Change 52.7

London Marathon weekend always brings a bit of reflection.

I wrote this after working with two very different runners recently. It’s a reminder that training rarely goes exactly to plan; and that’s not always a problem.

Why following the plan isn’t always the best thing you can do | Change 52.7 The training plan is useful. But it doesn’t take into account human behaviour, life, stress, or the inevitable curve balls that come with all of that. On

Thinking of everyone doing the London marathon this weekend… I was looking back at a couple of blogs I wrote in 2019 and 2024…..

https://change52-7.com/the-london-marathon-2024-42-2k-our-way/

Virgin Money London Marathon 2019 | Change 52.7 The Tale of the Training Plan and The Runner. Marathon Runners. We all know one. They tell us soon enough. I’m one. I can actually now say I have done

Most people I work with talk about their mental health and the positive affect exercise and physical activity has on it.

Sometimes they don’t even appreciate the impact movement has until it is taken away or reduced, for example through injury, illness or just life. For others new or returning to a regular exercise programme, they notice very quickly how much better their mental health is as a result.

But there are another group of people who aren’t sure where to start with physical activity. If this is you, you are not alone. Quite often if we struggling with our mental health for whatever reason, we can get in our own way and feel bogged down with what everyone else is going and end up doing nothing at all.

You don’t have to be doing what everyone else is doing.

Start small and be compassionate to yourself. Go for a walk, soak up the sounds of nature or listen to a podcast. A 10 minute walk to one might provide exactly the same mental health benefits to a 10 mile run for another. You do you.

When life feels hard movement matters. It can help us see we are not in a cave but in a tunnel and if we keep putting one foot in front of the other, we will see light.

For anyone interested especially those that donated to MOVE Against Cancer Charity, I have written a short (ish!) blog about our 42.2k Our Way. Enjoy ☺️🤓✍️

The London Marathon 2024 - 42.2k Our Way | Change 52.7 I am lucky. I have ran the London Marathon twice. The first time was in 2019. I had a time I believed I could get and so I trained well and raced it.

11 sleeps until TCS London Marathon and Huw and I are into our taper 😅

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated. It means so much to us. We have raised far more than we thought we could for the incredible MOVE Against Cancer Charity but if 5 people could donate just £5 we will have raised £500!!! Can you help make that happen?

https://www.justgiving.com/page/sharon-williams-1707215809231?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fsharon-williams-1707215809231&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share

Huw and I will be a bit like Forest Gump this next week or so. We are doing a lot of running (for us!) as part of our final build for . If you see us out and about please give us a shout or beep your horn!

And thank you to everyone who has donated so far. We are beyond grateful that you have chosen to support the amazing MOVE Against Cancer Charity 💙

If you would like to make a small donation, the link is here:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/sharon-williams-1707215809231?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fsharon-williams-1707215809231&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share

Running the together with my husband been on our bucket list for a few years but we didn't quite know how it was going to happen. Raising the funds for two charity places felt overwhelming; friends and family are generous but asking them to donate twice is probably a step too far! I potentially could qualify for a Good For Age place but these days the pressure wasn't hugely appealing and so when Huw hit the jackpot with a ballot place in 2022 we knew this was the chance. He deferred from 2023 to 2024 giving me one more chance to have a go in the ballot before we settled on a charity to fundraise for and BINGO!!! I got in on the ballot! What were the chances?

Choosing to fundraise for without the pressure of a specific target has so far, being a joy. Being a 5k Your Way Ambassador has brought the most amazing people into my life and I will be so proud to represent 5k Your Way and Move on the big day.

I standby what I have said before; what we are doing is not special; we've run marathons before; but what's truly incredible is the work this charity does. From free exercise programs for young cancer patients to community initiatives like 5k Your Way, they're making a real difference. Your donation can keep them moving against cancer. For those of you who have so generally donated, I can't thank you enough 💙. I am so grateful for your support; it really does help when we are out on those long training runs! For those of you who are tempted to support us, there is still time!!! Roll on 21st April!!!

https://www.justgiving.com/page/sharon-williams-1707215809231?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fsharon-williams-1707215809231&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share

to this time last year when I wasn't doing quite so much running as I am for . We were training for and running almost took a back seat to all the work on the bike. I look back weirdly fondly on the endless rides but probably still a bit traumatised by the swimming 🤣🥶

I wrote about our road to the start line of IMUK in Part #1 and this is Part #2 of my Ironman journey - Race Day. I did write it just after the event but have only just got around to posting 😅.

Grab a brew and dive into how I found my first full Ironman last July!

https://change52-7.com/imuk-2023-the-road-to-bolton-part-2/

The TCS London Marathon is in less than 7 weeks. Training for Huw and I is going OK.....could be better but could be a lot worse!

As you will know, I am trying to raise just a little bit of money and also awareness for the wonderful MOVE Against Cancer Charity . A couple of weeks ago, I talked about how any donations will help fund their 8 week online programme for young people with a cancer diagnosis. This week it's all about 5k Your Way; our support group with a difference.

We are a community-based initiative to encourage those living with and beyond cancer, families, friends, and those working in cancer services to walk, jog, run, cheer or volunteer at a local 5k Your Way parkrun event on the last Saturday of every month. The aim is to have a 5k Your Way linked to every cancer care centre in the UK. I have seen first hand the profound impact that our group has on those affected by cancer and as a small charity, I know donations of any size will be greatly appreciated.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/sharon-williams-1707215809231?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fsharon-williams-1707215809231&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share

For everyone who needs to hear this today...

Training is in full swing for Spring running events. Runners are studying their training plan and clocking up miles;squeezing their long run into already busy weekends, dragging themselves out for interval sessions after stressful days at work, towing the line between coming back from injury, being currently injured or about to be injured. All of this whilst feeling totally overwhelmed by the amount of content on their social media which insists it knows what’s best for them. It sounds like a slog but so many of us do it. We follow training plans that sit on top of our busy over committed lives meaning our training is one more thing for us to do.

For a lot of us who are working all this out on our own, it can be really easy to get everything wrong but incredibly hard to get right! So for those new runners or those of us who are expert life jugglers but like to run, these 5 pieces of advice are for you ⬇️