My first Great Midlands Fun Run

This time last week I was feeling the after-effects of running my first Great Midlands Fun Run. Thankfully, my aching leg muscles have now returned to normal and going downstairs is no longer excruciatingly painful!

Boldmere Bullets friends 

The "Sutton Fun Run", as locals call it, is not officially one of my three challenges but I thought I'd throw in an extra event as a bit of a warm up for the Birmingham half marathon I'm planning to do in October. I was also excited about running alongside many of my friends from the Boldmere Bullets as part of a large team raising money for local cancer charity, Breast Friends.

Don't be deceived by the name though, the so-called "Fun" Run follows an 8.5 mile route up and down the hills of Sutton Park and includes the ominously named "Cardiac Hill". Even "proper" runners say it's a tough course. 

The finish line

I'd never run that distance before and, although we started in overcast conditions, the sun came out from behind the clouds shortly after the start and we were soon running in scorching heat. Not the cool, slightly drizzly weather I'd been hoping for! I found the conditions pretty tough, especially on Cardiac Hill, and I was extremely grateful to all those lovely people outside their front gates with hose pipes and water guns to cool down the runners.

The medal

The event was well organised with a great family atmosphere. Lots of families and groups of walkers were taking part for a wide range of charities and many were running in fancy dress. I was overtaken en route by three men pushing a bath and I finished just behind a Dalek! Olaf and Zippy were way ahead!

My fan club

I'm proud to say that I did it - I finished my first ever Great Midlands Fun Run. My time was not my fastest but I enjoyed it and that's what matters! I will definitely run it again next year and I wouldn't be surprised if I'm joined by my two cheerleaders!

I now know that I have some more work to do before I tackle the half marathon in October. Fortunately, there's plenty of time to train before then ... and at least it should be a bit cooler!!

I'm taking on three challenges in 2016 to help Pregnancy Sickness Support raise enough money to put its information leaflets in Bounty's Pregnancy Information Packs. This would enable it to reach every single mum-to-be in the UK with details of the vital support the charity can provide to sufferers and their families. You can read about my three challenges here.

If you would like to sponsor me, my fundraising page is here. Thank you.