In December, I turned the big 30 and I made the decision that this was the year I was going to get fit and lose weight (for real this time!). I joined a gym that was within walking distance from work and took the plunge to sign up to RED January. Many running friends took part in the initiative in 2018; at the time I thought they were crazy (there was no way you’d get me exercising every single day for a month!) and I had no idea how they managed it. This year, I decided I needed to take my training a bit more seriously for the races I had signed up for, so thought ‘Why not?!’ and sent off for my RED Pack. It only cost £10, and that’s because I wanted the T-Shirt, otherwise it would have been completely free. The pack arrived which included RED laces for my trainers and my technical t-shirt with the calendar on the back to mark off each day you have completed: 31 days seemed quite daunting at this point! 1st January arrived and I set myself the goal to either run 1.5 miles minimum each day, or complete another ‘workout’ (at home from YouTube, or a class at the gym). I have to admit, the month goes past quite quickly when you’re marking off the days on a calendar, and the challenge definitely wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be; I imagine this was because I mixed up my workouts to make sure I didn’t pick up any injuries that might stop me running. I’ll admit that there were two days out of the 31 that I didn’t exercise, but I made sure I did extra the day after to make up for it! My sports app compares my activity month by month, so it is amazing to see that in December I was only active for 3 hours and 49 minutes…. in January I have completed 35 activities over 20 hours 7 minutes!
I would recommend RED January to everyone. 100% it has helped me increase my fitness, I feel healthier, both physically and mentally. Plus, it has made January (normally the longest month after the excitement of Christmas) go by in a flash!
What is RED January?
RED January is a community initiative that encourages you to support
your mental health by doing something active every single day.
Whether it is running 5k, or walking to work a new way, a morning swim or taking
your bike out for a spin – join the thousands of people around the UK
kick-starting their 2019 in the most positive way.
How can physical activity help support your mental health?
RED January is founded on research that physical activity can have a positive
impact on your mental health.
87% of REDers reported feeling significantly better physically and mentally
after completing RED January 2018 according to the post-RED survey.
More information about the importance of physical activity
to mental health can be found on Mind’s website.
Why January?
RED January can provide you with a goal and focus to help you through a
characteristically tough month.
Typically we can be cash poor in January; RED January is free and
all-inclusive.
RED January can empower, educate and support you to start the year as you mean
to go on, forming healthy habits to continue throughout January and beyond.