Race For Life 2013 - 5km.

This year, July 14th, I took part in my local 5km Race For Life, to raise money for Cancer Research UK. As always, it was a great turn out and Hudson's Field was a sea of pink! I was number 436. The message on my back was "I race for life for everyone affected by cancer. (Laura's Aunty Barb & Aunty Val)". I offered to add my friend, Laura's, Aunties on my sign as she was unable to run the RFL herself this year.

I was really hoping to beat my personal best time that I achieved last year (32 minutes, 29 seconds), but I didn't quite manage it. I arrived a couple of minutes late and slightly hungover (went to a birthday party the night before) so it was hard to keep an eye on my start time. But my overall time was around 37ish minutes, I think. Of course I'm a little disappointed, but I guess it's not too bad considering I ran/jogged alone this year and the weather was beyond scorching! I had little heat blisters all over my shoulders and almost collapsed in a heap of exhaustion after I crossed the finish line. I could hardly stand up! I didn't manage to run/jog the whole thing without stopping this year, but I was kind of expecting that with the heat.

Although I didn't beat my personal best time for completing the RFL, I beat my personal best on how much sponsorship I've ever raised. Most years I only manage to raise about £20-30, but this year I raised a total of £65! Makes me happy that I've raised that much money for such a great, well known charity.

Well done to everybody who took part in the Race For Life this year! Same again next year? ;)

Race For Life 2013. I've signed up, have you?

Today I signed myself up for this years local 5km Race For Life (Sunday July 14th 2013)! I normally leave it pretty last minute to sign up, but I decided to do it well in advance this year so I can try and get the most sponsors I possibly can. I've only set myself a small target of raising £30.00 to begin with. I know it's quite low, but I know from previous years that not many people seem to sponsor me. I've decided this year to sign up earlier and try starting off with a lower target. I'll aim for that target and then gradually increase it. Hopefully, if this new tactic works, I will smash the first £30.00 target by the time the event actually arrives.

Please sponsor me on my JustGiving page: http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/JessicaRobertson.

Sponsoring me through JustGiving means the money gets donated straight to Cancer Research UK. If you're a UK taxpayer, don't forget to tick the "Gift Aid" box, which will increase your donation by 25% at no extra cost to you!

I participated in the Race For Life last year too (click here for the blog post) and I did better than any other years I've done it! I jogged the whole thing non-stop last year - even the really horrible hill near the very end (hopefully they'll purposely miss that bit out this year, as it was an absolute killer). I am not a runner nor a jogger, so it was a pretty big confidence boost for myself completing it non-stop. I finished it in 32 minutes and 29 seconds, so I will hopefully beat that this year!

I am a lot more active than I was last year, but I mainly lift weights at the gym nowadays. I don't do much cardio at all.. I guess I'll have to try and incorporate more cardio into my gym routine to prep myself for this! I will be gutted if I finish at a really bad time compared to last year. But even if I do, it's the raising money that counts. So please sponsor me! Every sponsor, no matter how big or small, will help this amazing cause and will be greatly appreciated!

If you are interested in joining in, go onto the Race For Life website to see if there are any events near you. There's a small fee to sign up, but it is all for Cancer Research - so a fantastic cause! Please don't be put off or embarrassed if you think you can't run/jog it. Just because it's called a "race", doesn't mean you're actually racing. You can walk the whole 5km if you want to! It's just a fun day out for all the family! Only women can participate though (which is a little unfair in my opinion, as men can get breast cancer too, but hey ho..), but feel free to bring your male family members, partner and friends to come cheer you on in the sidelines!

Spread the word about Race For Life 2013 and get all of your friends and family involved.

LETS SHOW CANCER WHO'S BOSS!

Lets get naked in the snow, for charity!

These last two weeks, amazing things have been going down in the little county of Wiltshire. Firstly, it's been snowing! I went to bed late one night and woke up in the morning to a winter wonderland! Best thing was I had no idea it was due to snow, so it was a complete surprise to me (all the snow has gone now though..). And secondly, a local woman, Leanne Myers, took the snowy weather and put it to some seriously good use. Simply by getting tastefully nude in the snow, for fun, and creating a Facebook page to post it on (click here for the Facebook page, or search " Wiltshire Lets get naked in the snow " on Facebook), she has created craze that everyone's taking part in. As it's got more and more popular, she decided to use it's popularity to raise money for an amazing local charity, 'Salisbury District Hospital Stars Appeal' (the charity helps local people around all of the wards and departments in the hospital, with particular focus on cancer, cardiac care and children/babies). The craze has taken the nation by storm and articles about it have been published in many different newspapers and it's been mentioned on websites from around the world. Leanne Myers has even been Skype interviewed by the US television show, 'Right This Minute' (click here to watch the interview). A website has also been created (click here for the website)!

As I love helping out great causes (my skydive for charity back in May 2012, for example), I just felt I had to take part. As well as helping to raise money for an amazing charity, it has really helped boost my self confidence. I have had lots of positive feedback from my family, my friends and even a few people I don't even know. My photo is featured on the official website's layout, which I was shocked to find out, but it was also another little confidence booster for me. I am so glad I took part in it and I'm very proud of myself. I would have never been able to have done something like this when I was bigger.

If you can, please dig deep and donate to help this amazing cause - no matter how big or small the donation is, every penny helps! Just go to the JustGiving page (click here for the page) and click 'Donate'. Since setting up the Facebook page, they have raised over £3,500 so far, which is incredible!

Soon they will be bringing out a calender, full of photos people have posted on the Facebook page, which will help raise even more money for the Stars Appeal! Once the calenders are available, I will edit this post and include a link to where they can be purchased from. :)