Britton says: “…your short-term memory plays tricks on you. After your legs stop hurting…you only remember the elation.” That feeling of elation, in body and mind, after you have completed a session…it’s the great thing about any strenuous exercise.
 
pic by @bobotheeklown
Then there is the runners high. In his ground-breaking book “Born To Run”, Chris McDougall describes how the natural engaging of body and mind, causes our brain to release endorphins to such an extent that a feeling of extreme euphoria can be experienced for anything from a nanosecond to a few minutes. It’s as if you’re floating, effortlessly  running in an other-worldly manner. Everything seems easy and you are so intensely in the moment, totally immersed in your activity. You feel nothing of the pain, no pounding of the feet, no gasping of breath. Just. Pure. Joy.
Obviously that doesn’t last and the pain, self-doubt, nagging voice etc etc all kick in again. But that’s all part of it. You also know the feeling of elation at the end. That may be in achieving your furthest ever run, completing your first parkrun, running with mates.
So put your shoes on, smile at the world and head out of your front door. There’s joy to be had on those trails
Have you achieved the runners high? What pain do you put yourself through?
Join me on the #Run1000Miles challenge with the Trail Running magazine Facebook community. You’ll be amazed at what can be achieved.
 
 
Â
Yours in sport
Jeff