Year Without Beer

In month three of my 2013 self powered miles challenge I ran two half marathons on a plant based diet, cutting 6 minutes off my personal best, taking my yearly total to 592.5 miles.

Ten years after my cousin’s son died from Cystic Fibrosis aged just 18, I reflected on his cheeky spirit and how his memory drives my 2013 self powered miles challenge.

I completed my first official half marathon at the Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon in 1 hour, 49 minutes and 53 seconds, faster at 10 miles than my Great South Run finish last year.

After going meat free on Mondays through my year without beer, I decided to go completely meat free for the whole of March to see if my health and fitness improve further.

In month two of my 2013 self powered miles challenge I ran, cycled and rowed 200.9 miles, including a Gloucester 10k personal best, taking my yearly total to 406.8 miles.

After losing over 5 stone since 2009, my wedding ring had to be resized by four sizes, and my clothes show I’ve lost about 10 inches off my waist.

I ran the Gloucester 10k in the wind and rain, finishing in 47 minutes and 35 seconds, a personal best by about 3 minutes, as part of my 2013 self powered miles challenge.

In my first month of running 2013 self powered miles, I covered 205.9 miles by running, cycling, rowing and swimming, including a 5k at Disney’s Epcot and a snowy run back home.

I missed the official start of the World’s Biggest Juice Detox while in Florida, so began my own 7 day juice detox a day late, alongside a new challenge to cover 2013 self powered miles in 2013.

After finishing my year without beer I set a new challenge: 2013 self powered miles in 2013, built on running the Great South Run and hitting 670 miles in 2012.

On day 366 of my year without beer, New Year’s Eve, my fundraising total stood at £496, short of my original £2,000 target but still something to be proud of.

With just one day left of my year without beer, I looked back on raising almost £500 towards my original £2,000 target before the challenge ended.