New hiking boots!

My younger sister, mother and I have been hiking a lot recently. We’ve always been an active family and my childhood was filled with bike rides, long walks, swimming and tree-climbing. We spent weekends exploring local footpaths, walking routes and countryside. It wasn’t unusual to tell mum of an evening that I was going to…

Parktaking in Parkrun!

I first heard about Parkrun a year or so ago when it was mentioned in my Twitter News Feed and then someone asked me in passing if I was a fan. I didn’t know much about the concept – aside from the fact that it involved getting up early on Saturday mornings and didn’t involve…

Milestones and Moving On

The last running event I took part in was the surprisingly enjoyable British 10K on Sunday 10 July, and since then, life has changed rather dramatically with the whole of August put aside to focus on personal matters. Firstly, I’m assisting with three house moves: my little sister lives in Leamington Spa and is moving…

Time out, and totally obsessed with trainers

My idea of a perfect holiday abroad would typically involve five days spent sunbathing by a pool, and five days spent exploring and sight-seeing. One of my favourite holidays to date was to Sharm el-Sheikh six years ago where I rode camels, quad-biked across the desert, snorkelled, went on a red-sea cruise and visited an…

Marketing Team Olympics!

I’m lucky enough to work for a company that thrives on rewarding staff, and whose philosophy is: ‘Putting the fun into insurance’; and I’m even luckier to work within a department which loves to motivate. On the hottest day of the year so far, we took the afternoon out to partake in ‘Marketing Team Olympics’…

Amazing avatar!

I was mindlessly scrolling through Instagram one evening when an illustration caught my eye on the ‘Popular’ feed. A marathon runner had been drawn by an artist, https://www.instagram.com/everydayesther/, who had captured the runner’s outfit and the situation in a super cute way. I instantly knew that I wanted one, so clicked on the link in…

Entering the VLM, 88 medals & HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

A few weeks ago I saw a fellow runner displaying his very impressive medal collection on Twitter, and announcing that he had now earned his 100th medal. It was inspiring and had me aching to get my medals out and count them. I purchased a medal hanger a year ago but due to going from…

Come back, running mojo!

It’s been an odd month. Along with a very high task load at work and helping my mum move out of our childhood house, I lost my Jawbone UP2 (it randomly fell off my wrist while I was out and about in London; I didn’t feel it come off and have no idea where it…

Resting, race calendar and FOOD

I can’t believe it’s been almost three weeks since I ran the Brighton Vitality half marathon. It seems like a distant memory, and I admit to being a bit lazy since then. The week immediately following the run, I completed no exercise whatsoever and forced myself to relax, which rarely happens; I’m not one for…

Race preparation and BOUNTS

Only a few days to go until I participate in my next half marathon, the Brighton Vitality, on Sunday 28 Feb! I have my race outfit planned and a physio session booked in for the day before, to get one final stretch and then strapped up with K-tape. My fridge is full of pasta parcels…

Awesome competition win and NEW SHOES!

On 4th January I accidently stumbled across a post on Facebook from Vitality UK, offering a chance to win a place for you and a friend in February’s Brighton half marathon. In a rush and not expecting to be considered in the slightest, I jotted down the first honest thing which came into my head…

‘New Year, New Me!’

I mentioned in a previous post that, personally, I like New Year’s Resolutions. When is it ever a bad idea to have realistic and achievable goals and targets? I didn’t have a set resolution as such for 2016, but I did want to feel healthier, fitter and run more half marathons. I invested in a…

Image overhaul!

When I built this blog in mid 2014, I wore a lot of pink. I had pink nails and my flat had pink bedding and pink cushions. I gave my graphic designer friend Tim the brief of creating a ‘girly’ logo appropriate to my personality, and the result was the following. I absolutely loved it…

New Year, new goals!

So, following my first ever half marathon at the Royal Parks event in October, where I realised that 13.1miles isn’t as challenging or as tough as I’d first envisaged, I’m now in the frame of mind where the thought of travelling all over the UK to attend 10K events isn't the best use of time.…

My new ‘Runners’ Wings’

Tattoos: some hate them, some love them, and some are indifferent. Each to their own. I happen to like them, and have just had my fourth one done. My first tattoo was a bow on the base on my spine for my 21st birthday. I’m ultra feminine and have always loved bows; when I was…

Crazy competition win! My new Asics Gel-Nimbus 16s

I have no idea why, but if I’m lucky enough to ever win anything, whether it be a raffle prize or a game of cards, the Bee Gees’ “You Win Again” song always plays in my head. It’s been on repeat lately thanks to a magnificent competition win over on Twitter. As mentioned previously, I…

My jazzy Jawbone

I was surfing Groupon one evening, bored and seeking some solace in online shopping, as you do, when I saw a Jawbone on offer. For those who don’t know, Jawbone calls itself “a world-leader in consumer technology and wearable devices, building hardware products and software platforms powered by data science.” Launched in November 2013, Jawbone…

Virgin London Marathon 2016 ballot

As ‘ballot day’ approached, chatter around the 2016 Virgin London Marathon started up on social media. Charities sent e-shot mailers out, wishing participants luck and asking for consideration in joining their teams as a charity entrant. It was revealed that those who would not be taking part in the 2016 event would receive a magazine…

A moment for David Colley

From what I’ve witnessed, the running community is a strong, supportive one; we look out for each other and we understand each other. On Sunday, runner David Colley, 58, from Hull, died during the Great North Run half marathon. He collapsed during the last mile. David had competed in a number of Great North Runs…

You got me strapped up!

Olly Murs’s song ‘Wrapped Up’ is stuck in my head, with the lyrics changed to ‘Strapped Up’, as in: “You got me strapped up, around your le-eg!” I’m adorned in Kinesiology Tape again, although this time it’s blue, not my favourite pink. This stuff is amazing and stays on for ages, despite daily showers, and…

Wherefore art thou?

Hello! It’s been a while, hasn’t it! I was made redundant quite suddenly in June, consequently started a new job, and am now moving house; so along with the standard summer weddings and holidays in Florida and Morocco, I haven’t been able to dedicate time to my blog. It’s been a busy few months! Nevertheless,…

Happy National Running Day!

Happy National Running Day! How awesome is it to have a day on which we celebrate all things running 🙂 I was reading a few blogs and stumbled across a post on http://www.runningwithattitude.com/ which encourages runners to answer a few questions in honour of National Running Day. I decided to give it a go! Why…

A present to myself

In a previous blog post (‘Medal hangers and bib displays’) I mentioned that I’d fallen in love with a gorgeous, but super pricey, medal hanger: https://www.medalhangers.com/view/350/Give-A-Girl-The-Right-Pair-Of-Shoes-and-She-Can-Conquer-The-World. I’d had my eye on it for a while, but it’s American, and with a $75 price tag and $45 shipping cost, I was hesitant. I researched this medal…

33 before 30!

When I started running as an adult, I quickly realised that I enjoyed it and wanted to do more of it. I pushed myself to participate in running events, and it all became very addictive. As soon as I crossed a finish line and was handed a well-earned medal, I was desperate to repeat the…

A new year

I gave myself a break over the festive period and hardly ran at all. I overate, slobbed about and spent time with my family. So, on 2nd January when I decided to go for my first run of the new year, it was not altogether a delightful experience! It’s amazing how much fitness can decline…

NEW SHOES!

I’m so excited!! A few posts back I mentioned that I wear my current Brooks Ghost 5 trainers for all 10K runs and am currently looking to ‘upgrade’ to the newest version... well, I’ve done it! I’ve decided to treat myself and have ordered and paid for the Limited Edition Ombre Ghost 7s! They are…

Injured and strapped up!

Nooooooo! So I went for a 10K road run on Monday evening and a smaller run on Tuesday evening, and then last night (Wednesday) I attended a routine appointment at The Wells Physiotherapy & Sports Clinic in Tunbridge Wells, but left looking like this!                 I've been getting…

Exciting discoveries this week!

Walk the Walk London Moonwalk - http://www.walkthewalk.org/Challenges/TheMoonWalkLondon The date has now been released for The Moonwalk London 2015! OK so this isn’t a running event, but I love long walks and the Moonwalk is such an incredible experience. I took part this year for the first time (review coming soon) and completed the full 26.2…

Medal hangers and bib displays

I've collected a fair amount of medals over the last few years of which I’m very proud, and would love to be able to hang them up. Currently they’re all hidden away in a box under the bed as I rent a flat and my landlord won’t authorise the use of raw plugs or screws…

New logo!

I'm so excited! My designer friend Tim has made this 'Laura's Footprints' logo for me and I love it! It was the best email present to receive on a dull Thursday morning 🙂 I've been playing around with this blog, making decisions on the layout/themes/categories and writing lots of content, which I'll publish shortly. Please bear with…