Sunday 5th June saw Liquidblu and fellow #warwicktweetup-ers join forces to pound the grounds of Stoneleigh Abbey all in the name of charity. And what a great worthy charity it was –Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance!

Having not run seriously for a couple of years now, I thought I needed to get back into the swing of things. An avid fundraiser for any worthy cause, I had not taken part in anything big since I conquered the Three Peaks last July with my mates. So when the #warwicktweetup announced it’s third event would be a 5k/10k run, I thought, why not? Fast forward a few weeks later and I’m out running a few k’s in Warwick with some of the gang@UnderwoodWines, @Ginger1print, @BBCTimOnAir and many more and I realise, the event is only a few days away! At this point, I had only been out running 3 times!

Race day arrived, sunny, began to get warm and the anticipation was brewing, as was the nerves by this point (I had always got nervous before a race, I used to road race a lot when I was younger and could never master the nerves). Arriving at the venue, there was long winding road of cars entering Stoneleigh, waiting to get into the car park – it was a fab turnout by everyone, runners, supports etc. Meeting up with the team was great, settled a few of the nerves as we all knew we were there for one reason, and one reason only, to race as a team (the biggest team) for a great and worthy Charity – Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance. Decked out in the great #warwicktweetup t-shirts (PLUG PLUG!) which looked along with vast sea of yellow adorned by all the other entrants, we started a warming up with@LifeFitCamp. Some say it was a warm up, I think he was just making us look fools in front of the camera (ok, maybe not!), just very funny exercise to loosen the muscle sup before the start.

A few photo opportunities at the start line (see above) and we were off! My running style isn’t at all elegant, but with my trance tunes turned up, head down and I was making good, but steady progress (I did say I hadn’t run for a while!). 2.5ks in and the water bottle station couldn’t have come quicker! It was hard going on the terrain, we were running through the mass grounds of Stoneleigh, but it was very uneasy underfoot and it was a task to dodge the rabbit holes and mole mounds! By 4k, I was beginning to struggle and my pace had drastically fallen away but undeterred, I continued to put one foot in front of the other and make it round, one final push saw the finish line in sight.

The final stretch saw the tank running low, but made it over the line in a modest 26-ish minutes, I had thought about going another 5k earlier in the day but that thought swiftly excited as I crossed the line! I was done. The aftermath saw lots of panting, gulping water and stretching off and I couldn’t say it was easy, but as the pain disappeared and the satisfaction dawned on me that I was back in the running game!

Not forgetting why we had just put ourselves through this, it was to raise money for the WNAA, which we duly did. #warwicktweetup collectively raised over £1200 for WNAA through sign ups, donations and previous events. That nearly pays for a single mission to help save another life!

I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the #warwicktweetup team and supporting such a fantastic charity.

Liquidblu designed and sourced the t-shirts from local suppliers (Coventry) – Acorn Printing, together with support from fellow #warwicktweetup business @Ginger1print, Ginger – The Art of Print based in Kenilworth.

#warwicktweetup is an incredible group of local people who are trying to do their bit to add something back into the Warwickshire Community. You can find out more about the group online.

For more information on Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance please log onto www.wnaa.co.uk