THIS summer will see the first running of the Riverside Runners 10k charity race in St Neots.

Not only will the event mark the 25th anniversary of the Riverside Runners, but it was also raise money for The Hunts Post’s New Life Appeal, which raises money for the special care baby unit at Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon.

The race, which takes place on Sunday, August 19, is open to everyone – no matter what your ability.

Here, in the second of our series of blogs, we will follow the progress of three women – all workers at Mick George, one of the sponsors of the event, as they prepare for the 10k.

INFORMATION: To enter the event, which is also sponsored by Circle Health and TriSportPlus, go online www.runnersworld.co.uk/events and search for events on August 19.

Meet the Mick George trio.

There’s Victoria George, who is 24-years-old and is a sales account manager. Then there’s Julie Heading, a contracts administrator, who is 23. And finally there’s Jolene Vinn – aged 29 (but 30 in a few weeks!) – who is a PA to Mick George himself, the company managing director.

All three will be running the 10k in August and all three are sharing their pain, frustration and joy with Hunts Post readers as the event draws nearer.

Victoria’s Blog:

Woman on a mission

I have surprised myself! I have actually been running Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I’ve taken to an alternative two mile road route as Portholme Meadow was flooded. An added bonus is that it doesn’t take as long so I can easily fit it in before dinner! I’m going to increase my run by a little every week hopefully getting to 10km in time! I also purchased a fancy Nike running watch so I can keep track of my pace and distance as I go!

No cupcakes or snacks for me – I’m a woman on a mission!

Jolene’s Blog:

Burning off calories ... shopping!

Bliss to be on holiday and I swapped the gym for the sea. The waves were amazing and I managed a full two hours of body boarding on the Sunday followed by a bit more on Monday. I could get very used to this way of life!

Wednesday was back to reality and a long session at the gym, including a 3km run on the treadmill, cross trainer, stepper and weights – but it went like a dream and although I was tired afterwards I felt very pleased with myself.

Buoyed by my success on Wednesday I headed back to the gym later on in the week, but I really struggled this time with my breathing as the pollen count must have been high and my hayfever was in full swing.

That being so, I decided that indoor retail therapy might be a good option and spent a good few hours walking around Westfield shopping centre – now surely that must have burnt some calories!!

Julie’s Blog:

Fifteen minutes to shave off

Earlier in the year when I first started my training I measured a good lap from St Ives town to the RAF gates at Wyton On the Hill. This works out to be just about 10km so I’m using this route as my training route.

It’s a nice route which has paths all the way so no need to run on any busy roads or muddy fields.

Training over the last couple of weeks I have to admit has been almost non-existent due to the weather conditions making my determination lack somewhat. However, I did get a good run on Sunday afternoon with the sun shining. My original aim was to be able to run 10k in under one hour, although Sunday showed I’m still not quite there yet running my route in one hour and 15 minutes. Not sure how I’m going to shave those 15 minutes off my time yet, but at least I’m managing the complete distance so I probably shouldn’t be too hard on myself.