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Glasgow

Join me at Maggie’s Culture Crawl 2017

I read the statistic and it horrified me. Most of us can say that we know someone who has cancer, but the startling and frightening truth is that 1 in 2 of us born after 1960 will be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetime (1).

50% of us will be diagnosed with cancer while the other 50% will likely have a loved one diagnosed.

In truth, it is possible that all of our lives will be affected by cancer in some way and over the last few weeks, I have been learning about some of the services in place to help those diagnosed with cancer and their families.

Maggie’s Centres is a charity established in 1996 and they are now located in the grounds of 20 hospitals across the UK. A Maggie’s Centre is a place that offers free practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer and their families. It is a place where anyone can come for a chat, a cup of tea or just to find a quiet space to relax.

It is a home away from home.

A home from home

Before I arrived, I expected the building to look like any other hospital building. Sterile and clinical. Instead, I was overwhelmed with how warm and welcoming the centre was. There were open planned sitting areas, open gardens, and open arms. Light shone in and smiles radiated from almost every face. This was not a place full of people suffering; many were thriving and the staff were almost indistinguishable from the visitors as everyone moved freely and engaged positively.

It was moving and reassuring and at this point, I must have gotten something in my eye. Possibly some pollen from these flowers.

Maggie’s is a place to grow

I eventually managed to clear my eye and I sat down with one of the counsellors and we discussed some of the programmes that Maggie’s deliver and I was encouraged to learn about how physical activity is promoted within the centre

We all know that our lifestyle choices can increase the risk of cancer and being over 40 (I know, I do not look it) I recently made the decision to reduce my intake of red meat and to end my love affair with processed meats like bacon (2)

Maggie’s has a fully functioning kitchen and also a nutrition class, but it was their activity programme that I was interested in.

Remaining active while living with cancer has been shown to result in significant improvements in physical functioning, active daily living, shoulder range of movement, cardio-vascular fitness, positive mood, and quality of life. (3)

At Maggie’s, you can join a walking group, try yoga and if feeling up for it you can go for a crawl.

No, this is not some form of functional fitness, but instead, one of the highlights on the Maggie’s social calendar that I spied on a shelf.

The Maggie’s Culture Crawl is open to all. It is an evening of music, dance, comedy, art and of course walking. You get to discover your city in the most wondrous fashion with special access https://healthylivinguk.org/2017/05/28/buy-cialis-20-mg/ to iconic buildings and beautiful venues and entertainment and culinary delights from talented performers and chefs. The walks vary from six to ten miles in length and with regular breaks, they should hopefully be accessible to most.

You get to have fun and you get to help fund the amazing work that Maggie’s continues to deliver.

It all starts in Edinburgh on 22nd September and you can sign up here

The cost of entry to this amazing night is £25 with the expectation that you raise £100 or you can simply pay £75 without having to fundraise.

I will be participating in the Glasgow Culture Crawl on the 29th September and it would be great to have you join me on one of these amazing nights.

Together, we can ensure that those with cancer and their families receive the care and support that can be life enhancing and potentially life saving.

Disclaimer: In return for this post I have received two free entries to the Culture Crawl. However, having witnessed and been overwhelmed by the care and support they provide, I have decided that I am going to make regular donations to Maggie’s, starting with any fees that I receive for writing for Expedia

Eyes now clear, it was time for me get home

References:

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August 26, 2017 0 comment

Journey Running

I’m Back with a Glasgow Men’s 10K Review

written by Stephen Morrison

In December 2015, I accepted the possibility that there would be no more running in my life.

I had walked away from my Great Run Blog and Great Run Local and I had lost my mojo for running. Injury, weight gain and depression conspired to make the possibility seem a certainty.

But then, late last year, I started to work on the Feet For Life campaign and I started to address some of the causes of my knee pain. I saw podiatrists and physiotherapists and started strength training.

I started to see hope.

We can rebuild him

In February of this year, the organisers of the Men’s 10K approached me to be their Vlogger (I said yes despite having a face for radio, an accent for print and a knee that was for anything but running). I had started my blogging back in 2012 with the Men’s 10K and it seemed quite fitting that I would reunite with them. I set myself a goal of making the Father’s Day Men’s 10K in Glasgow my return to running.

And today, I returned to the Men’s 10K and to running!!

See that? That’s my medal!

I ran (mostly) my longest distance in almost two years and in each of my pictures, you will see the joy emblazoned on my face . However, having been out for so long, I made some rookie mistakes that most likely impacted on my performance.

Although, does it look like I care too much?

The night before had ended so well. I went to sleep at a reasonable time (for me, at least) and I had resurrected my pre race ritual of laying out all my kit. All my NEW kit from Pearl Izumi.

I’ve got some new shoes on….eek

Yes, in an attempt to be a good Pearl Izumi Champion and because I genuinely love Pearl Izumi running shoes, I decided to break out a new pair, without breaking them in first.

I know. What was I thinking?

Even though Paolo Nutini swears by it, every runner knows that you do not wear new shoes or kit on race day and here I am with even my socks coming straight out of the packaging. Only my trusted Garmin has seen some prior action and it has become more accustomed to tracking cycling activities than running.

Come the morning of the Men’s 10K, I also decided (I have no idea why) to forego breakfast. Yes, I was going to run the Men’s 10K in a fasted state. I regularly cycle to work before eating but running 10K without any fuel probably ranks up there with the decision to allow Donald Trump access to Twitter. It was not going to end well.

It is not like I was doing it for the fat loss (is fasted state training for fat loss now considered as “Fake News”?). I was simply not thinking.

I also was not thinking about the logistics of getting to the start line of the Men’s 10K. As a southsider, I always liked the Bellahouston Park setting and the move across the river and the new route presented me with some difficulties.

With start and finish lines 10K apart (maybe about 6km as the crow flies or the cheat runs) my idea of cycling to the start was not well thought out. Although I like a warm down as much as the next person, I did not fancy trekking back to pick up my bike. And I certainly did not fancy paying £5.00 to take the Men’s 10K Shuttle Bus to pick it up.

Thankfully, my girlfriend has resurrected her own Sunday morning ritual of having to get up early to cart my ass off to whatever race I am doing. I knew that roads would be closed on the north of the river, so I suggested that she drop me off at Govan Underground Station where it was only one stop to Partick and then a 10 minute walk to the start line at the Transport Museum. Genius, I know.

However, I remembered that it was 9am and that for some reason Glasgow has a transport system in 2017 that does not start until 10am on a Sunday. Which also happened to be the start time of the Men’s 10K.

Plan C was to simply drop me off at the BBC where the Bell’s Bridge would transport me over the River Clyde with only a 15 minute walk to the start line. Plenty of time for a selfie in front of one of my favourite Glasgow backdrops.

I belong to Glasgow!

Men’s 10K Review

I arrived at the Transport Museum in plenty of time, but still somehow nearly managed to miss the cut off time for the bag drop. It could have been down to my dozen pre race visits to the loo that had also made a return to my life, but come 10am I was in my pen and as we were herded towards the start line of the Men’s 10K, my belly began to rumble. Whether this was hunger or nerves, I was not sure, but there was no turning back….mainly because there were 300 men still behind me and we are Glasgow Men’s 10Kers!! We don’t turn, but we do run.

And run we did. For 5K, at least. The route from the Transport Museum is not pretty and underfoot the terrain was not great. I overheard several runners complaining and I momentarily lost my footing. Thankfully, it only only elicited a few expletives and no cries of pain. Once past the deserted stretch of the SECC we ran along the Broomielaw and this was reminiscent of the Great Scottish Run which was my last running event back in October 2015. Back then, it signalled the final stretch to the Glasgow Green finish line while the Men’s 10K route planners had managed cunningly to extend this into a 6km stretch.

At this point, I was still running and still smiling.

I doff my hat to all the wonderful race marshals

The route then took us along Argyle Street and here it became simply quite surreal. It was possible that being near the end of runners we had missed the onlookers and the excitement had died by the time we had arrived, but there was simply no enthusiasm or support, although there was a drunk/drugged/demented guy shouting at our cycling police escorts and urging them to do wheelies.

Sadly, they never. Maybe I should ask Ali Clarkson to teach them some skillz?

Around us, shoppers shopped and there was no encouragement. Maybe they were all angry at us for closing their roads or for doing our bit to improve our health in a city where we are expected to die prematurely. Whatever the reason, the lack of engagement was disappointing.

Just as well then that we had the amazing Men’s 10K Race Crew and Pacers. Dotted along the route and at intersections, where we could cheat by cutting corners and even sections of the race or more importantly wander into oncoming traffic, they cheered us on and motivated us. Even being told by one race marshal at around the 1km point that we did not have far to go, raised a smile even if it did make me reconsider what I was doing.

At around 7km my legs began to feel heavier and my pace became slower ( I really should have eaten something). We had entered the Gorbals and it was deserted. The lack of support certainly affected me and I slowed right down to a walking pace. I noticed that I was not alone. Ahead of me and behind me, others slowed and we took it in turns to run ahead before walking and being overtaken by another member of our team as we made our way through Glasgow Green.

I say team, but at no point did any of us agree a strategy. We would utter words of encouragement as we overtook each others but little else. Every time that I saw one of them gain too much of a lead, I knew it was time to pick up my pace. I hope that my presence helped them as much as they helped me. I would love to hear from any of the guys that finished between 1hr 10 and 1hr 20. Were you aware of our wee group of runners/walkers and did you also use us to keep you going?

And keep going we did.

Soon it was the 9km mark and as we excited Glasgow Green and entered the Trongate and eventually the Merchant City, the crowds started to pick up. We were close to finishing and this meant only one thing.

We picked up the pace!

It was time to pretend that despite our times, we were Olympic standard runners. Every single one of us discovered a new reservoir of energy (no idea where mine came from. It certainly was not from my empty stomach). Our strides became longer and heads were were lifted higher. Our breathing settled and we knew that we had this.

The finishing line approached and I broke into a sprint. And as I crossed the finishing line, a huge smile broke across my face. It had been a long wait for this moment and the Men’s 10K was the perfect setting.

The joy of running again or the joy of knowing that I was soon going to eat?

I had done it! Once again, I was a runner.

My time was 1:17:39 . My slowest ever 10K and I didn’t care. The Men’s 10K is not about fast times (ok, maybe for a few it is); it is about having a good time. It is about men of all ages, abilities, shapes and sizes coming together to promote men’s health and to help improve our own well-being. All brimming with positive MENtality.

The Men’s 10K might be relatively small compared to the magnificent Great Women’s Run but it is an equally important event on the running calendar and while some of the changes made by the new organisers GSi to the Men’s 10K have attracted some criticism, they are to be praised for ensuring that this vital event continues and for delivering it in such a professional manner (I had my bag returned before I even reached the baggage collection point).

Even if the medal was a tad small (all the better to add to my bag as key ring, mind).

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I am back running and I will be back at the Men’s 10K in 2018. You may have possibly guessed by now that this is a big deal for me. Running was a huge part of my life and I have missed it. I will continue to cycle as it is still early days and I also now love cycling, but I will slowly begin to add running events to my diary.

Who knows, I might also need to head across to Edinburgh in November for the Edinburgh Men’s 10K

Will you join me?

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June 18, 2017 2 comments

Free Events Try-Athlete

Get Fit For Free with NeverStopGlasgow and The North Face

written by Stephen Morrison

Put your hands in the air, if you just don’t care.

Care too much about paying inflated fees to get fit that is! Just last week, a feature in the National expressed how wealth (or even a lack of it was) was a barrier to participating in sports and physical activity. When wages (if you are lucky to have one) aren’t increasing but the cost of everything else is, then it can be hard to justify spending £8.00 on a weekly class.

Thankfully, I have yet another one of my “get fit for free” posts to share with you.

Our good friends at The North Face on Buchanan Street (and nationwide) are following up on their free and popular NeverStopGlasgow trail runs with some NeverStopGlasgow fitness sessions.

Over the course of four weeks, you can attend any one (or all) of the Wednesday night NeverStopGlasgow training sessions that will help your prepare for the Great Scottish Outdoors. Or in my case, the Tough 10 Cancer Research event in Edinburgh (don’t forget to enter my free competition for free entries).

Whether you are a skier, climber, runner or Munro bagger, having sufficient strength and endurance to get you across the finish line (or on top of that peak) is vital. Each session will be tailored to provide you with the physical skills to climb any mountain , even if that mountain is more of a hill and you are just out with your family in the local park.

Come together to train and to have fun

And with only twelve weeks until Christmas (summer has officially gone), it might prepare you for climbing out of taxis in little black numbers or with sliding across dance floors in your smart suits. What will you train for?

NeverStopGlasgow is not only for elite Mountain Athletes. It is open to all and everyone participating will come away with increased fitness and hopefully increased confidence. In fact, if you attend all four weeks, starting this Wednesday at 6.15pm, you will come away with more than that.

The North Face will give everyone who attends four consecutive weeks a special gift from Mountain Athletics (a Thermoball jacket would be nice!), so don’t delay and get signed up for what promises to be fun, challenging and ultimately rewarding.

Just follow this link and sign up for free at a session near you. In addition to Glasgow, there will be events in Edinburgh, Newcastle. Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and London (obviously). As a blogger and physical activity activist, I often complain that brands don’t bring their events to Scotland. Can we show them that there is a demand and that Glasgow is NOT the sick man of Europe? NeverStopGlasgow

Thanks to Ben Read Photography for the pictures and to North Face for putting on these sessions. I have not been paid to promote this.

October 1, 2016 0 comment

Health Physical Activity

National Fitness Day- What went wrong?

written by Stephen Morrison

Not a lot of people in Glasgow seem to know this, but Wednesday 7th September is/was National Fitness Day.

It was supposed to be a day to celebrate the benefits of being physically active, but also, more importantly, a day when we could encourage more people to move more, more of the time. It was a day to Move The Nation.

What we got instead was more self back patting, a trending hashtag, more confirmation bias and lots of preaching to the converted.

It trended on Twitter, but did that reach make a difference?

On National Fitness Day, it seemed that the already active were hashtagging their day’s activities with #NationalFitnessDay while the inactive presumably went on with their day none the wiser and certainly no more active than they were they day before.

And can we blame them? One National Fitness Day Challenge was to record 50,000 burpees. This is not an exercise that you motivate the inactive with. This is the type of challenge that frightens people and most likely makes them doubt their capabilities.

Is this how we get the inactive moving!?

If you are in London you might be reading this and wondering what I am on about? For you, National Fitness Day included events outside the Olympic Park, events with celebrities and Sports Ministers and events that went on all day. It looked exciting, it looked fun and it really looked like people were getting involved.

No expense spared in London

However, it is supposed to be National Fitness Day, not London Fitness Day and in Glasgow, you would never have known that it was even happening.

In Glasgow, I struggled to find anyone who knew what it was and I struggled to find ANY fitness operator giving it any serious attention.

Just look at the efforts that Pure Gym and the Gym Group went to, in order to entice people in and to share their free gym pass offer! Inside Pure Gym, there were no posters, no flyers and no events that I could see.

It was simply business as usual. With gym membership and attendance increasing, do the likes of Pure Gym and the Gym Group even see a need to invest time and money into National Fitness Day? The pictures below suggest not.

No expense spared

I also visited National Fitness day Sponsor, Argos, to see what activities and promotions they had. As the main sponsor and having read what they had planned, I was confident that they would be celebrating it with some style.

Oh, how wrong was I?

I saw a young cashier with a National Fitness Day t-shirt on and I asked him what was happening. He responded that he had turned up for work and had been given the top to wear. To his credit, he went searching for information and told me that there had been people in, but that they had left. They hadn’t left any flyers or posters and Argos were not advertising any offers, but at least someone had been there. It is however National Fitness Day, not National Fitness Hour.

Wide Open Spaces

Was Glasgow alone and were we just proving that despite our protestations, that we are the Sick Man of Europe?

According to Sean Blyth of World Gym Challenge, the answer is no. He organised and delivered a National Fitness Day event in his Argos Store in Kent and he struggled to engage any members of the public . He reported that while the staff in Argos were helpful, they were too busy to offer any real support.

People were shopping or on lunch from work. They had no desire to work out in Argos and had no real interest in National Fitness Day. This is the apathy and attitudes that we need to somehow break down.

We need to consider ways to engage with people and National Fitness Day, on paper at least, is a great idea. However, maybe the word fitness doesn’t quite fit. Is it possible that this is a word that the inactive recoil from and maybe we need to, dare I say it, consider A Different Approach ?

UKactive are to be applauded for attempting to make a difference. I believe in National Fitness Day and I genuinely hope that we can reflect on what worked well and what went wrong this year. In 2017, we can all work together, to make National Fitness Day better and bigger and help more people, move more, more often.

September 7, 2016 10 comments

Running Triathlon

NeverStopGlasgow. A Free 10k trail run with North Face

written by Stephen Morrison

“I could never resist the call of the trail”

Although I am currently more Sloth Steve than Buffalo Bill, it is true that the trail has been calling my name.

Two of my favourite events last year were the Hoka Highland Fling and Jedburgh Three Peaks Ultra Marathon Relays and my main event this year (knees permitting) will see me scramble up a Vertical Kilometre in Glencoe.

There is something special about running free through Scotland’s wilderness. Away from congested roads and grey buildings. Away from the hustle and bustle of the city and often a chance to get away from our troubles.

Trail running is the ideal way to clear the mind.

God’s Country

But, it is my previously discussed knee injury that is making my transition to trails a necessity and thanks to North Face I will be getting an early chance to see if a softer terrain will be kinder to my dodgy knees.

For on 31st May NeverStopGlasgow comes to town (and our parks) and a lucky few will get to trial the latest Ultra trail shoes from North Face in a special (and free) trail run evening.

Try some trail running with North Face and NeverStopGlasgow.

May 9, 2016 0 comment