Leamington and Warwick runners dare to bare all for charity

Members of Leamington-based running group Run Like A Girl are daring to bare for a charity calender.

Runners from across Leamington and Warwick have taken their kit off to raise money for The Salvation Army and the Blue Cross.

Run Like A Girl, which was launched in 2015 by Lauren Gregory, originally started as a running group for beginners but quickly grew.

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Caroline Abid and Amy Rehman, who organised the calendar, both joined Run Like A Girl as novice runners when it was launched and have since caught the running bug.

Caroline, who is a mother-of-two and engineer at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “This is a celebration of fit, active women of all abilities, backgrounds, shapes and sizes, but they are all accomplished runners, who run together every week. Now, they get naked together, too, with the same confidence as when they’re training.

“The response from the ladies when asked to be involved was overwhelming and each one of them that took part said they felt empowered and honoured to be part of such a positive thing to not only raise money for charity, but inspire other women to set themselves a new fitness challenge.

“As you can see from the photos, you don’t have to be a certain shape or size, or look a certain way, to be good at running.”

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For the calender 29 women braved the autumn cold to get the perfect shots.

Amy, who is a solicitor and a mum-of-one, said: “Creating the calendar has been great fun and so rewarding. Not only are Run Like A Girl’s ladies great runners with great bodies, they’re setting a good example by continually achieving new sporting goals.

“Most of the women taking part have ran numerous 5km, 10km and half marathon events, with some even completing ultra-marathons, but many were beginner runners little more than a year ago.

“Baring all for two such worthy causes is totally worth two cold mornings spent naked in a field.

“I can’t wait to see people’s reaction to the calendar.”

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The full calendar will be for sale in December and costs £9.99. Email [email protected] to order your copy.

The Run Like A Girl running group has also been nominated as a contender in The Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards 2016. The group is one of the four contenders who have been nominated in the community award category.

To vote for the group click here. Voting closes at midnight on Sunday November 27.

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