10 Gems From Twitter:
I’m always keeping an eye out for new running-related tweeters and posting anything interesting/funny/useful on the @sirjogalot twitter account. But for those of you who can’t be at a computer 24/7, here’s a round up of 10 gems from the world wide web (all running related of course!).
If you have any gems like to contribute then please leave a comment!
1. The 50 Best Costumes At The 2009 London Marathon: http://bit.ly/2BXuqe
I recognise a few of these! I remember being passed by the Baywatch Hotties.
Sponsor this block!
So I’ve managed to claw my way back into the London Marathon for 2010. Thanks to the Lymphoma Association, I’ll be donning a fluorescent green running vest in April 2010 and running around London with 40,000 other nutters (some of you may have noticed a new purple twinge to the site).
If you were lucky enough to have been given a ballot place, then count yourself lucky indeed! You had less than a 1 in 5 shot. 100,000 entrants will have been turned down to run in 2010. I was one of them so thank your lucky stars you even have a shot.
If you managed to grab a charity place then count yourself even luckier. To grab one of the 12,500 guaranteed places you have a 1 in 8 shot!
Unless you’re a celebrity, the hardest part of the London Marathon is getting in!
Guaranteed (Golden Bond) places come at a cost. Sponsorship targets range from £1000 – £2500 and most charities will make you sign a form to say that you will have banked the money by a certain date. For the 2009 marathon my target was £2000, which I smashed by over £400. But in order to do that I had to win an amateur video competition, beg my company for a sizeable donation and rely on the huge generosity of my friends and family, who will no doubt be suffering from ‘donor fatigue’ this time around.
I’ll be covering off unique ways to raise money in this blog in the months to come. But before that I have to plug my own!
Reebok Running Pack Competition Winner:
Well as there were so many opportunities to win the competition this week, I suppose I’d better announce a winner!
Not only could you simply re-tweet @sirjogalot, but many of you were given an extra shot at getting the answer to the question right! So how many miles is a marathon race? Well thanks to my typo, it was either B, 26.2 miles or C, 26.2 miles.
This week’s winner is Daniel Lambert from Watford. Congratulations Daniel. You win a load of running goodies (pictured here) including a Reebok Running Pack.
Preparing for that long run:
Be honest, how many of you have thought about entering a marathon, confident in your mind that it doesn’t look that hard? If a 101 year-old plumber can trot around drinking beer and still finish, then what’s stopping you, right?
Cut to two months later. You have your place, you’ve got your new trainers and you’re about to go on your first long-distance run. Off you go…
3 hours later, you stumble home; pale, knackered, nipples bleeding and chafing so bad that you look like you’ve won first place in a John Wayne look-a-like competition. Slumped on your sofa you think to yourself, what went wrong?
A common mistake in training for a long-distance run is starting too strong too soon. Prepare well and you should have no trouble achieving your goals.
Sir Win A Lot:
It’s competition time again!
This week we have another little running-themed goodie bag (see picture) to give away to a lucky reader. You can win yourself…
A Reebok Running Pack and set of workout wallets
(courtesy of www.dietandfitnessresources.co.uk)
.- A 3-month supply of Wellman Sport vitamin supplements
(courtesy of www.wellman.co.uk)
. - A box of 12 Focus 5-hour Energy Shots
(courtesy of Focus 5-hour Energy)
. - 4 boxes of Nairn’s Oatcakes
(courtesy of Nairn’s Oatcakes)
. - A pack of 6 CLIF bars
(courtesy of CLIF)
ASICS 3D Foot Scan:
A preview…
Our friends over at ASICS have kindly offered us the chance to visit their flagship store in London. One of the earliest blog posts at Sir Jog A Lot was a post on choosing the right trainers. For those attempting long distances, picking the right trainers can only really be done when you know what style runner you are.
To accurately judge your running gait, ASICS can provide a full 3D foot scan. Jenny Meadows, bronze medal winner at the World Championships in Berlin, took a trip to the store to do just that.
REVIEW: Lausanne Half Marathon
Every October since 1992, the city of Lausanne, Switzerland plays host to the Lausanne Marathon. With over 10,000 participants, and a number of different races on the day, the event is set over one of the most stunning backdrops in the world, Lake Geneva and the Swiss Alps.
There are 9 different events to choose from on the day. Obviously the main event is a full marathon, but also available to participate in is a quarter marathon, 10km walk, ‘mini’ races for children and a handcyles half marathon. However, the most popular distance (with over 3000 more entrants than the full marathon) is the half marathon.
The starting point is a 20 minute train journey away from the finish line, in La Tour-de-Peilz, a cool 13.1 miles away. Handily, your running number is your train fare, but the train runs almost side-by-side with the running route, painfully showing you just how far you have to run to reach the finish line back in Lausanne.
