Colostomy UK 50k callenge


I'm supporting the 'Colostomy UK' 50K challenge which aims to prove that having a stoma is not a barrier to being active by inviting people with stomas to do a variety of activities that count towards an overall 50,000KM over a 6 month period. People can walk, jog, run, climb, swim or cycle any number of metres and can also raise funds for the charity through sponsorship.

I'm already trying to be fairly active and the reason I started this blog was to show people that you can live a healthy and active lifestyle when you have a stoma so this challenge was something I was keen to get involved with.

After registering I was sent a pack which contained a 50K challenge t shirt that I could wear when exercising to help raise awareness and a pedometer to track my progress. I'll then log any activity on the Colostomy UK website which can be done daily, weekly or monthly. There's a live counter on the website that shows the total of KM
travelled so far by everyone, the number of participants involved and the funds raised.

This is a great initiative on a national scale to really raise awareness that people with stomas can do anything from swimming to climbing and I'm looking forward to hearing all about what other ostomates are doing! The hashtag for the campaign is #activeostomates

I've already worn my 50K challenge t shirt and look forward to wearing it to other events, mainly when I'm jogging and hopefully answer any questions anyone has about it!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Comfizz support wear review

Image
The helpful team over at Comfizz sent me a support wear belt to try out as an 'active ostomate' and it was great to be involved with reviewing something from the point of view of someone who uses support wear and has a good idea of what they're looking for.   After a few emails to find out what I wanted from a support wear garment, Lorraine from Comfizz suggested I tried out the level 3 support wear belt. This level provides firm support and according to the Comfizz website is, "ideal for holding hernias, protecting hernia repairs and giving extra support during strenuous activity." Unfortunately, a hernia formed during the operation for my first stoma and that stoma also prolapsed, so I wear support wear to prevent another hernia forming and to prevent my stoma prolapsing. I don't have a hernia at the moment and am happy with how much of my stoma protrudes from my abdomen - enough to empty waste into my bag but not so much that it prolapses and causes issues....
Read more

Looking ahead to 2019

Image
Today I did the Christmas version of the 10k trail event that was my first 10k distance back in March this year! I feel that I've accomplished a fair bit in a year given that I'd never run before and I don't have a lot of time to commit to it as a hobby. Today's event was in aid of the mental health charity MIND and given that the conditions were very muddy and it rained throughout my entire run, I was pleased with my time and the fact I can run that distance at a steady pace throughout now.  Highlights from my introduction into running so far have been: joining a running club that mostly runs off-road, completing some half marathon events and not falling over yet (I am so clumsy and given that I mostly run off-road I can't believe I haven't fallen badly!) The first time I completed a 10k distance I had to walk-run-walk the event and will admit it was a struggle to finish. Today I can confidently run that distance on road or off-road and am pleased to see ...
Read more

My first 10K

Image
I've recently completed my first 10K run (jog/plod) and I was thrilled that I didn't crawl up the hill to the finish but managed to maintain a steady pace the whole way round. The course was off-road a mixture of fields, woodland and tracks - a very scenic course and I'm keen to do more trail running as I enjoy being out in the countryside and running by wildlife/surroundings like lakes or reservoirs.  I went on to complete another 10K that was more road based (not on the same day obviously!) I did this by doing a 5K Parkrun and then doing the same course again - making 4 laps in total. I knew I was never going to get a new PB for the Parkrun but I surprised myself at getting a time that wasn't too far off what I usually run it in, considering I was actively conserving energy knowing I needed to do twice what I usually do. I expected a few more people to be doing this however I was the only one and it did make a big difference, Parkrun is great as you're r...
Read more

Instagram