All posts tagged: marathon

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Fun at the Malaga Marathon

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

I was pretty excited about heading to the Malaga Marathon. In all honesty I was more excited about having four days away in Spain with my girlfriends than I was about putting myself through 26.2 miles! Although in the lead up to the marathon, the weather in Malaga had been cool and wet, we were rewarded with four days of sunshine. Feeling the warm sun on my face in the middle of winter was a wonderful treat. We had a day of acclimatisation when we intended to stay off our feet but ended up shopping and walking miles; we had some great tapas though! We found getting around Malaga on the train and tube system really easy, and cheap too. We’d read that getting to the out of town expo to collect race numbers was harder than the marathon itself but we had no problems whatsoever. We’d been very frustrated that we hadn’t had any pre-race info in English, the marathon guide was in Spanish and despite sending emails (in English and Spanish) we hadn’t …

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Top Tips for Running in the Heat

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

I’d been training in freezing temperatures and cold winds when I was suddenly plunged into the heat of the Virgin London Marathon in 2013. As a relatively new runner and taking on my first marathon, I was anxious about running the distance anyway and this quadrupled when I realised how warm it was going to be. How much should I drink? What speed should I go? Would I even make it round now? So many extra things to think and worry about. I survived without incident and I’ve since run marathons in soaring temps in Mallorca and Boston and along the way I’ve picked up lots of tips for running in the heat.

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Active Women Interview – meet Alex Barnes

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

UPDATED INTERVIEW. With the London Marathon just around the corner I know that this Active Women Interview is going to hit the mark for those of you thinking that maybe one day you’d like to run but don’t really think you can. I want to introduce Alex Barnes who only twelve months ago could barely run for 30 seconds. She is about to line up at the start in London and during her running journey, she’s discovered a whole lot more than how to run, along the way. 

Why running a marathon is a team event

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

Marathon number six is only five weeks away for me now and it will be swiftly followed by number seven, five weeks after that. What I’ve learnt from my past marathons and current training is that me running a marathon is NOT just about me. Yes, I’m the one who has to put one foot in front of the other but this wouldn’t be possible without an enormous number of other people. It really is a team event. Here are some of the members of my team and how they’re helping me. I really wanted to give them a shout out and thank them because without them I wouldn’t be able to do this.

Kathrine Switzer Dr Juliet McGrattan

How to run two marathons, 50 years apart, with tips from Kathrine Switzer.

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

On 17th April 2017 a special moment in history will be made. Kathrine Switzer will line up on the Boston Marathon start line with a bib number pinned onto her front. The same start line she stood on 50 years before in 1967. In that famous race, the race official tried to manhandle her off the course, simply because she was a woman. She ran on to the finish and began devoting her life to being an advocate for women in sport.

VLM 2015

Marathon Know-How

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

If you’ve never run a marathon before but thought that one day you might like to, now’s the time of year that’ll awaken those desires. With Manchester, Brighton, Boston and London in quick succession (and others too!) marathon fever is at its peak. It’s hard not to get caught up in it and before you know it you’ll have your name down for next year!

Looking back at 2015 and drooling with excitement at 2016!

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

I’m keen on self-reflection. I wrote a diary for years as a child and I dip in again from time to time now.  I find it very therapeutic and I just LOVE reading it back. It helps me to be grateful for all I have and to set targets for the year ahead. It’s amazing how much you forget, even in the space of a year. I guess blogging and vlogging kind of replaces a diary in some ways but I’ll still be making my yearly entry looking back on the year I’ve had and making plans for 2016.

Shona Thomson running marathon

I chatted to … Shona Thomson; marathon runner and adventurer. 

Published by Dr Juliet McGrattan

I’ve run marathons in London and Mallorca and been frantically searching the internet for other interesting places to run one. Paris, New York, Boston…..my list is endless.  I was really excited to meet Shona Thomson who’s taken this desire to another level. She’s one of 3 British women to run a marathon on all of the world’s seven continents and then she added one at the North Pole for good measure! I’m intrigued by (and slightly jealous of) strong women with the guts to take on challenges like these. I was also interested to find out why and how she left her job as a city banker to follow her running dreams and use her time to help and inspire others to become and stay active. Speaker, trainer, mentor and adventurer; a woman after my own heart and it was a pleasure to chat to her.