Although I spend most of my life in lycra these days I still enjoy dressing up from time to time so when I learned I had been shortlisted for the Running Awards 2015 in the best blog category I went through all those “what am I gonna wear” and “should I get false eyelashes for the occasion” kind of questions, come on I am a girl after all.
But then I realised the event was taking part just 2 days before the London Marathon so I realised this would be in the middle of a really busy and stressful time for me, and I wouldn’t be able to partake in any alcohol to help me carry of my 7 inch heels (who am I kidding…I don’t even own a pair of 7 inch heels). I still wanted to look good though…so I headed to a local hairdressers for an up do curtesy of a good friend.
As you can see from the pictures this in itself was a somewhat stress full experience and by the time I arrived at the O2 I felt like I really needed a good drink to calm my nerves…but I just kept the “but I’m running 26.2 miles in a few hours” in my mind and had a couple of glasses of prosseco in the VIP lounge before switching to water.
It was really exciting to be here with my little sister Jennie (who was immensely proud) mingling with the good and the great of the running world, and as we were seated in time for the first of the awards I started to panic…what if I actually win…I hadn’t really considered this before because my blog The Fat Girls Guide to Running had been up against some pretty decent blogs.
Of course I wanted to win…it would be great profile and also be quite ironic really as all the other bloggers were like serious runners, but I had prepared myself to avoid disappointment in the case I didn’t win…shouldn’t have wasted all that energy really.
It wasn’t long before presenter BBC Breakfasts Mike Bushell started announcing the category for Best Blog reading out the runners up, Susie Chan at iRun (who has just run the marathon de sables no less) and then last years winner the Veggie Runners and that’s when I thought to myself “oh no”,
But our 2015 winner is not only a blog but a specifically designed resource for some runners, thats now a home of a global campaign. The winner is The Fat Girls Guide to Running
Which is when my sister started screaming and I started panicking about how to get up on the stage and whether my dress was too short afterall, I was so bamboozled by it all, it seemed like everything was going in slow motion, just a see of smiling faces, it was like being at the oscars (well perhaps not but you know what I mean)…however I didn’t get to make an acceptance speech which is just as well because I hadn’t prepared one. On reflection if I had of got a chance to say something it would have gone a little like this…
In this country we think we have a problem with obesity, we don’t. We have a problem with happiness. In our misguided pursuit of happiness many of us become tied up in sedentary lifestyles and self medicate with nutritionless food…and then the guilt sets in as does the weight gain. Running makes me happy. It also helps me eat better and understand my body better. So you may think that I am all about encouraging overweight women to run, a worthy cause and perhaps the noble reason that I have won this award…but actually I am on a mission to create more happiness for women whatever their size.
But anyway.
As you can imagine a fun night was had. I posed for photos with my award, got to meet loads of influencial running folk including Paul Sinton Hewitt CBE, the founder of parkrun and I even had a bit of a boogie with my sister…in heels!!
All the while social media was going absolutely nuts…I mean it was you guys who got me this award in the first place.
I made my way home on the tube (oh the glamour) clutching my little wooden man, my sister saying to complete strangers “my sister just won an award” the grin stretching from ear to ear…and as I got in to bed that night I think it suddenly dawned on me how much I have achieved with my little ole blog.
Now all I had to do was complete the marathon in less than 24 hours time…could you imagine the fall out if I got a DNF (did not finish) after all of this.
Once again ladies (and all you TFTR blokes out there) thank you so much for voting for me…this award is for all of us.
P.S But it is staying on my cabinet in my front room so I can look at it every day OK?