Polar, leader in wearable sport and fitness heart rate monitoring, is supporting 9 local women from across Berkshire who have been specially selected to complete the Boudavida Women’s 10K in Windsor Great Park on September 23rd. This will be the first ever 10K event for the ladies, as they look to inspire others to prove that women of all abilities can run.
Following the relaunch of Sport England’s ‘This Girl Can’ campaign, Get Berkshire Active, and women’s activewear brand and title sponsor of the 10K Boudavida, created a ThisGirlCanRun10 team with 10 local ladies all seeking a fitness challenge. With getting people active a primary aim for Polar, a
Polar M200 GPS Running Watch was gifted to each of the ladies to help them track their training progress.
To show their support, Polar hosted an exclusive running event at the prestigious Bisham Abbey, with their running partners Running With Us, to provide the ladies with essential training trips, as well as demonstrating how to make the most out of the
Polar Smart Coaching features.
One of the women on the team is Cara Randall from Wokingham, and she has particularly enjoyed exploring the Polar features: “It has a pedometer, heart rate monitor and GPS tracking that you can sync to a mobile app (
Polar Flow). Very cool!” However, Cara has also noticed that the Polar M200 can help her stay on top of varying external stress factors: “An additional unexpected benefit of the Polar watch is that it has allowed me to track my anxiety levels – shown as an increase in heart rate, which I am confident will allow me to notice triggers and manage my mental health more effectively. For this I am extremely grateful to the team at Polar and Get Berkshire Active! I’m sure it will really help to make a long-term difference in my life, and I wouldn’t have thought of this unless I had been a part of this experience.”
Commenting on the initiative, Kirsty Heath, the Senior Partnership Manager at Get Berkshire Active explains: “We’re so excited to be able to offer this comprehensive package of support to local ladies seeking an opportunity to be more active. Having the support of Polar, who have been associated with so many elite athletes, has given these local women a confidence boost and helped prove to them that people out there believe that ‘This Girl Can’.”
Lucy Johnson, POLAR UK Marketing Director adds: “This is an incredible event that supports bringing women together to be healthy and happy. We wanted to show our support to women who are wanting to take on a challenge and improve their overall health and wellbeing, and we hope that our products will play an integral part in their process.”
Here’s a sneak peak at the ladies who are taking part in the initiative:
Kate from Bracknell
A woman who was tired of always feeling tired, Kate decided to put her name forward for the Boudavida Women’s 10K in September. Having tried and failed previously to do the couch-to-5K challenge, Kate felt motivated by the This Girl Can slogan to take on an even bigger challenge. Gaining confidence day-by-day, Kate has even taken part in the Bracknell Park Run and was surprised by how much progress she has made. Smashing a PB in the parkrun gave Kate a new spring to her step and we look forward to cheering her on as she tackles the 10K.
Isabel from Windsor
Izzy is no stranger to running, having previously run a half marathon ten years ago; however since giving birth a year and a half ago, running has fallen along the wayside whilst Izzy prioritized being a mother. Feeling unconfident about returning to running post-childbirth, Izzy has maintained a slow pace to ease herself in gently. This hasn’t stopped her joining in with two park runs as part of her training, and Izzy has remembered why she loves running so much: “It’s the easiest, cheapest, and for me, most rewarding form of exercise… I get to be outside… and I can do it with my husband and daughter.”
Cara from Wokingham
Cara signed up to participate in the Boudavida Women’s 10K following a diagnosis of complex mental health needs, anxiety and depression. Cara had previously tried exercising after it was recommended as a natural way to balance anxiety and depression, yet the actual process of committing to an exercise seemed difficult and Cara became demotivated. Wanting to regain control over her life, and offset the weight gain associated with her prescribed medication, Cara went to the shops and bought herself a new pair of trainers to remind herself of the end objective – completing the 10K.
Jessica from Maidenhead
Jess was looking for a way to shake off the ‘lazy student’ lifestyle that she had become accustomed to whilst studying for a Creative Writing degree in Liverpool. She soon came to realise that a lot of the training preparations (the buying of gym wear and trainers, and telling everyone that she would be completing a 10K) was a lot easier than the training itself. As Jess’s lungs stop ‘feeling like they’re on fire’, and her muscles ache less, we look forward to seeing her cross the finish line with pride.
Amelia from Newbury
Having never run before, Amelia viewed the Boudavida Women’s 10K as an opportunity to improve her fitness and try something new. Amelia is putting her all in, and has even signed up to two local running groups to continue to motivate herself. Overwhelmed by how welcoming the running groups have been to someone with “obviously low fitness levels”, Amelia has made friends with people within the running groups and they have been encouraging Amelia through every step of her progress. Thanks to this support, Amelia has a new-found faith in herself and what she is able to achieve.
Gemma from Mortimer
Having not run since being a teenager and filled with bad memories of school races, Gemma decided to seize the opportunity of the Boudavida Women’s 10K to prove to her two daughters that This Girl Can. Since her first training run where Gemma found running for 60 seconds a struggle, she is now able to complete eight minutes running at a time after three weeks. This achievement came despite a hip injury, and trying to juggle family life. However, the biggest success for Gemma so far has been watching the positive effects her running has had on her daughters and friends. Gemma says: “My little girls…are realising that if mummy can run so can they… and other female friends of mine who thought that like me running wasn’t for them, are also considering dusting off their trainers.”
Astrid from Reading
Astrid signed up to the Boudavida Women’s 10K as a means of hitting back at the people who had pulled her down and told her she couldn’t due to her weight. Whilst working on the couch-to-10K training program, Astrid has been surprised to see how much her mindset has changed since starting exercising. From being too scared to exercise despite wanting to, Astrid has now decided that exercise is something that she wants to permanently add as a lifestyle choice. As the countdown begins to the 10K, Astrid has noticed that she can run for longer, and walk less, and it consistently feels easier. Astrid is one determined lady who will prove that the people who doubted her in the past were wrong.
Charlotte from Reading
For Charlotte, the Boudavida Women’s 10K was the challenge that came along at the right time. It provided an opportunity to become part of a team, meet new friends, get fit, and improve her mental health. With Charlotte’s biggest hurdle being herself and getting motivated to train, she has been able to push through and currently goes out three times a week on a 5k route. Charlotte also took part in an Colour Rush obstacle 5K event in London last month, which she thoroughly enjoyed.
Gillian from Pangbourne
Gill’s inspirational goal is to complete the Boudavida Women’s 10K whilst juggling chemotherapy treatment and planning for radiotherapy. With the help of Macmillan rehabilitation classes, Gill is able to utilise a personalised walk-to-run 10k programme to gently improve her fitness. Gill is using the Boudavida 10K as a motivating tool, and looks forward to being part of a team with a strong support system.
Don’t miss out on your chance to join these ladies, and walk, jog or run the most scenic 10k through the Windsor Great Park. Set in the picturesque grounds of Windsor Great Park and run completely on closed roads, the race is part of the Windsor Running Festival. It’s anticipated that over a thousand women will complete the scenic 10k route, which ends with a fabulous final run along the iconic ‘Long Walk’ towards Windsor Castle.You can still enter at
www.windsorwomens10k.com or on the day (if places are still available).
