Always on the go
You’ve probably heard of the iconic “Marathon des Châteaux du Médoc”, arguably France’s most-famous footrace. Runners participate in fancy dress to match the year’s theme and most are there to savour the gourmet refreshment stations nestled amongst the picture-perfect châteaux. Dubbed the “longest marathon in the world”, it serves as a showcase for the region’s …
Last year I trained for five (yes five!) marathons while juggling family life with three kids. This meant lots of running during the (seemingly endless) school holidays, accompanied by my littlest one in the running buggy and her older brother and sister on their bikes. We even did 30km (18+ miles) together on one memorable …
I love to get outdoors with the family on the weekends, but sometimes the weather is so foul you need an indoor alternative. Last Sunday was one such day. It was bitterly cold and the air was so wet it felt like the clouds tumbling down from the sky and the mist crawling up from …
It’s New Year’s Day and a Saturday, so this morning the five of us set off to blow away some cobwebs at our local Parkrun. The grass was still crispy with frost, but the sun was shining and moods were buoyant. Parkrun hasn’t really taken off in France in the same way as some other …
When you have in-between-y sized kids, too small to walk far on their own legs, but too heavy to carry any distance, family walks can be tricky. You need either a buggy-friendly route, or a decent child-carrier backpack. And HEAPS of patience. Now DD is four, we’re finally coming out the other side. Yesterday, we …
Boxing Day dawned mild and still this year, so we seized the opportunity for a spot of family sport to blow away the Christmas cobwebs. YY and SB at eight and six are excellent on their bikes and mercifully good at listening to instructions. They ride behind my husband (running) who signals turnings and calls …
You know this already, but this is the tube (not box, those mini ones are the devil’s work) of Smarties you keep handy when you need your little darling to do what they’re told. Right now. When out buggy running, your bribery Smarties have the following potential uses: it’s-time-to-get-back-in-and-no-we-can’t-go-down-the-slide-again yes-you-do-need-to-wear-your-hat-it’s-freezing there’s-no-toilet-here-you’ll-just-have-to-hold-it please-don’t-drop-that-I’m-not-stopping-again and so on.