Team Daisy’s first ever Virtual Run!

In association with Step Forward with Lewis, we are pleased to announce that our first ever virtual runs will take place from the 19th – 27th September!

We have set up these events so you can walk, run, wheel or cycle a range of distances over the course of the 9 days whilst raising money for Team Daisy!

What is more is that you can choose your own distance! There is no limit as to what you can achieve! Whether you are a runner who has just set out on their running journey or a keen walker who fancies challenging themselves or you fancy a combination, this is the race for you!

Choose from 5 miles (beginner), 10 miles (Intermediate), 20 miles (advanced) or 25 miles + (Challenging!) then submit your running data to us and you will have earned your Team Daisy medal (which will be making its debut at this event). We have 100 places available so please enter quickly!

We are also pleased to announce that we will be running a children-only event! For everybody under 16 who enters, they will also receive a limited edition Team Daisy medal!

Although we are not seeking sponsorship for this event, we are happy for you to support us by donating to our fundraising page or seek sponsorship for your own worthy causes!

To enter these events, please text 07834275915 or email info@teamdaisy.co.uk – Thank you for your support!

Stranded in Sixfields – Run 6 (2 miles)

If you think the football stadium had seen drama in the last few weeks, this was nothing compared to what we encountered across the road at Upton. I’ve never done the Sixfields Parkrun as I generally do the Racecourse but I knew it was quite flat from walking around there and it seemed like a decent stopping point en route back to HQ (my house).

After setting out the chairs, we were once again getting some odd looks from people who were wondering what three blokes were doing sitting in camping chairs. This was particularly evident as one was in a floral chair in the middle of a country park on Saturday night. We awaited our delivery. Not Uber eats, Deliveroo or Just Eat. This was much bigger. Collyer Cabs. Warm pasta, hot chocolate with the works and even a full nappy from Lily. Added to that garlic bread and we were more than happy. We thanked Collyer for her efforts which were quite extraordinary.

7.30pm came and we had been joined once again by DJ and Karen Shakespeare who is a regular runner around the town and was a much welcomed new face to our quest. She led us around the course which we enjoyed and did in a decent enough time without Dave trying to kill us this time. Our legs were feeling good and our stomachs more than full. As we made out way back to the car park following the two miles, everything seemed to be going well.

We said our goodbyes to DJ and Karen who wished us well on the night shift. This was to be the turning point of our evening. At no point were we worried that we wouldn’t be able to carry on the challenge but what happened next was both surreal and hilarious at the same time. Looking back now it is anyway. Before we had done the run, we decided to leave the car doors open for a bit and the lights on. This proved a bad move and a lack of concentration and judgment from us. We can only blame Rob’s rubbish choice of songs for this. This was particularly evident when a disagreement ensued in the car park of Upton Country Park just as our support crew had left. This had nothing to do with us by the way, we were getting on just splendidly. After all, we were halfway through, our bellies were full and we now on the downhill run, if only metaphorically. However, police arrived, we decided we probably shouldn’t get involved so we jumped into the car. Only to have a seriously dead battery. We decided to sit there and pretend the battle of Upton wasn’t happening closing our eyes in the hope the nasty people would all go away. We then decided that moving the car would be a wise move to try and jump start. Still dead so a call to the RAC was the next port of call.

Luck was on our side. Number one, we hadn’t been killed, number two, Mark from the RAC was local and not in Slough where apparently he could have been. Maybe he was enjoying a McDonalds or KFC across the road but over he came. This did involve us all pushing the car out of the car park. Mark showed that he was an expert in pushing and jumping into the car at the last moment. Mark did a few things but still couldn’t get it going. The battle by the way had finished at this point and we felt a lot safer. £110 later for a new battery and off we went to Parklands.

Mark was basically a hero. A hero with an iPad that could be plugged into my car. Technology is wonderful sometimes. Oh by the way, the new battery was too much for one of my headlights as it blew the bulb. He didn’t replace that for us but he was a hero all the same. The time was 9.15pm. Our next run started in 15 minutes. We were exceptionally pleased to get out of Upton with a car that worked and with all of our limbs practically intact. But we needed to get to our next run.

Run 6 – Complete
Time: 19:36
Total time: 2:13:33
Distance: 2.00 miles
Total Miles: 14.2 miles

The Far Cotton Legs – Runs 3-5 (7.2 miles)

Don’t get the title of this blog confused with a new nickname for the team. Also the title is a bit loose as technically I guess only one of the runs was in Far Cotton. Highlight of the trip to Cotton was me forgetting to come off the A45 so we ended up coming down the London Road into the first lot of rubbish traffic. With Luke Scott not being a resident of Northampton very long, and making the fatal mistake of mentioning this fact, Rob took it upon himself to give us all the local guided tour. What we learnt was that the Pomfret Arms is a nice pub with a nice garden and that Aladdin’s is a good restaurant and Abdul knows the owner. Anyway, we finally parked in Morrison’s and decided that a walk through Becket’s Park to the marina was a better plan that sitting in our chairs in a town centre car park. On way to said marina, we were treated to a full on cricket match in the middle of the park. It had everything. Arguments, dropped catches and a big cake turning up for what I can only assume was tea. Anyway, those who followed us on Facebook will have seen the ridiculous reaction of Rob and Luke to the swan who wanted to join the challenge. Both of them convinced they were going to have their arm broken or worse. Following further discussions of snacks and consuming an energy gel, which we all agreed was disgusting, we met Joe and walked to the start point near the hospital. Becket’s Park does have a lot of history. Named after the famous pub in St. James I believe. Sadly we didn’t get the full history lesson from Rob. He probably forgot the energy bag too.

We were joined at the start line by Slim aka James Campbell. Isn’t it always funny when somebody is ringing you and you can see them but they can’t see you so you don’t answer and you wait for them to ring again? Always a source of hilarity. Dave joined us again and then Darren Brockwell became our newest member of the team. Darren is a bit of a running machine and does ultras and marathons all over the world so it was great to have him on the team.

We decided that we would run down by the river for this one and take in some of the Northampton Half route led by Darren as the rest of us had no idea where we were going. We were much more sensible for this run as Luke insisted we needed to slow down. We ran at 9.44 per mile which was much closer to our 10 minute plan. We added 0.2 miles on too as we realised that a marathon is 26.2 miles. We are clever like that! The run finished at Morrison’s car park, the most romantic of places. At this point we said goodbye to Joe. He wasn’t dead or anything but had to go home. He wasn’t going to play FIFA either much to our disappointment but was going somewhere with his girlfriend. Joe is another Team Daisy stalwart and it was great to run some miles with him. I don’t even think he mentioned his Dad once during the run either.

After the run, Luke went to the toilet, Rob had stage-fright and we then we all got ready to travel the short journey to Delapre. Then it rained. If there is anything more grim than sitting in a Morrison’s car park in Far Cotton in the rain I am yet to experience it.

Run 3 – Complete
Time: 17.22
Total time: 1:15:31
Distance: 3.20 miles
Total Miles: 8.20 miles

The short journey to Delapre took about 30 minutes due to traffic and roadworks. This gave Rob the chance to talk about the Pomfret Arms again. We arrived to a surprisingly busy Delapre despite the weather. Gazebo companies must be doing quite well out of the pandemic. We parked up and it was still raining so we got under the tree selected by Rob which meant we all got wet. We were joined a little later by Becki (Rob’s other half) who was not impressed by the traffic. Harley and baby Lily joined, Rob’s parents and Becki’s Mum. Rob’s Dad guarded the chairs whereas Julie Evans joined the running squad along with Tracy (Becki’s Mum). Dave, Slim and Darren were still with us. Sarah and the children also came along which for me personally was great. Not only was it lovely to see them all(I genuinely mean that!) but I could pass on the good news that we could use the lovely seeded bread I had bought for the tuna sandwiches later. Rob is allergic to nuts and I didn’t want to kill him with a rogue sandwich. Obviously the sandwich was tuna but you know what I mean.

The whole crew could not have chosen a worse run to join. Picturesque as it was, the weather at this point was grim. It carried on raining and Rob and Luke decided on a footwear change so they could pretend they were elite athletes. We were joined again by Stu who took some pictures before and then received some dreadful navigational advice from Darren to avoid any action shots of us. Running around the lake was different. As in it was muddy. We puddle-avoided where possible and then realised that our initial 2 lap plan was not going to work so Darren took us on a run through some trees which in turn meant we lost some of the crew. In our own determination to stick to 10 minute miles overall we sped up for the second mile. The end of the run saw us run past the gardens of Delapre Abbey. We did have to close our eyes though as it meant running past a lot of people eating burgers and drinking from the bar there. We weren’t even halfway through.

We finished the run and then realised we had lost Stu so we ran a bit more to find him and posed for some more pics. We found the others and said our goodbyes to the support crew for now although we would see them all again later in the challenge.

If anything embodies Team Daisy, it is this pic. Smiles on faces even in dreadful conditions. There are even more great pics on Stu’s Facebook page. A great shot Stu.

Run 4 – Complete
Time: 19:41
Total time: 1:35:12
Distance: 2.00 miles
Total Miles: 10.2 miles

Off we went to Asda car park where the lack of Titan bars was discussed so rather than find an Aldi, we went into Asda. A cunning move. We put our masks on and went in to purchase some items. Luke bought 9 Mars bars, Rob bought some water and I got some Lucozade and vaseline. These two purchases are not related at all. By this point the rain had stopped and we walked past the Pomfret Arms and went for a little walk. We had our third recommendation for said pub of the day. Slim was waiting for us by the river on his bike (not a euphemism even for Far Cotton), Dave joined us in yet another different t-shirt and Darren was with us again having covered about 300 miles whilst we were discussing energy and the benefits of Sudocrem.

We ran down by the riverside again only in the western direction this time. before coming back on ourselves. One thing that this challenge has shown us is that there are some great runs in Northampton. We won’t have any issues for our 4/4/48 challenge. This run was no different although we did go much faster than we anticipated. This was mainly Dave’s fault as he cannot control those little legs of his. However, it was another two miles done and we had pasta to look forward to. Rob hadn’t mentioned pasta for at least ten minutes but he was still very excited. Imagine if the Pomfret Arms sold pasta?

At this point we said our goodbyes to Slim and Darren. Just like Sophiewho had visited us in the morning, these two have been excellent supporters of Team Daisy right from the start. I don’t ever remember Sophie missing a comedy evening and it was great to see the two lads running and cycling with us. Darren told us he was off home for lamb shanks and I’ll leave Slim’s gag off this reputable page.

We wandered back to Asda car park as dusk started to come in. We were on our way to Upton where things were to take a different turn!

Run 5 – Complete
Time: 18:45
Total time: 1:53:57
Distance: 2.00 miles
Total Miles: 12.2 miles

Abington Park – Run 2 (2 miles)

For the conspiracy theorists amongst you, who thought that an army of old ladies was sent out in cars to wipe us all out, therefore failing the challenge, you would have been wrong. In fact the short journey from the Racecourse to Abington Park was very pleasant indeed. We listened to a bit of Oasis (from when they were good) and arrived in good time around 10.30am. We parked at the top of Abington Park Crescent, brought out our lovely camping chairs, including a lovely floral number from Rob, and sat at a socially distanced park waiting for the 11.30am run. You do get some very strange looks from people when you are sat like this we found which is probably understandable.

Next was one of the highlights of the challenge as the ‘snack packs’ were unveiled. These were put together by my good self and entailed much of the nutritious goodness we would need to complete our challenge. That and the fact we like sweets and chocolate. The packs consisted of jelly babies, jelly beans, bananas, jaffa cakes and the now world famous Titan bars and Cart wheels. The latter two are the fake Aldi version of Mars and Wagon Wheels but are just as good. It was a challenge to decide when to go for each snack. I believe, if memory serves me right that Luke was straight into the Titan Bars without any thoughts of hours down the line. It was also then decided that as we had 12 Jaffas each, it would make sense to have one per run. Unfortunately this was not a rule that was adhered to. This was to have serious repercussions further down the line.

In addition to this, sitting in a park at 10.30am made us realise that the weather was quite autumnal and the question of whether we should now run in jumpers or go back and get some tracksuit bottoms filled the conversation. Yes, we were really having fun.

We really enjoyed it when others came to run and support us and after the great gathering at the Racecourse, it was good to see local football legend Tony Major and his wife Christine come to give us some moral support. Sophie (my work colleague), straight from her own exercise at the gym, also popped by to take some pictures and offer words of encouragement. Joe Woolmer and David Jarrett, who was to become a regular on the challenge, were also in attendance. Dave had changed his t-shirt which was to become a regular theme and Joe had been home to smash some people at FIFA.

Once again we discussed the importance of pacing and going steady. This run of two miles was planned so that we didn’t have to run back up the Abington Park hill. We set off too quickly as usual and ran along the Wellingborough Road to Tesco Express, back on ourselves and to the top of the hill. Going down the hill we were flying and our ten minute miles were soon under 8. We decided to run around the lake at the bottom of the hill rather than run up it. Even though we had gone quicker than anticipated, we all felt good and enjoyed walking up the hill rather than having to run up it!

Run 2 – Complete
Time: 17.22
Total time: 44:25
Distance: 2.00 miles
Total Miles: 5.00 miles

Following the run, we assumed our seats again and enjoyed some lovely pasta courtesy of Harley Collyer. Tuna and cucumber was a lovely touch. There was quite a substantial amount of pasta in each package too but this was not an issue for such hungry athletes. It was at this point that Rob asked when the next lot of pasta was being delivered. This was to be a recurring them throughout the day. Following an accompanying snack, we made our way to the Far Cotton leg (this is not a medical condition) where more fun and games awaited us. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, we never went for tracksuit bottoms. Tough men that we are!

Challenge complete! (Part one)

Covid-19 has obviously had a major effect on pretty much everything in the World and Team Daisy has been no different. This year we had a number of events planned which have had to take a back seat. These included the Great North Run, the Isle of Wight Challenge and of course the London Landmarks half-marathon, an event I have taken part in every year since it started.

One of our major fundraisers have always been our comedy nights. Not only are these often sold out but the funds we can raise through raffles and auctions also has a significant impact on the money we raise each time we host one. With current regulations, it is virtually impossible for us to replicate this and until the rules change, we have had to be a bit more inventive about how we raise funds.

The Bodie Hodges Foundation created a great Virtual Run during lockdown which we were able to get involved in. Once again our supporters were more than willing to get involved and we raised £800 for this very worthwhile charity. Before we even decided to take part in this though, Luke, one of the biggest supporters of our causes came up with a genius idea. Why don’t we take part in a challenge where we run 4 miles, every 4 hours for 48 hours? This is 13 runs equating to 52 miles or two whole marathons in 2 days. This isn’t a new challenge as has been documented in this blog here https://runnersfirst.co.uk/the-4-4-48-running-challenge/ However, for Luke and I, the furthest we have ever run is a half-marathon so it will come with its challenges.

So how did we get to this point? Well chatting with Luke over a lemonade meant that we decided we needed a training run. As the blog suggests, one of the main objectives of this type of run is to create mental toughness. I suggested to Luke that maybe we needed to test this by doing 2 miles every 2 hours for 24 hours. With a bonus couple of miles thrown in, we would have completed the marathon distance within that time. Once we had agreed that Saturday 15th August sounded like a good idea, we decided that we would do as many different routes around the town as we could just to keep us fresh rather than doing 12 of the same route. Somehow, Rob Evans got involved in the run and suddenly we had our team of three.

We were fairly well-organised. Luke in charge of pasta, myself being in charge of snacks (obviously) and Rob being the man of energy (again obviously). All through the week we had to keep a check on the news as Northampton was in real danger of being subjected to some lockdown restrictions. Nearly 300 people testing positive for Covid-19 at a local food factory did not help matters. However, we got the go-ahead and so at 8am on Saturday morning we met up for breakfast courtesy of one of our key support crew, Harley. A banana and some Beroccas and off we set to go to our first run at the Racecourse. The first of a number of journeys that would define how our challenge went!

At this point we should also give a shout out to the lady who decided that me driving down the road in my red car was the perfect opportunity to pull out in front of us and not only kill us all but also end the challenge before it had even begun. We did get to the Racecourse alive.

Racecourse, Northampton. Run 1 (3 miles)

Another consequence of Covid-19 has been the weekly Racecourse Parkrun. A great community event that attracts around 500+ people per week. This week it attracted slightly less than that but nonetheless a great set of people to set us on our way. Gentle pleasantries were exchanged before our first photoshoot with the brilliant Stu Vincent. His work can be viewed on his website and is well worth a look. Stu kindly gave us his time for free and was courteous and professional. We cannot recommend his talents highly enough! His work can also be seen here.

And so we were off. The plan was to run as many of our miles at 10 minutes per mile. We felt that this was not only a sensible pace, but ideal to ensure we could remain in the supreme physical shape we were in for as long as possible (!) Every one of our miles was 9 minutes. We had only just started and we still couldn’t stick to our own rules! This didn’t bode well for the challenge ahead! The whole team completed the run with ease, we posed for a few more pictures and said our final goodbyes to some of the team. For some others, we would be seeing them again further down the road. The fact that so many people chose to give up their time for us really gave us a great start to the challenge and we cannot thank them all enough!

The definite highlight of this run was certainly seeing a certain gentleman on a corner of the Racecourse. Bryan Lewin is an icon of Northampton Parkrun and we joked about how great it would have been to see him on his usual corner. Of course, as we saw a hi-viz jacket in the distance, we knew our wishes had been granted. It was great to chat to Bryan again at the end as we confirmed we would be seeing him again later in the challenge.

So overall a successful start. We felt good, we had completed our first run and next we were off to one of the most picturesque parts of the challenge, Abington Park.

Run 1 – Complete
Time: 27:03
Distance: 3.00 miles

24 hour running challenge

On Saturday 24th October, Team Daisy will be organising a 48 hour challenge which will be our next charity event. The challenge is to run 4 miles, every 4 hours for 48 hours. In effect, two marathons over the course of a weekend! In preparation for this, we are running a marathon in 24 hours on Saturday 15th August through the day and night. Every two hours we will run 2 miles (with a couple of bonus miles in a couple of places) to complete the marathon.

We are looking for people to come and join us on as many runs as they would like to. Either contact us at info@teamdaisy.co.uk or visit our social media page and let us know! You can also just turn up at any of the start points below. All of our runs will finish at the same point.

Step Forward with Lewis

We are pleased to announce a link with Step Forward with Lewis who will become our official running partners! Step Forward with Lewis provide a number of services including running coaching, virtual sessions, training plans and much more.

We will be organising a virtual race with them very soon. Have a look here for more information on this great new venture!