Happy Christmas Everyone; Fun Christmas Challenge WEEK FOUR Starts Here!!! 🎄🎅🎁🔆

[linda9389]

🎄🎄🎄We would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas 🎄🎄🎄

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, we hope you have a lovely time over the festive period.

And ... it's Wednesday again! At midnight last night (while all good children were sleeping) week 3 of our Christmas challenge officially ended, and we’re now at the start of week 4.

It's not too late to join in, or to catch up on any of the challenges from previous weeks that you may have missed; you can still do past challenges and claim half points for any you complete late! Links to all the previous challenges can be found at the bottom of this post.

SO, WITH A FINAL DRUM ROLL AND COUNTDOWN, 3-2-1- 🎆🎇 HERE ARE THE WEEK 4 CHALLENGES!!

WEEK 4: 25th-31st December

1. Do a Christmas food run. Take a Christmas food of your choice (mince pie, Christmas cake, piece of turkey, etc) on one run/walk and eat it half way. You can stop to eat or eat on the go 😋 (3 points)

WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENCES FROM THIS CHALLENGE!! 🤢😂

2. Wear something you got for Christmas. It doesn’t even have to be running gear! Be creative and let’s see what happens 🍿😳 Take photo. (3 points)

3. A tricky week for all sorts of reasons but try and head outside for three runs/walks, one for each of The Three Kings 👑 Extra point for singing the Carol too 🎶 (5 points plus an extra point for singling!)

You can check on scores to date here: docs.google.com/spreadsheet...

We’re loving all the photos and posts about your challenges! Please do keep them coming 🙂

So, that’s week 4 kicked off. Have a wonderful Christmas and do pop in to let us know which challenges you have done, with photos wherever possible. We'll be here waiting for you 🤩🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️🎄🎅🎁

Happy Christmas from your little elf team @Irishprincess , @Beachcomber66 and me xxx

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Introduction and Week 1:

healthunlocked.com/marathon...

Week 2:

healthunlocked.com/marathon...

Week 3:

healthunlocked.com/marathon...

[SueAppleRun 10 Miles]

Happy Christmas Linda and thank you admins for your work keeping us up and running throughout the year.I plan to head out as soon as it gets light 👍😁👍🎄⛄🎁⛄👏

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to SueAppleRun]

Merry Christmas Sue, enjoy 😊

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to SueAppleRun]

Happy Christmas Sue x

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to SueAppleRun]

Have the best Christmas you can Sue. 2025 just has to be a better year.🙏

[SueAppleRun 10 Miles in reply to Beachcomber66]

Thank you Beachcomber66, I'm having a lovely one so far 😄 wishing you and yours a lovely day , 2025 had better be....🤣

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to SueAppleRun]

Agreed 🙂Thanks Sue 🙂

[GTFC Marathon]

Merry Christmas to you linda9389 and the team. Thank you for all you do.

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to GTFC]

Merry Christmas to you both GTFC, have fun and enjoy 😊

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to GTFC]

Happy Christmas to you both GT x

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon]

I’m already thinking of this challenge!!

Happy Christmas everyone! 🎄🎅🎁

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Happy Christmas IP. Make it a good one 😊

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

I got two running tops!

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Nice! One of the challenges will be very easy for you then 🥰

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Happy Christmas your highness!🙂

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

And to you BC 🎅🎄🎁

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

Well done Linda. Three runs before midnight Tuesday is eminently doable, provided xx we don’t strain something! Have a great Christmas.🙂

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

You too BC! Yep, we've got this!!!

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

Ok, just had my warm up breakfast, am choosing one of two Christmas present bobble hats for running to wear (not running in my new cascadias yet (wore them around the house yesterday though!)), We Three Kings should be a doddle, but Christmas Fare might be a challenge….will go on a hunt!! Sugary stuff not really allowed these days…but I will find something I am sure…..we did get a box of 70% cocoa chocolates as a present…maybe that counts ??

Whatever; at 9:30, I am out of here!!👍

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

You are ready!

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

I couldn't face taking something to eat early this morning. I had to run off the goose and goose fat potatoes and cream and…. all the other stuff 😋

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon]

While I couldn't face food I did wear one of my new tops. A Sweaty Betty one too 🥰 It has a hood that comes right over your head but I think I look a bit sinister with that so I might have to limit my wear of the hood down 🤣

Green running top

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Haha. That looks fab IP, you must've been on the good list!

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Or very bad 😉😜

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

Well good news and bad news. Completed 10k in a quicker time than the last one, but wasn’t trying to run hard! Ate a piece of uniced Christmas cake, sang first verse of we three kings plus chorus, wore Christmas present hat…..and I have done something to my left calf, right at the end of the run!😡. I don’t know how many points that qualifies for…but there should be a deduction for the injury. Good job I am seeing my physio tomorrow.

New running hat on head of older runner 🙂

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Brilliant job BC ... full marks for those challenges I think, but boo to the calf. Hope tje physio can work her usual magic tomorrow 🤞

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Agh no …I have checked the criteria; I didn’t eat my Christmas cake until the cool down walk; fail!!

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

An excuse for more cake perhaps?

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Ok; 3k done (physio’s orders), Christmas cake consumed at 1.5k, we three kings sang(again), new shoes worn (so far so good) , pair of water rails, gold crest, long tailed tits and goldfinches spotted! That is two out of my 3 runs 🙂

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Excellent BC. That sounds like a lovely run. Hope the calf still feels OK too 👍 Will add 3 points for the cake, and await news of run 3 😅

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Tuesday hopefully. Calf feels ok. Just being careful pace wise with the new shoes, but good so far 🤞🏻

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

🙂I am wondering whether I will be running for a while!😮‍💨

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Head up. Ms Physio will be right on it

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

If it is just calf, you are right…but could be top of the achilles; I won’t know until she digs her steely fingers in there! I didn’t set out to do another 65 minute plus seconds 10k run. It felt steady……it was supposed to be steady…..but that pace is quicker than I would consciously attempt at present. Must be CBs “increase speed without extra effort” kicking in. 🙄

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Got out for a nice 11.5k run this morning. Wore my new socks (my how the old ones had shrunk and hardened!), took a part slice of festive chocolate salami which turned out to be as good as any power bar at the halfway point ( coeliacsanctuary.co.uk/reci... ) and sang We Three Kings as I trotted along! That was my second run this week, after my Christmas morning parkrun, so just one more to go to complete this week's challenges. Feeling on top of life right now 😇

Festive chocolate salami

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

On top of life is the perfect place to be 🙂. Well done on your challenge efforts 👍.

My physio got out her magic wand this morning (fairy wand, not witch’s). My left leg issue is calf not achilles 😥. Apparently the muscle concerned stretches so far down that injury to the muscle feels like an Achilles problem. In technical terms, she gave it a good wellying and now I am good to run, starting at 3k, which for current purposes is fine. 1.5k, eat cake and sing, run another 1.5k , should stick in my memory!

My knee pain problem (largely gone now) isn’t serious; one of my quads had tightened up, so she gave it some aversion therapy to make it relax and refrain from misbehaving in future, and that is that! My new trails came with Molly Mrs BC and me for a walk this afternoon. As soon as I hit the trails they felt great. Tempted to give them a test run next time out; maybe another walk first? We will see. Anyway; look out challenges, here I come! 🏎️

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

That's perfect news BC! Excellent. I'm sure I won't be on top of things for long, but at least I've noted it while it lasts 😅

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Yum 😋

[Shake-and-run Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Not sure about Chocolate Salami??? I assume it has no meat content and is pure calories. Might be prepared to try a nibble....

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Shake-and-run]

No meat. All.calories. Chocolate, butter, biscuits, niuts and dried fruit. Pure yumminess!

[aliboo70 Half Marathon]

Task 1 done on a 4km seafront walk, not the best photo, making a dent in the Christmas biscuits! 🤪🤣xxx

Biscuit munching on a walk !

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to aliboo70]

Yum!!!! Good to get out I bet 😊

[aliboo70 Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Definitely! Xxx

[Sax64]

I'm making good progress on this week's challenge. I've done 3 runs: Christmas Day parkrun with a PB🏅. A 3 kings run with a rendition of the chorus outside my local church and not sure if mulled wine sweets count as Christmas food, but if so that's ticked off too. I'm hoping for a few points for star jumps (from last week's challenge) done this morning, a bit energetic before a run I thought. A long journey tomorrow for Christmas part 3. Hopefully I will get in a short Cornish run or 2 before the year ends. This has been fun, thanks for organising and Happy New Year to all VRBs 🥳

3 runs of Christmas

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Sax64]

You have been busy ... and still are by the sound of it!So three runs, Christmas food and a late entry for star jumps and snow angels (I'm assuming that was 12 of them).

Enjoy Christmas part 3 😊

[Shake-and-run Half Marathon]

hi lovely admins, I would like to claim 2 challenges completed at Parkrun this morning. Firstly I wore 2 Christmas presents, a Wolves 3rd Kit top from hubby (other football teams are available, but our lot need all the support they can get) and some luscious leggings from Sandie1961 . I also completed the Christmas food challenge. I took this wee marzipan Christmas pudding with me. Nice and compact so easy to carry but not so each to swallow while running along, I ended up with hamster like cheeks until I got to the finish line!!! 😂😂🐹

Christmas challenge

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Shake-and-run]

Fantastic Shakes. Loving the leggings too. Six points duly awarded.

[Sandie1961 Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Llama Leisure! Picked up the recommendation from Dexy5 earlier in the year and thought they would be perfect for my BFF!

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Shake-and-run]

Love those leggings! 🥰

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon]

So, in between one set of visitors leaving and the next arriving, I’ve squeezed in a 6K. Half way I ate some chocolate. It was a choice of chocolate or cold cocktail sausages, which I love, but I can eat sausages any time during the year whereas I don’t often eat chocolate 🙂

It was very nice too 😋

Just have to squeeze in the third run before Tuesday midnight and remember to sing 🎶

Hand showing chocolate

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Ooh Guylian ... what a treat! Going well IP. Enjoy that third run 😊

[RunByTheSea64]

Apologies linda9389 but I've just accepted now that I'm bombing out of the challenge! A touch of seasonal doldrums, disengagement from the socials, + a hip/leg pain are preventing me from running atm but I'm hoping to be back in early Jan if the strengthening exercises help 😊. Well done to all those successful point-accumulators!

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to RunByTheSea64]

No need for apologies RBS! We're glad to have had you alone while it worked for you. Sending sympathy and healing vibes for the hip/leg pain issue (as a fellow sufferer I know just how miserable that can be).

We will be extending the challenge slightly as lots of people have found this last week difficult for a variety of reasons. If it helps motivate you, then any of the challenges can be done as a walk rather than a run! having said that, sometimes we just need to be kind to ourselves and take some downtime 😊

[Dexy5 10 Miles]

Hello linda9389 , Irishprincess and Beachcomber66 , I hope you’ve had a lovely time over Christmas.

I ran on Christmas Day at parkrun and it was such fun with so many runners and walkers in fancy dress. I sang We 3 Kings, but not too loudly. 🎶🎵🎶

On Boxing Day, we went for a walk at a local fishing village, where they make up a tree from lobster pots.

Today we went for a walk with Oldgirlruns to our old parkrun base as they have now finished that section of coastal sea defences and we hope to be able to return once the permissions are granted by parkrun HQ and The City Council. We had coffees and bacon bap and a celebration chocolate before returning home. I was wearing my new Happy Socks which I got from UTS.

So that’s 3 runs or walks plus a song - 6 points

Wearing a Christmas present - 3 points

Christmas food - 3 points

Christmas photos

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Dexy5]

Another full house Dexy, great job! Loving the santa outfits and the happy socks 😍

[Dexy5 10 Miles in reply to linda9389]

Oh yes. The fact that I would never have chosen them myself makes me laugh.

[Shake-and-run Half Marathon in reply to Dexy5]

Dexy and UTS, you look amazing!

[Dexy5 10 Miles in reply to Shake-and-run]

UTS did roll his eyes when I produced his outfit but I think he makes a perfect elf. 😂

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Dexy5]

Love the outfits Dexy! 🥰

Happy New Year to you and UpTheStanley x

[Dexy5 10 Miles in reply to Irishprincess]

And to you and yours IP!

[Shake-and-run Half Marathon]

Happy New Year’s Eve everyone. Please May I claim my final challenge? I have done 3 runs this week (Christmas Day parkrun, Saturday parkrun and today running with the Kats , see photo). We also sang we three kings as we ran. Singing and running is a challenge in itself, not sure we had the lyrics right?

We three kings of orient are,

One on a bike and one in a car,

One on a scooter, tooting his hooter,

Following yonder star.

(Chorus as the traditional carol).

Please can I also claim on behalf of TailChaser , who has been so busy she is still catching up on her challenge claims.

New Years Eve

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Shake-and-run]

Haha love that!!! Will put you and TC down for the three runs with bonus points. Great job!!!

[Dexy5 10 Miles in reply to Shake-and-run]

Oh what fun you had. Well done all of you.

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Shake-and-run]

Love it!

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon]

My final run so I’ve done all three and sang We Three Kings (not well but hey, there was no one around to hear me 🤣)

The only challenge I think I didn’t do was posting the cards and I thought that was going to be the easiest one!

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Well done IP, that's an impressive haul of challenges!

Singing takes too much breath away I found. I can't sing at the best of times, and oxygen deprivation didn't help any!!!

[lincolnoldie]

Three runs done, singing we three kings very badly. Walk along the Lincolnshire seafront with mince pies and christmas nibbles. Wearing something received for christmas is difficult as the only clothes K received wax a very fluffy dressing gown. Not really suitable for running in so did a few stretches looking like a teddy bear🧸

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to lincolnoldie]

Haha. Well done. You get the points for ingenuity 😍