10 days of 5k for cancer research 2026

As some of you may know, I started running last April, completing the couch to 5k, and moving on to training for a half-marathon.

Sadly, I started to notice that I was experiencing aches and pains around October and having had my gait analysed, it was diagnosed that my feet cave in on themselves when I run, which I believe is called Overpronation.
After spending money on some new shoes, things started to improve and be on the up-and-up...until they weren’t and I couldn’t lift my left leg up without serious pain. One GP appointment later, I was referred to physio and it was confirmed that I have a much weaker left side - the fix: lots of leg strength and hip exercises, along with restarting the couch-to-5k. 

Finally, after doing the couch to-5k for a second time(Yes, really!), I thought what better way to rebuild my aerobic base than to attempt the 10 days of 5k Challenge, to help raise money for Cancer Research UK.

12 days later (Family commitments and extreme day trips impacting the original timeline), I managed to achieve the 50k mark. 

This challenge really opened my eyes to how much I/we can push our bodies when we have a goal in mind, and that is refreshing. 
If you'd have said to me two years ago, that I'd be running 50k in 12 days I'd have laughed.
It's crazy to think how far I've come in such a short space of time.

Since completing this challenge, I've actually been signed off form my physio with a view to carrying on with strength training of my weaker side, along with running on a one-day one day off schedule. 

Sadly, my shoes have taken the brunt of my over pronation and have seen better days! Coach GPT(Someone shared this with me the other day, and I couldn't stop laughing - what a great name!), has stated that the right side has ruined my beloved Saucony shoes. 
Coach GPT has said that I could continue running on a treadmill whilst I waited for my new ones to arrive, but they were no longer suitable for outdoor running.

I think my next challenge will be to throw myself back into long distance running with the ultimate aim of completing a half-marathon, but we'll see how far I get!

If anyone is interested, here's a link to the Cancer Research giving page: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/doms-giving-page-364