Ep 14 - One Year In... And We're In Lockdown!

It's a year! One whole year this weekend since Dee, Jules and Pet sat in our mama’s garden and recorded the very first episode of The Start Line! One year and 14 episodes later and who would have guessed that the whole world would be literally turned on its head by the deadly Coronavirus. That not seeing or hugging or kissing or socialising with your family and friends would be the ultimate act of love and kindness; that we would lose loved ones way too soon; that jobs would be put at risk; that we would rely on front line medical staff, carers, cleaners, shop workers, dust/post men and women, delivery drivers for saving our lives and providing our daily needs - instead of the rich and famous who, probably feel completely ineffective at this time; that we would be connecting and caring for neighbours in a way we haven’t done before (not since the second world war anyway and most of us don’t remember that!); that we would all have to work from home (for those that can) and use technology in a way that it has never been used before to stay connected; that staying in and partying with those like D-Nice at Club Quarantine would literally become the new going out and lift our spirits in ways we didn’t think was possible! That significant sporting and running events like the London Marathon would be cancelled or postponed, and that running would literally become a ‘thing’, with a significant number of people taking it up as their daily exercise, either on the road or in their gardens (the 5k garden run exists!)!

The world has changed and we hope that we are able to learn something out of this situation, to make ourselves and the world we live in a better, more caring space. An organisation that knows about change and adapting and caring for others through charity is the London Marathon Events (LME). The Start Line girls are excited to have Hamid Vaghefian, Head of Community Engagement at the London Marathon Events on the podcast for this anniversary special episode. Hamid speaks to us about his journey, his running crew, BENI Run Club, his work at LME and how the organisation is coping with the challenges that Coronavirus has created (and how he is dealing with a two year old in lockdown!). 

On the 26 April 2020, the original date that the London Marathon would have taken place, LME is launching the 2.6 Challenge (https://www.twopointsixchallenge.co.uk/) to raise money for much needed charities who are suffering the fallout of so many cancelled or postponed sporting events. Hamid tells us all about The 2.6 Challenge and how each of us can get involved by getting active, in so many fun ways, to raise funds for supported charities. Whether you run/walk/cycle/crawl 2.6 miles, or do 26 sit ups/burpees, pull ups, press ups, squats, star jumps, whatever it is - let’s get moving, support LME and show ‘Rona that it’s not going to beat us! 

Follow London Marathon Event on Instagram by following @londonmarathon. You can also find out more about BENI Run Club (BRC) by following them in Instagram at @beni.lab or check out their website: https://www.beni.space.

We'd love to hear from you, so please follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook by searching for @thestartlinepod and subscribe to the show on your favourite podcast provider or at https://www.thestartlinepod.com!

Theme music: Street Festival by Franco Eneiro. Used under licence.