Category: RACE REVIEWS ABROAD

#grtwproject26.2 ‘It hurt but would I do it again? Yes!’

Posted on 25/04/201920/08/2019 by Rachael Woolston

With less than a week before the London marathon, our #grtwproject26.2 runner, Rachel Sparkhall, who we coached for the Paris Marathon has these thoughts to share for those about to run their first marathon in London… I sit here typing this as a marathon runner, feeling proud as punch even though the Paris marathon didn’t go quite according to plan. Right from the start, my pace was off target but I kept calm because the training that I’ve done with Tara of Girls Run the World has taught me to hold a little back at the start and aim

How to thrive, not just survive a Ragnar Relay

Posted on 19/09/201820/08/2019 by Rachael Woolston

Want to know the best way to approach a multi-stage team relay event? GRTW Co-owner, Dawn Buoys reveals all … A few months ago I got a call from my friend Tom asking if I fancied taking part in a relay team for Ragnar in Hamburg. Our last event in 2013 had been in San Francisco, where I’d run over the Golden Gate Bridge so, to be honest, the box was pretty much ticked with bells on. But since I’m currently training for a 38 mile ultra event, I thought at least it would be a good training weekend. I

GRTW Podcast; ‘I ran the Marathon Des Sables to prove everyone wrong’

Posted on 19/02/2018 by Rachael Woolston

Devinder Bains, now 39, was a magazine features editor on a busy weekly magazine, more used to press launches and cocktail bars than running through the Sahara Desert without showering for a week. But that didn’t stop her taking on the Marathon Des Sables, an arduous six day multi-stage race of over 155 miles on just 12 weeks training that has a tiny 14% female entry level. You can listen to how Hot Yoga and Welsh mountains helped Devinder train,and how she managed to eat the 5000 required calories despite not eating meat. http://Listen to Devinder’s podcast here Since

Event Review: Valencia Half Marathon

Posted on 22/11/2017 by Rachael Woolston

Sunshine, a bag of oranges in the finish bag and a beach on which to recover after the race, this is half marathon is hard to beat for the route, the support and the fantastic goodie bag… In October, we took a group of women to the Valencia Half Marathon for the tenth of our Girls Run the World Run Away trips (we’ve taken groups to Istanbul, Lake Garda, Palma Half, Berlin, Paris and many more) and what an amazing race it was. Valencia is a city that is made for running (although perhaps not in the heat of mid-summer!) with

Race Review: Berlin Marathon 2017

Posted on 24/10/2017 by Rachael Woolston

Berlin Marathon, a running street party… Marathons are a fantastic way to explore a city and culture and Berlin is one of the best, giving you the opportunity to run through it’s history as you run between east and west as Irene Maulenda reports… Waking up on the morning of the marathon in Berlin, I was both excited and terrified. It was my first ever marathon, one that I’d wanted to do for years and I’d finally got in on my fourth ballot attempt with some of the other girls from Girls Run the World. We’d travelled out and were

Do you have a race review you’d like to share?

Posted on 19/09/2017 by Rachael Woolston

Nowadays, there are thousands of races from fun 5km to fiercely fast ones, and from glorious, awe-inspiring trail running races in the UK to nail-biting, challenging for life changing trail races in Iceland or India. Whatever the case, WE want to hear about them. If you have participated in – or about to participate in a race and think it is one that could help to inspire other women to start training in order to take part themselves, please write to rachael@girlsruntheworld.co.uk, outlining the event and including the website link. This could be one that you’ve already done or one that

Race Review: Angkor Wat Half Marathon

Posted on 15/12/2016 by Rachael Woolston

Paris, London, Berlin, Mumbai, Istanbul are all impressive cities to run a race in. But none have offered the spellbinding magic of running around the 12th century ruins of Angkor Wat, the former centre of the Khmer Empire I arrived in Siem Reap, the town on the outskirts of the Angkor Archeological Park a few days before the race to acclimatize to the humidity and heat. Although it is held in Cambodia’s cool season, temperatures can still reach 87 F with over 80% humidity. On the plus side, it meant I wasn’t shivering on the start line. By the time