Running in Barcelona

Wow, apologies for my delayed reaction posting, but for the past few weeks I have been entirely consumed by moving house - a task I’d massively underestimated the scale of.

Anyway, two weeks ago I was in Barcelona to report from 080 Barcelona Fashion Week which was held in the incredibly School of Philosophy – part of the University of Barcelona.  An incredible building, which was so majestic it made me want to learn Spanish – and Philosophy – at once!

You can see ithe show venues here

The schedule was full with shows from morning till night, then a cocktail party or two to frequent, and invariably a nightclub (or many) to dance in until dawn. All in the name of research you see...?!

On Thursday morning - after dragging myself home in the early hours, I managed to drag myself out of bed and on to the streets to go for a quick run before another full day of shows. I was based in Plaça Catalunya – anyone who’s ever visited a Barcelona based tradeshow will know this part of town, and while it’s not the most picturesque part, it’s certainly spectacular – with columns and converted bull fighting rings dotted around.

A lot of my friends know Barcelona well and love it a lot, but every time I’ve visited it’s rained - a lot. This trip was no exception (though admittedly my photos don’t show that), but it’s a city that I always feel slightly defeated by, however many times I visit (probably because I have no sense of geography , so always get lost) and this run was no exception. 

 I decided to keep it simple as I was short on time – and energy, and yet I still managed to find myself on some obscure back steet - not even a pretty one, hence the lack of photos.

Anyway , next time I visit Barcelona I’m determined to have great weather , a great run, and not get lost!

 That said, I still had a lot of fun - and saw some beautiful clothes too. Especially the men's chambray tailoring by one of my favourite London designer Omar Kashoura. Sorry - couldn't resist!

Team Bangs On The Run

Running’s great, but hours of training can get a little lonely. Occasionally I used to cajole friends in to joining me for a training run, and I was accompanied by friends on foot, on bicycles, in cars and even in a baby in a buggy. But I seem to have exhausted all those options now, and was back to running solo – until I joined a running team...

Meet Team Bangs on the Run 2, a group of inspiring women who have been handpicked by Bangs And A Bun, a fellow former sportsphobe turned running enthusiast, to run the Run to the Beat Half Marathon in London on September 25^th.

Since her initial foray in to sports, Bangs has run a half marathon and has more races in the pipeline, and somehow she has found the time – and inclination to organise, encourage and support us gals to train hard and enter into what can only be described as some sort of sorority. 

Bangs And A Bun

I wouldn’t say I’m a particularly girly type of girl, but being a part of this team has catapulted me in to a world of friendship – albeit friendship conducted largely over email and Twitter.

The team is made up of writers, office workers and everyone in between, and each woman’s reason for running is very personal. I hope this doesn’t sound crass, but it’s pretty humbling to read and talk about some of those reasons, and it’s given me a fresh perspective on how running changes – and ultimately empowers people. There’s got to be something in that dynamic action of thrusting your arms back on forth, covering ground faster than you would normally and being ok with looking like absolute sin that hooks people.

 Team Bangs on the Run 2  

The team is spread out around the country, so our chances to train together are minimal, though the other day Queen Bangs and I went for a long run together. From here on in I’ll be keeping you updated with our training and progress.

In the meantime, if you’d like to donate towards our fundraising for Refuge, then please do so here.

Looking forward to reorting on the latest.

run like 'elle.

Run Like A Girl

My latest acquisition. Will be the enlightening read it promises? I'll let you know.

run like 'elle

Nike Training Club goes alfresco

Last week I was reunited with my long lost personal trainer Brian Cochrane. In addition to training me for the London Marathon back in April, Brian is also a Nike Master Trainer, and whilst I was training, I religiously attended his rigorous Nike Training Club classes.

Bri and I flexing some muscle

Now nike are celebrating the summer months and have taken Nike Training Club to the parks. You can currently attend the free 45 minute mixed ability session in either Hyde Park, Clapham Common or Regents Park. Or, if park life doesn't appeal to you, then there's the option of taking the class inside Nike Town.

I chose Regent's Park, and after a swift jog to meet the group - I was late (I blame it one the pre work-out glass of champagne) We caught up and got stuck in to the burpies, star jumps and Russian Twists a-plenty. I'd been thinking that I missed Brian, but after 10 minutes of gruelling challenges I quickly changed my mind (just joking Bri!)

Despite the rubber neck bystanders and grass stained knees, I found working out in the great outdoors to be really liberating - especially under the sun setting sky. And the work-out definitely did was it was supposed to, as I could barely lift my arms the next day!

Bri and Nike Natalie stretch out post workout

I'm definitely going back this week (Some might say I'm a glutton for punishment)

For more information on Nike Training Club visit: www.facebook.com/NikeTrainingClubUK

WaterAid loves Glastonbury Festival

WaterAid, a charity whose work I strongly support, is integral to Glastonbury Festival, and the charity's presence there can be widely seen across the site. In fact, it was at Glastonbury Festival last year, where I decided that I wanted to run the London Marathon for them!

Me in the WaterAid photobooth last year, with friends

A year on, and a fair few many miles later, and the lovely WaterAid team invited me to join them at this year's Glastonbury. I was so happy to be part of the team, but in the end I wasn't abel to make it and made the very difficult decision to give them back my ticket ( a doubly hard decision when you consider that I'm a born and bred Glastonbury girl, and that festival almost runs through my blood).

Anyway, after getting done the necessary business that prevented me from going in the first place, and watching sufficient coverage on t.v.  to make me feel utterly jealous, I finally admitted defeat - and on Sunday morning my friend Katie and I drove down to Somerset to party with the best of 'em!

I had a super fun, super sunny day - and though I didn't make it over to see the WaterAid team, I did spot a few revellers sporting the limited edition WaterAid temporary tattoos, which were designed by celebrity WaterAid supporters.

Here is popstar Eliza Doolittle's monochrome design

Musician Emmy the Great's creation

and last but not least, the lovely Lauren Laverne's themed design

Wandering around the site I felt really proud of WaterAid's hard work, and I hope that the message of providing clean, safe water to everybody made its message on the audience. 

See you in two years Glastonbury! x

Running in Florence

From Venice, I travelled down to Florence last week. I used to go there quite a lot with my old job, and it holds a sentimental place in my heart - as it's the first place I ever went running!

I used to work on a small all-women design team for a UK based designer label and our factory was based in Florence, so a few times every season we would decamp to Florence and conduct our lives from a factory and (the rather more scenic) Ponte Vecchio bridge (pictured above).

Our boss loved running, as did the other girls on the team - or so they claimed! So every morning they would set out early, run down the bank of the river Arno, over the bridge, through the park and be back in time for breakfast. I realised that a lot of key coversations were had during these runs, so as not to miss out - and as a ditch attempt to bond with my boss, I one day decided to join them on their run.

I woke up early, donned my plimsole shoes (I kid you not), and attempted to keep pace with the lithe ladies. Alas, I was about three bridges behind them, my feet hurt - and needless to say, the whole expeirence was so traumatic that I didn't run for about a year thereafter.

But, despite the mocking (they still laugh about it!), the pain (plimsoles contain ZERO cushioning) and the shame (I'm blushing just thinking about it) I alway knew I would return to running.

So many years later, here I am - running the picturesque Florentine streets, and I couldn't be happier :-)

After a couple of days in the city, I headed out to the Tuscan hills and ran through the Chianti countryside. It was quintessentially Italian countryside, and absolutely stunning. The temperature was perfect, and I could have run for hours - but I forget how dark it gets in the country, so I was soon stumbling to find my footing and reluctantly returned home.

Here' s a little of what I saw on my run...

The weather was still around 30 degrees when I went running at 9pm, so I wore the smallest clothes I could find!

Grazie mille to the Castello del Nero Hotel for helping me plot my mad running routes! There are plenty of super scenic ones in the area. 

For more information visit:

Castello Del Nero

Strada Spicciano 7  

50028 Tavarnelle 

Val di Pesa FI

Italy

Tel: +39 055 806470

www.castellodelnero.com