New Website and Blog

Last year I started a new little venture.  It was not even supposed to be a venture when I started it, but it is growing and I am super excited.  Mostly I am excited as I get to share my absolute love of running with more and more women.

Over the past few years, I have been getting asked quite a  bit about running. Mostly by the mom’s at school when I drop Kaylin off but also by other people I meet.  I seem to spend most of my time in running clothes (and it is my main topic of conversation – yes I am that person)

The questions I was getting were all quite similar.

• But how do you do it?
• I’d love to start running but have no idea where to begin…
• I’ll never be a runner, I can’t get around the block or even the next lamp pole.
• I can’t breathe when I run…
• I don’t even know what clothes or shoe to wear…

I was not really surprised to be getting these questions, I used to think most of them myself when I first attempted to run.  What did surprise me was how often I was getting them and then how many women came to me a month or two later and said I had been the motivation they needed to start running and my comments had really helped them.  Quite a few started running regularly and we now run races together.    A number of even suggested I put together something to help more women.  After thinking about it for a while I decided to do just that.  Informally at first, but last year October I made it a little more formal and held my first 8 Weeks to 5Km Challenge.  I had 50 women sign up – I was totally blown away!!!!  I did not realise just how many women wanted to start running but just needed a little bit of guidance and support.

Over the past year I have hosted a few more 8 Weeks to 5km Challenges, put together a website and am now trying to hold a new Challenge every 6 weeks or so.

I have a new Challenge that started today and I am super excited.  I love getting to share this journey with women who either have never run before or who have been out of running for a while and would like to get back into it.  I have also decided to start blogging again mostly about running.  My new website is www.8weeksto5km.com and my blog is over there as well.

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All coming together.

I am scared!  Nervous! And VERY EXCITED!!!! 

I came up with an idea which I made reference to here…. 

I started investigating the possibilities and things have kind of gotten out of hand – in a good way.  In a very good way! 

At the moment it kind of feels like a steam train that I have no control over  Usually when I say I am going to start a project I get all excited about it. Start investigating the possibilities and then loose focus or passion or both and it just kind of fizzles out.  This time I am just getting more and more excited about it, and it the people I am asking for support are giving it to me and more.  

What I want to do is not unique, in fact there are two other companies/projects making the same product in South Africa alone.  However I believe there is enough space (market) for all of us.  And if I can do this to benefit others (as well as myself) then so much the better.  I want to take a waster material, recycle it and sew it into different items.  Well, I won’t be sewing it. That is the part that I want to outsource to community skills development centres or similar places.  One of the other places making these products is a church in Johannesburg, the other is a full on business.  I want to combine the two? 

And here in lies the problem.  I thought getting the materials would be the problem. Turns out it is not too bad.  As it is “junk” companies are more than willing to give it to me. The problem is finding centres that are able to sew the products.  All the sewing centres that I have heard off have closed down and the ones that are still open are unable to sew the materials I want to use as they don’t have industrial sewing machines.  This is obviously a problem I am going to have to figure out.  I had better figure it out soon as it looks like I might have my first order… Yikes!