Digging out my trainers and diving into a 10k charity run

It’s the time of year again where people are donning their running shoes and taking part in fun runs up and down the country to raise money for charity. It’s also the time of year when I tend to get inspired by these runners and start to think about fishing out my running shoes too.

I am not a natural runner! I battle with myself to go for a run and to then actually keep running. I don’t really have a naturally high fitness level and for some seemingly unknown reason, running sometimes makes my legs, stomach and sides itch like crazy! This burning itch has been known to reduce me tears of frustration.  (Any advice?)

Well this year I have gone a bit mad  decided to go one step further than my usual 5k run, and the ‘epic’ 7k Santa dash that I once did. No, this July I will be participating in a Race For Life 10k charity run to raise money for Cancer Research UK. A 10k run may be the significantly smaller sibling of the marathon or half marathon, but for me it is a challenge, and one which seems a little daunting!

Cancer is a word which has so much fear and emotion attached to it. It is a truly horrible disease that touches the lives of so many people and devastates those affected by it. If you are reading this and can, please do donate. Even the smallest donations count.

Together we will beat cancer.

The true meaning of Christmas

Another Christmas has come and gone, leaving behind the hordes of eager shoppers hunting for a bargain in the ‘January’ sales. People are starting to plan their New Year’s Eve celebrations and telling themselves that in January they will definitely start a diet and start visiting the gym; all the while munching on a left over turkey leg or eyeing up the leftover Christmas cake.

Writing content for content’s sake is not true marketing

This morning I was asked what I thought the main difference between academic writing and commercial writing was. My answer – the audience.

In pursuit of happiness are we losing sight of what we have?

“Life is what happens while we are busy making plans”.

Surviving the Northern Winter

Last week I decided to buy a new charger for my old laptop, which allowed me to switch it on and gain access to the pictures and documents I had stashed on there from university. When I was at university I wrote a few articles for the student newspaper. I was once asked to write tips for surviving the Northern winter and I wanted to share this with you simply because reading it back 3 or 4 years on made me chuckle! Please bear in mind that it is aimed at Newcastle university students and was written when footless tights were cool!

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My magical place and my fear for its survival

Sitting in an old library, surrounding by shelves and shelves of books is one of my secret pleasures. It sounds strange, but I have always loved libraries from being a child. I adore strolling around the aisles, selecting intriguing titles and filling my arms with a large amount of books.

I ponder lonely as a cloud…

There comes a point where you don’t want to dream about your future anymore, you want those dreams to be a reality. There comes a point where success is no longer something that you want to achieve, but something that you have already achieved (or at the very least be on the way to achieving).