I DID IT!

6hrs 49mins - running across the finish line when it was already dark has spurred me in to do this again some time, perhaps not in winter though.

I'm making my first Marathon attempt on 10 October 2021: https://www.manchestermarathon.co.uk/home/

I'm not a natural runner: I did couch-to-5k about 4 years ago for a laugh, but who’s laughing now eh? Not me. 🙄 I've run a couple of half marathons since then and decided to fight the lockdown blues by getting outdoors for 5 months' worth of training for a full one. 

Strava will put most of my training runs below (when I remember to press 'go' on my watch) so you can see I'm actually doing it - follow me on strava for pictures of cats that get in my way, and treadmill runs where fitter gym-goers get in my way. My training programme requires progressively more mileage between now and October, but each week I'm mostly doing:

2 x base runs; 1 x Long Run; 2 x Strength & Conditioning sessions with a PT; 1 x cardio (swimming, bike ride, hike); 1 x weights session at the gym/home. 

I'm hoping to raise funds for Refugee Women Connect, a regional charity based in the North West that provides practical support for refugee and asylum-seeking women. 

From their website:

"Women and gender non-conforming refugees and asylum seekers face inequality and are denied social justice. 

"At Refugee Women Connect, we have grave concerns about the Government’s proposed 'New Plan for Immigration' which is likely to cause additional hardship and suffering to women and gender non-conforming people seeking asylum in the UK. Urgent reform of the asylum system is needed but the New Plan doubles down on the efforts of previous governments to create a system that is needlessly hostile and harmful to people needing refuge. The New Plan is simply an escalation of the hostile environment, not a move towards a ‘compassionate’ or ‘people first’ approach.

"In a crisis, displaced women are more likely to go without resources and face additional vulnerabilities to displaced men. These include higher rates of sexual and gender-based violence, extreme poverty, social isolation and exploitation. Women may have less power in decision making, meaning their needs in various contexts go unmet. This is exacerbated without the safety net of statutory rights, entitlements and status. That’s why Refugee Women Connect call on the Government to reconsider aspects of the new plan and build in safeguards to ensure gendered harm is mitigated in all areas of the asylum system and that access to protection is safe and humane for all."

https://www.refugeewomenconnect.org.uk/ 

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