Well, after much deliberation at Brooks HQ they have come up with a winner of £50 worth of Brooks Running Kit.
Like us, they didn’t find it easy but the caption which just pipped it was.
“Gordon leads the way in the cabinet’s
annual barn dance”
Congratulations to “Jon”, who wins some quality Brooks running kit. We will contact you in due course and get the gear sent out to you.
If you have’t yet seem the Dispatches Programme on Channel 4 on where exactly the money you raise for the marathon goes, then I strongly suggest you click on the image above and take a look.
I have long known the extortionate amounts of money that the race organisers charge every charity for a place and now it appears that Dispatches have a few questions of their own to ask.
As always there are always two sides to every story, so take a look at the Dispatches Programme, still available to view on the Channel 4 website, then take a look at The London Marathon Press Release in response to the programme and let us know your thoughts on the subject.
Did you have any idea of the facts in the Programme?
Disgusted with how much of you hard earned money goes to the Organisers?
Or is this just business and have Dispatches only given us a one eyed on the matter?
Post your comments below and let us know where you stand.
Just to keep you posted, we have just about managed to choose our top three captions for the Brooks Giveaway competition – but it wasn’t easy!
Choosing a winner is now the tough part. To be honest, we just can’t agree, so the only solution is to let Brooks decide. We have emailed them the top three captions and once they get back to us with their favourite, we’ll let you know.
However, our top two captions we have submitted to Brooks (along with all the others, so it could still change) are:
“Gordon leads the way in the cabinet’s annual barn dance” posted by Jon
“David had a very Conservative approach to his training regime” posted by Chris Ball
We’ll keep you posted!
£50 of Brooks kit has been won - but by who?
Entries are now closed for the Cameron and Brown caption competition!
Thank you to everyone who entertained us with your comments, which we will mull over at fitFAQS HQ over a glass or two of vino and maybe an Easter egg or two and announce the winner soon.
Have a fantastic Easter break and now that my book is all but finished, I look forward to spending a little more time updating the blog and website with more top quality content.
Although you’d be forgiven for thinking that this is a shot of David Cameron taking an idle stroll in between meetings of how he plans to get the keys to Number 1o – it’s actually a shot of Big D taking a breather.
Taken in London, it is understood that during his morning jog, fatigue got the better of D.C and he took a cheeky walking break – until of course the Paps saw him and all of a sudden he found some strength to resume his easy jogging pace of 7 min/mile – (this is of course unsubstantiated)
Whatever angle you want to take, be it a political dig or jibe at his lack of fitness, feel free to post as many “headline” or “speech bubble” captions as you like for this shot for your chance to win free Brooks Gear and signed copies of The Marathon and Half Marathon: A Training Guide” and “From Flab to Fab.”
Entries close on 31st March 2010 so get posting and Good Luck!
Although your money would probably be on David Cameron to see off Gordon in a running race, rumour has it that Big G has been out running the streets of London with a Personal Trainer and a handful of body guards to keep himself in shape and keep those stress levels under control.
Whether he’s in training to prove his doubters wrong and getting ready to take on David C in a one on one in the upcoming Sport relief miles is not known, but what i do know is that there must be dozens of captions you can put to this picture of Big G running away from his cabinet chums.
Entries close on 31st March, so plenty of time to think of a witty, insulting (within reason) or observational caption to go with this picture. You can post as many as you like and feel free to post one on David Camerons image in the above post too .
The winner will be choosen by the fitAQS team and win some free Brooks running kit, with two runners up receiving a copy of “The Marathon and Half Marathon: A Training Guide” and “From Flab to Fab”
Now get thinking!
Good Luck!
Well after months of not knowing much about it, or what purpose it actually served, I have decided to the start of the beginning of a new decade and get my myself twittified / twittered / twitted – the terminology still eludes me.
After one too many emails asking when I was posting my next blog or article on the website, I figured a fitFAQS twitter account would save everyone time so they can see what updates, giveaways and competitions fitFAQS are running.
So, to keep up to speed on the progress and publication of my next book, new downloads and anything else that’s happening in the world of fitFAQS, why not follow us?
Got a funny caption?
Ok, it’s competition time.
With Christmas fast approaching and the credit crunch still hitting everyone’s pockets i thought I’d give you an opportunity to win a signed copy of my book, The Marathon and Half Marathon: A Training Guide. Now going into its third reprint, the book has proved popular with runners of all abilities, so if you or a friend are running the London Marathon in April, now is the perfect time to get your mitts on a free copy and start your training.
So how does the competition work?
To celebrate Virgin taking over as the main sponsors of the London Marathon, I figured that some sort of competition featuring Richard Branson would be the most appropriate and possibly most amusing way to go.
So, all you need to do is come up with a witty caption for the image at the top of the page and post it below
It can be a quote from her, him or a “headline”, as long as its funny and reasonably clean (all posts will of course be moderated).
The competition closes on Friday 18th December, so get a move on and make me laugh.
Good Luck
It’s that time of the year again, when aspiring London Marathon runners start finding out if they are lucky enough to have won a ballot place for the race in April.
By now, most of you would have heard if your application has been successful and for the lucky few who have managed to get a place – you are envied by thousands of runners, gutted that they have been rejected (again).
Of course all is not lost.
Unsuccessful applicants can still run for a charity and “pay” for their place by raising at least £1500, but this target is often very difficult for many people to meet and often puts runners off applying for a charity place – which is a shame. Most charities are incredibly obliging and have specialist teams to give you support, tips and advice on how best to fund raise and make the process of “paying” for your marathon place as easy as possible. Why not just give a charity close to your heart a call and see what they say – you never know!
As for you lucky few who have your ballot place, do not waste the opportunity and get training as soon as you can. You have the chance of a lifetime to fulfil what is probably a lifelong ambition to run the London Marathon and poor preparation can easily make you a statistic as one of the thousands of runners who don’t even reach the start line – let alone the finish line.
Even if you just start off with some very gentle 3-4 mile jogs with the occasional walking break, its best to get going right away to get your tendons and muscles used to pounding the pavements.
For more information on how to get your marathon preparations off to the best start, check out my book The Marathon and Half Marathon: A Training Guide.
If there was one dilemma which faces every runner when they first get into running it or if they are in training for their first ever endurance event, the question everyone wants to know is:
“What is the best brand of running shoe on the market?”
If I was given a pound every time ………..(you know the rest)
So, due to popular demand, to help you make the right choice, fitFAQS have used our years of running experience to give you some invaluable advice on how to make the right choice of running shoe.
Rule Number 1
When browsing the internet or looking in stores, try to resist falling for clever marketing and adverting tricks. The big 3 running companies – Asics, Adidas and Nike pour millions of pounds into advertising their brand hence the reason why, at the moment, they are all probably top of your shopping list. WAIT. There are lesser known running companies out there, such as Brooks, who manufacture far superior shoes but are drowned out by the financial muscle of the big boys.
Just because everywhere you look, all you see is a swish pair of Nikes or Adidas shoes, it doesn’t mean you should be seduced into buying them. They might suit a friend or the chick / bloke in the ad but it doesn’t mean that they will suit your running gait or running style.
So, before you go for the newest pair of Big Name Trainers, I’d strongly suggest you try on a number of different pairs so you are 100% sure that the trainers your fork out the best part of £80 for are comfortable, suit your feet and most importantly – are right for your running gait!
Rule Number 2
I apologise if this rule has a slightly sexist generalisation to it, but (ladies) try to resist going for a pair of running shoes based purely on their colour. The big 3 (Nike, Adidias and Asics) are genius at this trick and manufacture a range of average shoes in attractive colours knowing full well that the colour alone will seduce the lady runner into buying them.
So, as in rule 1, try on the shoes first and if they suit your running gait and they are your favourite colour – then lucky you.
Rule Number 3
If you are thinking of entering an endurance event such as a half marathon or full marathon, then it is likely that you’ll need 2 pairs of trainers to see you through your training. Therefore, it’s often a good idea to buy two pairs when you make the initial purchase (as you can often get a better deal).
But keep the receipt.
If, for whatever reason, the trainers are not working out for you, despite having your gait assessed you may need to re-evaluate your choice of running shoe and there is nothing worse than having a brand spanking new pair of trainers worth £80 which you can’t run in.
At the end of the day, choosing a pair of running shoes is a very personal choice and you have to go with a pair which suits your budget and your feet. Please avoid following the crowd as this often ends in disaster and can ruin you running preparations half way through your programme.
Finally, if you really want to know my opinion on the best running shoes you can buy then I’d have to go with Brooks.
Why?
They run. That’s what they do.
I’d rather invest my hard earned cash and health of my joints in a Company which specialise in running and were the original people to design and manufacture the running shoe technology which is now copied by all other companies.
To see the Brooks range click on the logo below!
So, what are your trainers of choice and why?
Happy running