Joe Wicks, The Body Coach hosts a 5km run on Brighton Beach Sunday 1st September 2024
I’ve got to admit I’m not always the biggest fan of targeted adverts on my social media but every now and then I am extremely happy that something pops into my feed unexpectedly. About a week ago a post appeared that really grabbed my attention and stopped me from scrolling any further.
What I saw in front of me was so, honest and inspirational…
Fit Box Brighton, and their Instagram post that inspired me to join this run
Image credit Joe Wicks/Jim Carey
“In 2018, I opened up to Joe Wicks about my life struggles, and his words “never give up” have stayed with me since. After overcoming mental health challenges and drug addiction, I transformed my life and ventured into the fitness industry. Starting with outdoor bootcamps, I improvised, threw in some exercises, and to my surprise, people kept coming back, paying me more. Realizing I had struck a chord, I found immense joy in teaching and discovered a new found purpose that led me away from drugs and isolation towards a fulfilling sense of achievement. My journey in this industry has been nothing short of extraordinary, and I’m grateful to now be able to support others facing similar struggles. I am grateful to still be here today.”
Join us for a 5km run along the seafront, Joe Wicks is headed to Brighton!
I thought that this was a brave way to illustrate how a person can be inspired by another. How powerful their message can be and furthermore, being able to pass this message on to even more people, continuing the encouragement to “never give up”. My next thought was “That's so cool, a 5km run with Joe Wicks on the seafront” and in a flurry of excitement I quickly clicked on the link to register my interest.
Get busy in the kitchen or join an online workout with Joe
For the past couple of months, I’ve been trying to eat a healthier diet, which isn't always easy for a foodie like me! But I’ve been really enjoying the recipes in the books by Joe Wicks, so much so that I went ahead and purchased as many of the different plans as I could get my hands on. As my excitement and gusto grew, at one point I even accidentally ended up with a duplicate copy, which I passed on to my sister, who subsequently passed it to a colleague, who was also enthusiastic to give the recipes a go. Especially after smelling my sister's delicious leftovers wafting through the staff room on a regular basis.
I’d never really followed Joe’s work before this year, but I was fully aware of his workouts and his large fan following. He is a household name here in the UK and beloved by families across the nation. In 2020 he had whole households getting fit whilst schools were closed due to the pandemic. Families turned their lounges into makeshift gyms exercising along with him via his YouTube channel, where 80 million views turned into half a million raised for the NHS. His current work still centres around getting people moving and staying active, with an emphasis on helping people to smash their goals.
A selection of Joe Wicks books, with recipes and workouts to keep you on track.
I am still currently cooking many of the recipes from the books old and new. They taste absolutely amazing! Some of the benefits of Joe's recipe books include the ingredients being measured as “serves one” fantastic if you are cooking for one. They are easy to prepare and cook, using mostly ingredients that you would commonly already have in your fridge or cupboards, which in my opinion is handy, because who likes to hunt around the store for obscure ingredients?. Overall they provide healthy and wholesome meals, great for everyday of the week.
It seemed like perfect timing that I would be able to join Joe in Brighton on one of his 5km runs, become a part of this ever growing community of like minded people and show him gratitude for the work that he was doing.
On the day of the run Brighton was also hosting a triathlon along the seafront, so our run was due to take us on what could be considered a bit of an unconventional route, away from Hove and towards the Brighton Marina.
The run begins at the pier…
As the crowds gathered eagerly at the Brighton Pier at 8.30am, Joe took a position high above the crowd, to get proceedings underway. There was an undulating excitement as the crowd waved to Joe for his social media, and then we were off on the run.
As I set off there was a relaxed and fun feeling, Joe was up at the front leading the way as pictures were taken by photographers and spectators. Joe captured more footage on his mobile phone and even managed to take selfies with fans whilst he continued to run along the coast. I passed by Sea Lanes, I saw people working out and more onlookers had gathered to cheer the crowd as it passed by. To keep the party atmosphere going during the run, I enjoyed the latest house tracks, provided by Run & Rave, as beats pumped out of their very loud and very cool speaker backpack. The music really lifted me and helped me along to the halfway mark. At the Marina I was greeted with inclines in the form of the cliff walkway and I was starting to feel my legs tiring a little. The sun was beating down on me on now on what was turning out to be a very hot and humid morning. As I made the turning point, I doubled back, my pace had slowed considerably but seeing all the runners' smiling faces pass me helped me feel energized to continue on for the second half of the run. Running back towards the pier, the terrain underfoot changed back to a boardwalk on top of the pebbled beach and I felt relief because I was back on the flat. I ran over the iconic Volks Railway line and with beautiful views out to sea, I continued on back to the pier.
On the return to the pier, Joe took the time to speak to participants, sign autographs and take photographs. There were families with children, babies and even some furry friends joined in with the selfie extravaganza. It was a great way to top off the run.
Overall it was great to see so many people taking part in this run. Joe says “It’s about getting people out, it’s about their mental health and a sense of community” and he definitely delivered this on Sunday, bringing people together to enjoy a friendly and relaxed run. With chilled vibes and no worries about finishing times, just participation, lots of smiles and fun for all. If you get a chance to take part in his next 5KM run event I highly recommend it.
