by admin | Jun 30, 2024 | Blogging, Health And Fitness, Lincolnshire Blogger, WhatsOnLincs
Park Run Tourism – Belton House
Park Run Tourism –
Belton House on 29 June 2024. There are some serious park run tourists out there, visiting A-Z of park runs around the Globe. I don’t consider myself to be one of them. However, I do confess that if invited to a Wedding, on a weekend away or holiday, the first thing I do is look up the nearest park run. Surely I’m not the only one?
Today I’m with some of the ‘Just Run Lincoln’ crew who are on our monthly tourist tour, visiting different park runs. I already have experience of the course, having been twice before. It’s a two lap course taking you down the long drive, around parkland and past the front of the magnificent Belton House. I would say the course is 80% trail. That’s very different from what our crew is use to.
Park Run Tourism at Belton House
Park Run Tourism – Belton House The Start
After a short first timer/ tourist brief we took our places at the start. The start covers an exceptionally wide area with runners on both the grass and the drive. This made for an easier start with no bottle necks. The number of dogs was particularly noticeable and audible. However, both owners and dogs were all very well behaved during the run.
By the time we had reached the turning point (about midway down the drive) the pack had thinned out making it easy to move onto the trail section. A family of swans could be seen sat at the corner watching everyone with interest. With eyes back on the trail it was time to focus on the rabbit holes. I needn’t have worried though as they were marked with little white flags.
Sheep On The Run!
A glance to the right and I could see the park deer in the far field then I noticed the sheep. OMG the sheep were running on mass directly towards the next corner. Watching the runners and sheep ahead I could see that all were being very courteous. Both the runners and sheep seemed to dodge each other without effecting pace. What a relief!
The course isn’t entirely flat as you will find as you run up towards the house to the start of the second lap and eventually the finish funnel. The good news is that final section is flat, wide and on a path. There was plenty of scope to pick up the pace for a fast finish.
Post Run Coffee
Having cheered each other in we piled into the stables cafe to refuel and dissect our run. The others hadn’t run Belton before and were all surprised it was a trail run. The takeaway point here is read the write up
www.parkrun.org.uk to avoid surprises. (
@parkrunUK)
We will be voting on our next park run tour in the coming weeks but in the meantime it’s back to the training. If you fancy a bit of tourism yourselves head to the friendliest park run I know (of course I am biased !) in Boutham Park, Lincoln Happy running everyone.
Happy Running
by admin | Apr 4, 2024 | Blogging, Lincolnshire Blogger, Lincs Connect, LincsBlogger, LincsConnect
The Original Lincolnshire Blogger
The original Lincolnshire Blogger (AKA Martin Thomas, ‘Simply Fit’) came to prominence in January 2011 (with the Lincolnshire Blogger concept being born in 2009) and quickly grew in popularity. The dedicated website followed in November 2015.
Initially writing as a columnist in the Lincolnshire Echo, The Target, Retford Times, Horncastle News, Louth Leader, Market Rasen Mail, Weddings Today and a few other newspapers and magazines the theme has always remained the same. Helping and informing people has, and is still at the top of the agenda for the newspaper and web based blogs and columns.
The Original Lincolnshire Blogger – The Beginnings
Initially the published works began as health and fitness columns with links to local charities, organisations and clubs to help give them a voice in the media.
The first regular column was instigated on 7 September 2011 in The Lincolnshire Echo but prior to that the published writing goes back to November 2009 in my capacity as the sponsor for The Midwife Of The Year (MOTY). The domain names were established at the same time while waiting for the website to be built.
Here are a couple of my early columns dating back to 2011 and early 2012:
Early Columns
The Lincolnshire Blogger – Moving On
The popularity of my columns soon grew and demand increased as more invitations for writing and radio interviews began to arrive. I wrote articles both as ‘Simply Fit’ and ‘Lincolnshire Blogger’ but the latter didn’t take off properly until 2015.
Fast forward to Covid in 2020. The blogs took on a new focus. The supportive blogs to help and inform people were gratefully received.
The Last Blogs Before Covid
The last Blogs before the pandemic included ‘New Website’ and ‘The New Logo’ with one of the last blogs being an advertising blog for the ‘Comedy Hotspot’ events. Little did I know what was going to happen in just a matter of days after its publication!
Little did we know what was to come in just a few days time! If you would like to read one of the last blogs before the Pandemic lockdown just click on this link: Comedy Hotspot
The Lincolnshire Blogger With Covid
It’s ironic that it took a major pandemic to shake me out of my fear of writing blogs. Everything up until then felt like ‘practice’ for the real thing!
Having contracted Covid the day before lockdown I was quarantined in the house. Luckily my bedroom was next door to my office so as a result I made use of my time by brushing up on my blogging skills. The writing has always been easy for me. The fear of the technology (along with my dyslexia) had been holding me back. I find the computer quite easy to use but WordPress (the website & blogging platform) somehow felt extremely difficult.
My first lockdown blog doesn’t look the slickest in the world but it was the start of my ever improving blogging journey. Thank goodness for YouTube tutorials and the help from the local Twitter community.
“Have We Become Numb” was the first lockdown blog of many. Thankfully they improved over time! Click on the blue link above if you would like to have a look.
Moving Up-To-Date
We faced many challenges during the pandemic and the LincsConnect blogs certainly went a long way towards helping people to navigate their way through it. Post pandemic blogging helped us through new challenges as many of us were nervous about reverting back to our pre-pandemic lifestyle. Once again, I did my bit with my blogs to help as many people as possible.
Blogs For Advertising
Rather than becoming ‘old fashioned’, blogging has become even more relevant recently as many people turn away from familiar social media platforms and embrace new ones. Readership has become very fragmented across the many platforms with ever more confusing sites launching on a regular basis. Twitter has certainly changed (not for the better) and Facebook experiences ever increasing updates which makes it more and more difficult to navigate. The blog has remained constant and as a result continues to be the perfect advertising medium.
Gala Fireworks used a LincsConnect blog to advertise their event at the Lincolnshire Showground. The blog is extremely useful as it’s much bigger than a standard advert. It contains more information than a standard newspaper editorial yet has a small link that can be easily copied and posted on any social media platform. The link comes with its own advertising picture (of your choice) which can be embedded onto a website as a permanent advert. All in all, it ‘is’ the perfect advertising tool. Click on the blue link above to see how effective a blog can be for advertising.
Take Your Advertising Forward
Get in touch if you would like to have a blog written for your business, organisation or charity. It’s ideal for advertising on any platform so contact me if you would like more information.
Alternatively, if you already write your own blogs you can get in touch to chat about sharing links.
by admin | Feb 26, 2024 | Advertise, Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire Blogger, Lincs Connect, LincsBlogger, LincsConnect, Networking, What's on Lincs
The LincsConnect Hour
The LincsConnect Hour is on Twitter (X) every Monday evening from 8.00pm.
The #LincsConnect Hour is on Twitter (X) on Monday evenings from 8.00pm
How To Join The LincsConnect Hour
Hop across to Twitter (X) on Monday evenings from 8.00pm. It’s simple to join in, all you need to do is go to the Twitter search bar, type in #LincsConnect then tap on the ‘search’ button if you’re using the App or hit ‘return’ if you’re logged in from a computer search engine. The tap or click ‘Latest’.
That’s it! Once you’re there, simply follow the instructions from whoever is hosting the Hour. The #LincsConnect Hour often starts off with introductions and adverts along with an invitation for embers to post any adverts they may have. General chat between members follows as part of the introductions then sometime around 8.10pm the host will post a question. There are often 3 or 4 questions during the Hour but the format is flexible and dependant on the host on the night.
This Monday
Please do join us on Twitter at 8.00pm on 22 Jul 24 to discuss how a trending #LincsConnect can benefit you
Who Can Host?
Hosting is open to all local followers so if you would like to have a go just get in touch to organise a date.
Why Host?
Hosting is a great way to get yourself known and is ideal for promoting what you do. It’s FREE networking across the whole County and more often than not, the #LincsConnect hashtag can be found ‘trending’ across the world. That’s great free advertising for you!
Use this template for your advertising when you host the #LincsConnect Hour
Simple
That’s it! I told you it was simple!!
Advert
This blog is sponsored by Mandarin Therapies
Contact Mandarin Therapies for your mobile complementary therapies, injury prevention and rehabilitation sessions. Tel 07966 174878
LincsConnect Hour Host Advertising
Hosts can now have their details and advert added to this blog so let me know if you would like to host and advertise. You can use this blog to advertise the fact that you are hosting and encourage more people to join you. The more people who join, the more exposure your advert gets!
We look forward to seeing you (virtually) on Monday evening.
