This Girl Can - Crandon Runs Friday Photo #16

This Girl Can is taking the fitness world by storm this week, and rightly so! The campaign from Sport England is empowering women to get their fitness on and feel good whilst doing so. Literally, to dance like no one is watching. 

Following this, twitter became delightful on Thursday with the mighty Susie Chan inspiring us to #tbt to our first race pics, in the spirit of the This Girl Can campaign.

I dutifully posted mine...

First race

Here I am in June 2011 having just completed my first ever 5k,  and I am beaming! I was so so chuffed with myself. I loved the support, the challenge and raising money for a cause close to my heart. But most of all I loved how I felt having completed it. I'd done it! 

I didn't know it then, but this was the beginning.

The very next day I signed up for my first half marathon, the Great North Run in Sept 2011, just two months later.

After posting this yesterday, it made me really realise how far I've come with my running in a relatively short space of time. I'd not really thought about it before. 15 months after that first 5k I had completed the Berlin Marathon in under 4 hours.

Since this first race in 2011 I've run loads of 10ks, half marathons and have a total of 3 marathons under my belt. I run when I'm on holiday; think of days off as time to run and have started my little running blog. I think this is pretty good for three and a half years of running.  

So thank you Susie for sparking a little running reflection and making me realise that This Girl definitely Can.

And if I can, you can. 

Go get 'em ladies.

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