For the next six weeks I am taking this newsletter back to its roots: I will be writing about running. If you follow me on Instagram then you will know that I am running 31km in one weekend, The Pride Run 10k and the Shoreditch Half, to raise money for Tommy’s the miscarriage and pregnancy charity. If you are able to you can donate here.

These past two weeks of running but most especially running longer distances have been transformative in terms of feeling back in my body. Something has clicked back into place. My muscles and my lungs have remembered what it feels like to push through this particular pain. Mostly it’s still hard, but there have been brief moments, which make it all worth it, where it feels like I’m flying.

I feel more grateful than ever to be able to take off and run when my brain gets too loud, even if I do get lost sometimes, even if one of my toenails is unfortunately turning black. I think it is a particular disgusting trait of being a runner that I wear that black toenail as a badge of pride, symbolic of my efforts rather than symbolic of the fact I probably need new trainers.

Long Run One: Stockholm in pursuit of buns, buns, loads of buns

What do two Type A’s do on holiday? They leave the hotel at 7:30am and run 14.5km! I don’t normally run with other people but I love running with my friend Andy because he a) runs at my pace and b) it forces me to remember that chatting passes the time better than any podcast or playlist could. He also planned the route so I could just concentrate on breathing and inspecting myself for ticks.

We spent most of this run slagging off London and trying to get the runners of Stockholm we passed to smile back at us or even throw us a ‘hej’ (unsuccessful) while we ran along the water, through the woods and all in glorious sunshine.

I have never refuelled for so long and so successfully. I feel confident that no two people had as many carbs in their body than me and Andy in the 72 hours we spent in Stockholm.

Even Longer Long Run Two: North London to Deptford via Tower Bridge in pursuit of Toad Bakery

I set out with one goal in mind: to eat an almond chocolatine at Toad Bakery, a place I have stalked and whose pastries I have coveted online for literally years. My route was meant to be 16.5km - a jump from last week’s run but nothing drastic and I left the house feeling confident it was going to be great not least because my route took me past the best street in London.

And it was great for a while! I hit Tower Bridge around the 12km mark and ran over it way too fast, swerving tourists and paying my respects to Anne Boleyn et al in the Tower behind me. It was only then, when I checked my map and saw that I still had over 6km to go that it started to get dicey.

After Tower Bridge, the route was essentially one long hot road all in direct sun, to Deptford. It is not a pretty route, there is not much to look at (no offence South East London, no offence!!) and I did not have enough water with me. I think this is a truly an example of mind over matter. That extra 1.5km would not have felt like such an unbelievable slog if I’d left my house intending to do them.

I did do them though and dutifully joined the Toad queue where the woman in front of me quite literally screamed because she saw that a tomato croissant cost £6.50. The almond chocolatine (£5.50 so a relative bargain) was the stuff of dreams. Unbelievable refuel. I did forget to drink water until halfway home but an Americano is basically the same and I remembered that. Progress not perfection etc.

I am also always looking for new, fun places to run to in London where there is something worth eating at the end - no distance is too far (because I will get a bus at some point if I have to) and I will even go west if it’s definitely worth it. Please, as always, let me know if you have any recommendations!

For the next six weeks I am taking this newsletter back to its roots: I will be writing about running. If you follow me on Instagram then you will know that I am running 31km in one weekend, The Pride Run 10k and the Shoreditch Half, to raise money for Tommy’s the miscarriage and pregnancy charity.

Some Context:

I ran two half marathons in 2025 - the Brighton Half and Hackney Half. I ran the Brighton Half after months of training and got a PB. I ran the Hackney Half a few weeks later with almost no training in between and had a fun time all the way round. At the beginning of 2026 I was probably the fittest I’ve ever been. Then I began IVF treatment, fell pregnant and had a miscarriage at the end of my first trimester. I have never felt so disconnected from my body and as soon as I managed to recover physically, I started running again in earnest to try to get back to some feeling I recognised. I signed up to these runs to have something to aim towards at a time when I was flailing. I also wanted to raise money for a charity I had turned to and for some good to come out of our grief.

Week One: easy, tempo, long run

It is important to say that I am not training from scratch. I would not recommend anyone try to run a half marathon in six weeks with no base. In the past few weeks I’ve been building back up to running 5ks and then 10ks. I have a few aches and pains from getting too excited and refusing to do any strength training whatsoever so unfortunately I have been forced to spend some time on the floor with big elastic bands.

The tempo run this week was a shock to the system because the ‘fast pace’ I had to hit was slower than I ran my half marathons last year. Now the same pace has my heart rate soaring, my lungs burning, my legs in bits. It is hard not to get frustrated with myself but I am trying to remember what my body has been through and how much I’ve asked of it recently. I will build back up or I won’t. It doesn’t matter. I am not trying to win the race. I am trying to raise money and also take myself from A (home) to B (pastry).

My long run this week was 12km and took me along the river, over Hackney Marshes and into Victoria Park. The first 3km were painful as my hip warmed up (I am 150 years old now) but the rest was absolutely joyous. I fear I smiled at strangers the whole way round which had the bonus effect of boosting my mood and of people giving me a wide berth on the narrow paths. I ended the run at Pophams and bought a coveted peanut chocolate pastry ticking both the carb and protein category in the refuel.

The goal this week is to let my legs recover a little and hit the runs towards the end of the week after they’ve had a rest. I’ll be swimming and cycling as my cross training leading everyone who knows me to fear the dreaded words ‘Iron…man?’

One thing at a time.

If you would like to donate to Tommy’s and sponsor my ridiculous weekend of running then you’re able to here. If you’ve already sponsored me I love you forever. We’ve raised over £1,500 so far which is incredible.

Next week’s long run will be in Stockholm so fuelled by very expensive beer and buns. Please tune in to see if any more of my bones have crumbled!

April

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