Following the relaunch of Sport England’s ‘This Girl Can’ campaign, Get Berkshire Active and Boudavida (title sponsor of the 10K at the Windsor Running Festival) created a ThisGirlCanRun10 team with 9 local ladies all seeking a fitness challenge in the form of the Boudavida Women’s 10K on September 23rd at the Windsor Great Park.
For most of the ladies, the Boudavida 10K presented a challenge as none of the ladies had attempted to take part in a running event before. However all 9 ladies rose to the occasion, and completed the Boudavida 10K in Windsor on 23rd September, receiving a well-deserved medal for their efforts.
Kirsty Heath, Head of Health and Wellbeing at Get Berkshire Active explains
‘For a whole host of reasons that many other people will be able to relate to, being regularly physically active was not a priority for these ladies before this opportunity came along. The Running 4 Women, Boudavida 10k provided them with a great goal to aim for, combined with being part of a team and a package of support they could build the self confidence that got them there on the day. The team at Get Berkshire Active are hugely proud of their achievement and look forward to using this story to prove that ‘This Girl Can’’
The ladies documented their progress and training journey in a series of blogs that were uploaded onto the Get Berkshire Active website. Injury, fatigue, mental health problems and post-pregnancy worries are all cited in the blogs written by the ladies. Despite this, the women all enjoyed the benefits that running provided, including feeling more alert, enjoying a more positive attitude, and increased confidence as they took part in 5K runs as part of their training.
Gemma, one of the ‘This Girl Can’ team members, has particularly enjoyed the sense of achievement in being able to complete a goal and describes her experience of the 10K: “‘We were off, cheered on by our families and supporters. The first five minutes were a bit hairy as it felt like I was overtaken by practically everyone. I refused to look back though, kept my head up and stuck to the slow jog/fast walk pace I knew I could maintain. Before I knew it, Windsor castle was in sight and it felt like the finish line was fast approaching (it wasn't quite, still 1500 metres away). It was such a buzz to see my husband and girls cheering me on as I reached the line - heart racing, sweat flying but the biggest smile on my face. I'd done it and it felt great!”
Polar, leaders in wearable sports and fitness technology, had donated a Polar M200 to each of the team to help them track their progress and support the growth in grassroots running. Lucy Johnson, POLAR UK Marketing Director, says of the event: “This is an incredible event that supports bringing women together to be healthy and happy. We wanted to show our support to women who are wanting to take on a challenge and improve their overall health and wellbeing, and we hope that our products will continue to play an integral part in their process.”
Anabel Sexton, Founder of Boudavida activewear who were the title sponsors of the Windsor Race for the second year, adds: “It was an incredible weekend, with women of all ages coming together to be healthy and happy. We are extremely proud of all the ladies who took part on the day, and we hope our ThisGirlCanRun10 runners will be a great example to inspire women all over the County to pull on a pair of trainers and start running with friends.”
If you would like to find out more about Get Berkshire Active’s ‘This Girl Can’ projects please contact Kirsty Heath on 01628472851 or Kirsty.heath@getberkshireactive.org.
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