FRIENDS AND FITNESS: THE UNEXPECTED POSITIVES OF JOINING MPI UK & IRELAND CHAPTER

Unlike Bruce Springsteen, I was not ‘born to run’.  I had every excuse under the sun to get out of cross country at school.  But, just yesterday, I ran 10km: the furthest distance I have ever run in my 46 years of life. 

My inspiration?  Well, Joe Wicks can’t take credit for this one.  Being on the board of MPI UK & Ireland Chapter got me running. 

I joined MPI in July 2018 and instantly became one of the family.  To begin with I volunteered helping with chapter events and then joined the Board last summer.  I couldn’t ask for a nicer group of people to volunteer with.  In January, we had a Board Meeting in Birmingham.  We’re not a board who meet and disappear.  The other board members have become my friends. 

Over dinner, I was sitting with Judy Elvey (Cvent) and Richard Allchild (IMEX).  I was telling them how frustrating it is to find time to exercise.  They both run, at work, during lunchtime.  Listening to them, and they are BIG fans of their runs, I had that light bulb moment.  I can do that.  And the next week I started. 

I had tried the Couch to 5K before, but abandoned it.  I got back on the app and followed the programme.  Fast forward to yesterday and I have just run 10km.  From someone who found 60 seconds of running incredibly difficult at the beginning, this is a big achievement for me.

I think this is an awful photo of me, the wind was blowing and I look like a could rival Max Headroom with my forehead (anyone under the age of 40, you might need google who that is – yep, an uncanny resemblance)!  But it does capture the feeling: the feeling I had finishing that run.  And it makes me smile just looking at it.  I love organising events; achieving the unexpected and working to plans and deadlines.  With everything on ‘pause’ at the moment, my fitness and running has given me something positive to focus on.  So, thanks to MPI, to our very own ‘Richard and Judy’, they unknowingly are helping me through these strangest times.

Emma Wellstead is the Director of Events for the MPI UK and Ireland Chapter and the Owner and Managing Director of Warwick Events.  Warwick Events, based in Stratford upon Avon, design experiential events for national and international groups. They connect their clients and visitors with the local heritage, culture and people.  All of their events happen within a fifty mile radius of Stratford-upon-Avon and thus have immense local knowledge with 97% of their supplier base being local.  Organising corporate retreats, incentives, meetings, launches, team activities and high-end individual or VIP group trips with that local immersive twist is Warwick Events’ specialty.