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#7 The Wales Marathon - Every Accomplishment Starts With The Decision to Try.

22/7/2014

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I've typed this introduction nearly fifteen times. In fifteen different ways. And I still seem to be struggling to find the right words to sum up the journey we're on, the weekend we had in Wales and how grateful I am to have YOU reading this right now. 

Team Run 12 has become far more to me than a hobby - it's also become far more than 'my challenge'. Team Run 12 is, and always will be, an integral part of my life and the people I consider to by 'family' has grown because of it. I've made existing friendships better and made new ones on a global scale and together, we're saving lives. There is nothing more incredible than that, not even crossing the seventh marathon finish line this year. Thank you for being part of this journey. x

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Happy Birthday Team Run 12!
It's Friday 11th July and my Time Hop app is telling me that it's been exactly one year since I announced what I wanted to do with Team Run 12. At the time, I'd only been 'a runner' for seven months so my goal was ambitious to say the least, and yet, here we were one year on preparing to leave for my seventh marathon and a weekend away with people who, this time last year, we didn't even know existed. 

Mum, Meg, Dan and I packed up and spent seven hours travelling to Fishguard, Pembrokeshire to meet Mark, Allie, Beth and Ed. We danced and sang the entire way (I say 'we', I mean Dan) and I swore quite a lot as we got in to Wales and I realised that it was really VERY hilly. I'd been really nervous about this race; whilst my body felt strong and I was injury free for the first time in a long time, I was fearful of not making it to the finish line. 


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Beth, Allie, Dan, Ed, Richard, Meg and Mum!
 Apparently, our best looking support crew yet...

Thank you all SO much for everything you have done and continue to do for us. I cannot put in to words how grateful I am to have you join me on this journey x
Does Chinese food counts as carb loading? 
We'd had so much fun in the days leading up to the race and I think staying together as 'a family' contributed to this being such a great race. I was almost jealous that everyone got to stay together whilst Mark and I had to slog our way through 26.2 miles! 

From sitting in an ice cream parlour and Meg having her spoon ripped straight out of her hand by the elderly waitress (and that weird man date), to the pub bar man falling off a bar stool in to a bloke's lap, and Dan's one handed clapping. It's safe to say we laughed a hell of a lot. 

Pre-Race Pep Talks 
Nerves were really getting to me the night before the race; when I laid my kit out I was actually shaking, thinking about all of the hills we'd driven past and walked up when wandering around Tenby. Mark and I had a brief chat about the race and agreed we'd just get to the finish - no time aims, no personal bests, just slow and steady, walking the bigger hills if we needed to. 

As we got in to bed that night, Dan said something to me that really stuck with me; 'you've got to six finish lines, what makes this one any different? You've done it before, you'll do it again.' It's hard to explain how it feels to have so many people believe in my ability to do this, when I have moments of doubt, their support gets me through. 
Meeting the #TwitterFamily 
Talking of support... For the last seven months, I've been lucky enough to be involved in the twitter #ukrunchat community and have connected with some incredible people as a result.

I've been talking on a pretty much daily basis to some of the Swansea Vale Runners for a good 6 months- Stace, Nick, Marc, Nic and Jo. When they found out I was running The Wales Marathon as my seventh race they immediately commented on the hills.  
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So much respect for the Swansea Vale Runners x
For months, their messages of support have been reinforced with jokes about the death/pain this poxy course was going to cause me. I don't think they quite realised how terrified I was as a result of their teasing. 

On the morning of the race I text Stace and Nick to let them know where we would be so they could meet us. I spotted Stace in the crowds and we stood chatting and taking pictures - something to take my mind of the next few hours!Marc had kindly printed us Swansea Vale Runner vests - making us honorary members for the weekend. It was great to finally meet them, and even greater to end the race seeing them waiting and cheering for us at the finish line. 

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Inspiration appears everywhere.
As always, pre-race flew by; Mark and I were soon having our last good luck hugs from our amazing support crew. As we walked to join the crowd of runners, we spotted the SVR boys again in the crowd. The more races I do the more I recognise regular marathoners but to meet a group of people online and be able to see that they genuinely are behind you 100% is incredible. #TwitterFamilyForLife

In a whirl wind of confetti and noise, we crossed the start line. Mark and I were both in good spirits; for the first few miles everything felt relatively steady and easy. The hill at the third mile was on the large side, to say the least, so we tactically walked up it to save ourselves for later, a majority of people were walking which made me feel a little bit better.

The miles merged in to one another, without a great deal of drama. Around five miles in we decided to put some music on and every runner we saw joked about wanting to stick with us to stay motivated, one even asked if I took requests. 

We  then overtook a blind runner and his guide, something I always find incredibly inspiring. As we passed him he asked his guide who had run passed with music 'a lovely young blonde girl, we'll chase her I think?' Erm, not sure how I feel about that but okay...? 

We started talking to the runner and he told me that he had been running for over 20 years and this race was his 266th marathon. I was in complete awe. Running one marathon in good 'health' is an incredible, life changing experience but to run 26.2 miles over 250 times with a disability. There are no words to explain the respect I have for that; I hope to be able to be a guide runner in the future. We later saw this gentleman and his guide cross the finish line so a massive congratulations to them. 


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Miles 11 - 13 seemed to pass really quickly; the second we crossed one mile marker another seemed to appear. I was looking forward to seeing our support crew, not only for a bit of motivation but because I'd managed to cut my arm open so I'd text ahead to ask mum to grab me a sleeved t-shirt out of my kit bag. 

As we approached Pembrokeshire Castle I knew I was close to a cuddle. We turned up a steep hill in to what appeared to be the high street, then heard the roar of everyone stood on a street corner. It is so motivating to see your family; before I ran the London Marathon for the first time, my mum sent me a text message that read 'Just because you can't see us doesn't mean we're not behind you, we're with you every step of the way'. Whenever I'm struggling to keep putting one foot in front of the other I think of that and, so far, I've always managed to keep going. 

Strawberry Daiquiri Flavoured Gels = LUSH (I'm in Wales so this is an acceptable word). 
As we approached the 16th mile I started to feel a little bit sick. Rule number one of running a marathon - do not try anything new on race day. I made the error of trying a vanilla bean GU over the berry isogels (they do actually taste of watered down strawberry daiquiris!) I've been using and suddenly felt very sick. Add on the blister that was forming on my foot and I was starting to feel a bit rotten and grumpy.

Mark was doing a great job at keeping me moving. The hills were really apparent now; I'd jinxed us by laughing over how few we'd seen in the first half. We were still ahead of target so just kept plodding on, looking back, we could have picked up our pace significantly in the first half but then, hindsight is a beautiful thing. 

As we approached the 18th Mile I was still feeling quite sick, I'd noticed that I had a lot of salt on my skin but hadn't read the warning signs of what this could mean. Half way up a short but steep hill, outside a post office (I think) was a man stood with a tray of Tuc Biscuits. TUC BISCUITS. I could have kissed him. I took three of them, thanking him as we continued up the hill. Nothing has ever tasted as good as those dry, salty crackers did. I text mum to ask her to find me a box for when I got to the finish line. If there's any form of motivation, it comes in the shape of a little red cracker box. 

NEVER race children. They have no concept of distance. 
One of my highlights of the race was a water station at the 22nd mile. There was a large group of children supporting their parents who were marshalling, aged between 3 and 11. As we approached the station they were cheering, full of support and offering water and snacks. 

I started to make my way up the next hill whilst Mark refilled his water bottles, when one of the young girls said 'COME ON WE'LL RUN WITH YOU!' I laughed but realised they were serious as they stated to run alongside me. 'Can we race you?!' one of the smaller boys asked, that made me laugh more, he clearly had no concept of how far 22 miles is or how knackered we were. 'Come on then' I agreed, we raced up a hill, me pushing them to run fast, Mark joined in with another group of them catching us up at the top of a hill. 

They waved us off, laughing and smiling 'GOOD LUCK' they all chanted.
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Where did you come from Cotton Eyed Joe?
As we approached the final stretch, Cotton Eyed Joe came on to my iPhone. We cowboy danced our way to the final hill, Mark joked about us crossing the finish line to 'this shit', I think we'd both underestimated how amazing this finish would be.

We picked up our pace for the final stretch. 'Come on, lets go' Mark said to me, we powered our way towards the finish line, spotting the SVR crew in the crowd, seeing their 'familiar' faces and hitting the wall of noise was just incredible. About 10 metres closer to the finish line we spotted the TR12 support crew, I grabbed Meg's camera and we crossed the line hand in hand, laughing. 

Here I was for the seventh time this year, having a piece of heavy metal hung around my neck, another 26.2 miles under my belt. We're now closer to the end than the start, the countdown has almost begun to the final race and that almost scares me. 

By far, this has been my favourite race yet. The fear in the months leading up to the race challenged me but added to the experience. Meeting the SVR boys and seeing so many inspiring runners on the day showed me how incredible the running community really is. The marshals and our support team were second to none, as always. And the views, oh the views, unbelievable.  

We'll be back next year Tenby - what a weekend! 


Dehydration is bad. 
I always react differently after a race; sometimes I feel horribly sick, other times I'm starving and eat everything I see. After a 50 minute car journey home, I felt a rush of tiredness and was freezing cold, which in 22 degrees heat is ludicrous. I jumped in the shower and could hardly stand up, I laid in the bath, holding the shower head on my tired legs. I begged mum to dry my hair before curling up on the sofa under a blanket and falling asleep. After struggling my way through some food, I went back inside feeling like I might throw up (I think Dan's 'singing' - NONE THREE FIVE - might have had something to do with that). I fell asleep again and woke up feeling awful. Almost four hours had passed and although I'd been drinking all day, I hadn't been to the toilet for about seven hours. Dehydration.

Mark made me a High 5 drink and after slugging my way through it, I started to chirp up, craving salt and wanting more sleep. Getting in to bed that night was amazing, what had been a bit like sleeping on a snooker table for the last two nights suddenly felt like a cloud. 

When I woke up the next morning and managed to walk downstairs like a normal person who hadn't completed a marathon the day before, I was surprised. Mark was more surprised though when he asked if I wanted to do the race again next year and I immediately said 'yes'. 

Some days I wake up and I'm tired of talking about my marathons, tired of running mile upon mile and spending hours in the gym. It doesn't take long before I look at everything we've achieved this year- over £12,000 for two very worthy charities, SEVEN full marathons plus the hundreds of other miles we've completed, a community of friends all over the world...  This has been the core of my life for over a year now, yet I wouldn't change a thing. I've gained more from this experience than I could ever have hoped. 

If you want to get fit, start to run. If you want to change your life, run a marathon. 
Challenge yourself. Push the boundaries. Do what others believe to be impossible. 

Stop dreaming, and start living. It's the best thing I ever did. 

Team Run 12 are a fundraising group hoping to raise £25,000 for Breast Cancer Care and Cancer Research UK. Every £1 donation helps. Please contribute if you can by clicking here.

Team Run 12 have also entered a competition to win £5,000 toward our fundraising total. At the time of publishing this we were in FIRST place.

Please click here and enter a valid email address (you need to verify your vote). It takes thirty seconds, is free and will make an enormous difference. Thank you so much for all your support. x
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Half Way Q&A !

9/7/2014

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Recently I've noticed a pattern in the typical kinds of questions I get asked by people - those wanting to start running, runners building up to marathon distance and nutters like me interested in taking on a multi-marathon challenge! Whatever your goals, I'm always happy to help to the best of my knowledge so feel free to get in contact, here, here, here or here :)! 

In the meantime, here are the 11 questions I get asked most often... 
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What does a typical week look like for you? With my marathons often being so close together I don't have a 'typical' week - I try and listen to my body when it needs to rest but find it near impossible to sit still for more than a day! 

After a marathon I rest for 24 hours then swim - just 30 or so gentle breaststroke laps. Four days later, if my knees are feeling okay I'll run 2-3 miles and build back up from there. Due  to injury, I've found myself cross training a lot after races and avoiding running completely; I suspect if I'd trained for longer and allowed my body to get used to longer distance this wouldn't be the case! 

In a 'normal week', I exercise 6 of 7 days totalling around 15 hours. I'll incorporate short runs (5-10km), two 45 minute spin sessions, cross-training (good for damaged knees), circuit training and an hour of pilates. I also try and have at least one 'leg day' and use weights to strengthen my lower back. 

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What is your diet like? Do you use any supplements? I've been awful with my diet recently, thinking I can eat anything I want because I exercise a lot but that isn't the case and I've learnt the hard way. You cannot out exercise a bad diet.

A typical day for me will be porridge for breakfast, a banana around 11am, a tin of tuna, salad and hummus for lunch and chicken, wholemeal rice and some veggies for dinner. I try and stick to around 1,400 calories and up this to around 2,500 calories in the 3-4 days before a race. 

I also use JstJodie nutrition. I take semtex pre-workout and have been known to replace breakfast or dinner (when I'm busy) with a crème brule J-Meal. After a marathon I use, SIS Banana Recovery drinks. I also take a generic multi-vitamin, glucosamine and cod liver oil tablets.

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Are you part of a running club? No but I try and run with my local Sweatshop Running Community as often as I can. My local branch (Maidstone) run a 5km on a Monday and a 10km on a Friday. Over 200 people attend the Monday sessions and I always have a great run and meet lots of lovely people. If you want to set a PB or get help with your running style, I'd highly recommend SRC! 

After this year, when I can commit to 3-4 sessions a week, I will be looking at joining a running and athletics club! 

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Which of the six marathons you've run so far this year would you recommend? I've loved and hated them all for different reasons. I would 100% run the Cambridge Boundary Marathon again - it was a really great, mucky cross-country race with the only fault I can think of being that they don't give medals out at the end but for £8 entry, you can't complain too much! The Kent Road Runner race is also fantastically organised and has great race-bling! 

I'm keeping a diary of my 'Runner Race Review' which I'll publish when I've completed all 12 marathons. 

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How have you raised so much money? I really want to run the London Marathon but can't commit to raising £2500! There's no way around this one. If you commit to a charity place in an iconic race like the London Marathon you need to work your arse off to raise the funds, having generous friends and colleagues really helps! I've previously posted a blog on fundraising which you can read here! 

Do you have any race day rituals? Aside from smothering my feet in vaseline and dancing in front of the mirror to Eminem's 'Lose Yourself', I tend to just go with it. Nerves get the better of me on race day but I'm quite good at concealing it and everything is fine when I get to the start line. If I make it there, I'll make it to the finish. 

I also always post a tweet to let everyone know where I'm off to and try and include some photos. My twitter followers are amazing and I love completing a race and spending a good hour responding to everyone's messages. 

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What do you eat in the days leading up to a marathon?  There is no need to eat tonnes of food before a marathon and it certainly isn't the time to gorge on loads of junk (I know you're all hating this news). Now is the time to be eating really well and drinking as much water as you can.

I stock up on porridge and sweet potato, snack on nuts and drink plenty of coconut water (the pineapple vita coco is my favourite). The night before a race I make a big pasta meal with chicken, peppers, courgette and onion in a home made tomato sauce. It seems to have worked this far! I do allow myself a little treat, normally in the form of peanut butter cups and I've been known to have a few glasses of fizz post-race! 

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How do you fuel on the run? A big bowl of porridge three hours before the race (I'm naughty and put a table spoon of nutella in it as a treat - it's slow release energy according to the advert!) I'll then have a banana and a salt tablet an hour before the race and am pretty much good to go! 

I used to take gels every 5km which I've realised is completely unnecessary. I now have gels at 7 miles, 13 miles, 18 miles and 22 miles and have a red jelly baby every other mile (mental treat). I stick to water to keep my fluids up as I find I feel really sick if I take on any more sugar! 

Immediately after a race I have an SIS Recovery drink (banana) and a real banana. If there's a mars bar or clif bar to hand I'll also tuck in to that to line my stomach for the celebratory bubbles!  

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What running kit do you use? 
Lets go toe to head shall we? Note: Not everything I own is pink. 

Feet: I have more trainers than any one I know. For road running, I rotate three pairs of Asics GT-2000 which are the first stability shoe to stop me getting shin splints! Rotating them stops them wearing out too quickly. For trail running I wear New Balance WT910s and when I'm cross training I have a pair of electric pink nike free run 3.0; they're SO comfortable and lightweight! For marathons I always wear energize hilly socks, and add a layer of vaseline to my feet to try and prevent blisters. 

Legs: 
I wear skins calf guards on long runs (10km +) and they really do help shin splints! I also use a knee strap and KT tape on my knee following my dislocation. I tend to run in Nike leggings but have recently started wearing a pair of Adidas shorts which are so comfy and don't ride up! In the winter, Thoosa thermal leggings are my saviour as I really feel the cold! Good underwear is key to running a marathon; Victoria Secrets do awesome seamless pants, and they're super pretty too (is that too much information?) 

Upper Body: 
On my top half I stick to a Nike sports bra and tech t-shirts, normally that I've got from races, I also have some Nike lightweight t-shirts which are brilliant in this warmer weather. In the winter I tend to opt for a lightweight waterproof and tech-tshirt underneath. Sweaty Betty do fab hoodies for post-workout. 

Other: 
I like to run alone so often listen to music on the go, I use yurbud in-ear headphones which twist in your ear to stop them falling out. I have a standard cheap armband to hold my iPhone and ID. Finally, my two newest bits of kit that I am OBSESSED with are my Garmin 620 which is essential for pacing when running long distance and my fitbit flex which clocks my day-to-day activity and keeps me moving when I'm feeling lazy! 

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What injuries have you suffered from? How did you recover and how can I prevent getting injured? I am basically a walking injury. I've suffered from shin splints as long as I've been running, dislocated my knee, have a tight ITB and get problems with my quad muscles and abductors, and have had blisters so  bad they could qualify as retirement injuries! 

I am lucky enough to have an amazing osteopath as part of my support team who keeps me strong and injury free with regular massage. I cannot recommend seeing a sports specialist enough. If you're based in Kent, check out Luke! 

Three other elements come in to play with injuries: good fitting shoes (go to your local sweatshop for an assessment on your gait FOC!), rest and recovery (everyone needs some time to allow their body to recover) and your diet (too often people are skipping meals and trying to restrict, food is fuel, eat well and eat up)! 

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I really want to start running, how can I do it? I get bored really easily and just want to stop... You can do anything you set your mind to. Boredom is something you have to overcome - running is my thinking time and I find it a great way to relieve stress so tend to run alone with music to motivate me but grab some friends or join a local beginners running group to get started. 

If you're concious of joining a running club, download one of the many C25k apps on to your smartphone and start a walk to run program, they seem slow at first but really really work! 

Every runner has bad runs and great runs. When I'm struggling I try and remember to: 
1) Never judge a run by the first mile. Everything will settle down 2-3 miles in and you'll know how you're really feeling! The only exception is if you feel a REALLY debilitating pain - get yourself home and ICE ICE ICE! 
2) Running is just putting one foot in front of the other. If you're struggling and want to stop to walk, set yourself small targets 'run to that postbox... okay now to that car... I'll overtake that person walking their dog'. Metres soon become miles! 
3) That nothing compares to runner's high! You'll feel great when you get home so keep plodding on!


I hope you might have picked up some interesting tips whilst reading this. I love hearing about other runner's experiences, so please do share them on our facebook page or tweet me! And if you have some advice you think I might benefit from, get in touch here. 

If you'd like to submit a question for a future Q&A click here. 

xox
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Cycle Sportive Results 

8/7/2014

1 Comment

 
The results from our Charity Cycle Sportive in Headcorn (June 29th) are now in. A huge thank you to our volunteers on the day who made the event possible, to Headcorn Aerodrome and The British Cycling Association. Congratulations to all of our finishers. Thank you for taking part! 
1 Acott Richard - 40 miles 04:46
2 Acott Darren - 40 miles 04:46
3 Alchorn Ian - 40 miles 03:22
4 Baker Paul - 40 miles 03:14
5 Beard Bill - 40 miles 03:45
7 Brooks Matthew - 40 miles 03:01
8 Cheeney Natalie - 40 miles 02:58
9 Cherrett Bryan - 40 miles 03:44
10 Cunningham Luke - 40 miles 02:48
11 Cunningham Myles - 40 miles 02:52
12 Dawson Peter - 40 miles 02:56
14 Field Matt - 40 miles 02:19
15 Goddard Paul - 40 miles 04:46
16 Grayland Andrew - 40 miles 03:35
17 Harris Phil - 40 miles 02:28
18 Mills Simon - 40 miles 02:24
19 Nield Alison - 40 miles 02:30
21 Osbourne Sarah - 40 miles 04:23
22 Turner Paul - 40 miles 02:50
23 Ward Darren - 40 miles 04:46
24 Warnett John - 40 miles 03:16
25 Westerbeek Richard - 40 miles 02:50
26 White Michael - 40 miles 03:44
27 Wickes Kevin - 40 miles 03:54
28 Willetts William - 40 miles 02:46
29 McAvoy Sharon - 40 miles 03:21
30 Taylor Mark - 40 miles 03:18
31 Ellingham Nichola - 40 miles 03:29
32 Chapman Simon - 40 miles 03:29
33 Chipchase Paul - 40 miles 03:21
34 Chipchase Guillem - 40 miles 03:21
35 Day Graha - 40 miles 03:19
36 Nunn Stuart - 40 miles 03:19
37 Anderson Chris - 40 miles 02:52
38 Knowles Chris - 40 miles 03:33
39 Milbourne Lee - 40 miles 02:50
40 Taylor Mike - 40 miles 02:53
41 Hague Karl - 25 miles 02:22
42 Dingwall Rita - 25 miles 02:50
43 Dowle Christine - 25 miles 02:37
44 Hill Alistair - 25 miles 01:49
45 Musk Hayley - 25 miles 02:50
46 Pooley Mick - 25 miles 02:23
47 Pooley Angela - 25 miles 02:23
48 Trevers Julie - 25 miles 02:36
49 Hardy Kerry - 25 miles 02:51
51 Newman Peter - 25 miles 02:37
52 Baker Gary - 25 miles 02:50
53 Lapthorn Barry - 25 miles 02:21
55 Hunt Stephen - 25 miles 01:47
56 Murray Thomas - 40 miles 03:31
57 Murray Peter - 40 miles 03:31
58 Dury John - 40 miles 03:27
59 Grundy Liz - 40 miles 03:27
60 Marshall Karen - 25 miles 01:49
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Help Us Win £5000!

2/7/2014

1 Comment

 
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Mountain Warehouse are currently offering one lucky fundraiser the chance to win £5000 for their nominated charity, as part of their Charity Challenge! 

Becky has created a profile and we need your votes to help us win this huge sum of money to put towards our £25,000 fundraising total. To vote, simply click here, submit a valid email address and then verify your vote! The process takes around 2 minutes and could change the lives of those living with cancer. 

The public vote closes on September 12th 2014. The top 10 entries will then be short-listed, with a second public vote closing at 5pm on September 30th 2014. 

We need as many votes as we can so please click here to do it now and share with your friends, family and colleagues.

Thank you in advance for your support. 

*Please do not enter more than once using email addresses with the same name, this could result in us being disqualified from the competition.

1 Comment

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    All blogs, unless otherwise stated, have been researched and produced by Rebecca 'Bexx Starr' Beard.

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