Three of my runners, Lucy, Abigail and Ellen, took on the Women’s Running 10k in Finsbury Park on Saturday morning. Here’s how it went for Lucy (right).

As race day approached, I became increasingly nervous – what if I couldn’t make it round the whole course? What if I let myself down, and more importantly, let down Laura and the other Lazy Girls? On the morning of the race however, the atmosphere in Finsbury Park was amazing – there were women of every age and ability, all here to run for their chosen cause. Then as the Women’s Running team got us warmed up with an aerobic workout, all nerves vanished and excitement took over…!

I planned to follow the 60 minute pacemaker runner to meet my target of running the race in one hour, but the adrenalin got the better of me and I sprinted off at an unsustainable pace and peaked too soon. By the 5k mark, I had blisters and cramp, and was seriously considering dropping out, but a few encouraging words from my boyfriend on the sideline reminded  me that the desire to quit was all in my head and I had to finish the race for my own sake.

As I crossed the finish line after a walk-run hybrid of the last kilometre, the sense of relief was phenomenal, and I promised I would never put myself through this again. Although not quite the hour I was hoping for, I was very proud of my 64 minute timing; not bad for someone who had never run more than a kilometre this time last year.

Five minutes later, as the endorphins kicked-in and my feet stopped throbbing, I heard myself agreeing with the other girls to sign up for the Regents Park 10k in November, and the excitement has kicked in already!