This last month everyone in the Sportsister office has been going cycling crazy! I was lucky enough to get the chance to go cycling in the velodrome in Manchester recently, thanks to a great day out with Hornby – one of the London 2012 official suppliers.

It was a fantastic experience riding on the boards and totally inspiring to watch the GB squad train afterwards. This was followed by some time with world champion cyclist Lizzie Armitstead, who shared her top tips with me for becoming a better cyclist. You can read all about it in the next issue of Sportsister that comes out at the end of this month.

In addition to this we have all been taking part in the fantastic new Cycletta events – these brand new women only 40km cycle rides have been a great success with around 2,000 women taking part. Two events were held – one in the north, one on the south – and both had a really fun-filled and welcoming atmosphere. You can read our review of Cycletta South here, and the one of Cycletta North will follow very soon.

Danielle also went along to The Frome Cobble Wobble – this totally unique event is as fun for the spectators as the competitors. It involves an individually timed bicycle hill climb sprint up Catherine Hill in Frome, Somerset. You can see pictures from it on our Tumblr site here.

Whether you are a keen cyclist or not I’d highly recommend you check out Sportsister’s very own cycling blog – Sisters in the Saddle – it’s a light hearted and informative blog about all things to do with 2 wheels. It’s updated regularly so make sure you keep checking back.

As Olympic fever continues to build we were all really excited to hear about the launch of a brand new running event that will allow you to run in the Olympic stadium before even the top athletes get chance. The National Lottery Olympic Park Run will be a five mile event and 5,000 members of the public will get to race around the Olympic Park crossing the finish line in the stadium itself. To get a spot you have to sign up here and enter the ballot. Everyone who is successful will also get two spectator tickets for friends and family to watch from the stadium.

Now that the last burst of summer has finally gone you might be looking for bit of extra motivation as the clocks change and the on-set of winter looms, and as we always say there’s no better way than to sign yourself up for an event. We’ve just published a new training plan to help you train for a duathlon – it’s a great winter sport with lots of off -road, mud filled events around. Why not give it a go?

If you still need some extra motivation, here’s something I like. I recently saw a photo of a Nike billboard in the US and it simply said, “Yesterday you said tomorrow.”

Have a good month,

Louise Hudson, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine