Start training for the first ever Australian Outback Marathon!

If your 2010 New Year’s Resolution was ‘this will be the year I run a marathon’, then why not look further afield, beyond snow-covered London, to the spectacular Australian Outback... 

The Red Centre will host the first ever Australian Outback Marathon on 31st July 2010, with the majestic Uluru (Ayers Rock) as its backdrop. The Marathon, Half Marathon, 11km and 6km courses will be predominantly off-road, made up of bush trails, access roads and tracks as well as unsealed roads. Only a small amount of the course will be run on sealed roads. The running surface will consist mainly of the famous ‘red earth’ that is such an iconic feature of Australia’s vast outback. And whilst running through a desert sounds a little daunting, July is winter in Australia with average daytime temperatures at Uluru of around 21 degrees Celsius. 

Proceeds from the marathon will go to the Australian Heart Foundation, helping to improve the cardiovascular health of Aboriginal Australians, who currently are nearly three times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than non-indigenous Australians.

If marathon-running didn’t quite make your list of resolutions this year (there’s always next year, eh?!) then why not cheer the runners on, before slipping off to enjoy a glass of champagne as the sun sets over Uluru…  Now that’s a New Year’s resolution I would happily keep!

Any Cricket fans out there?

I am an avid cricket watcher. During in the summer I play at any given opportunity and am currently counting down the days until the start of the new season. I have been known to go to some strange lengths in order to get some free time to play or watch cricket  - none more so than staying up until 1am to watch the start of a game between England and New Zealand.

I must admit - England were useless (as per usual) but one thing that struck me was the beauty of the country. During the lunch interval Sky did a piece on the wonders of New Zealand and I must admit, the country looks unbelievable. Having watched 'The Lord of The Rings' trilogy religiously , I was aware that some of the film was shot in NZ, but assumed that most of the scenery was done using C.G.I. However, the images that were on Sky were unbelievable. What struck me most was the wide range of geographical features; volcanoes, mountains, forests, beaches, glaciers - that abound this rugged and beautiful country.

I have been to New Zealand once before but was very young at the time so can not remember any of it. I can say that without a doubt it is next on my 'wish list'.

Having said all that - England still lost the cricket (which went on until 8am) so it was not really worth my time loosing all that sleep and being useless at work the following morning.

If you would like to visit New Zealand, click here.