How we celebrate IWD 2020

Each for Equal with Fly Girls

We are in our favourite period celebrating International Women's Day, Week, Month and looking forward to the year 2020 for the Fly Girls Wellness project.

On Sunday 8th, International Women's Day Fly Girls be active walk & run group met for Sunday celebrations after our regular run, to share stories and have a healthy drink, it was cheering to all who took part in the Vitality Big Half Marathon, and a special cheers to three of our first time half marathoners.

Our first-timers are still smiling since the 1st March, they say running uplifts you and we know that buzz you get afterward. However, our team are feeling on a high for their achievements, Jackie a very easy going gentle paced runner had recently started training for the event and had a smashing time of 2hrs and 34 mins, running most of the race and walking the last 3 miles.

Pride of Brent Awards 2019

The Fly Girls Pride

Fly Girls Wellness being awarded
by Brent Council Leaders and Mayor of Brent
Leader Cllr Muhammed Butt, Mayor Cllr Ernest Ezeajughi
and far-right Chief Executive Carolyn Downs

A fortnight ago our community group celebrated being awarded the Pride of Brent at The Drum in a glitzy and glamorous event. The Fly Girls Wellness originally started as a running group in 2016 for beginner runners before catering for the needs of all its members and listening to the voices of the community by adding the walking element.

Three Ways to Transform Your Health

Three Easy Ways to Transform the Health of Your Body and Mind

It may seem difficult to lead a healthy life, but it’s actually quite simple to make a few small changes. These little alterations can quickly add up to create a healthier and happier you.

All it takes is some extra work and careful planning to get on the right track.

Fly Girls at The Vitality Big Half London Marathon

Fly Girls Weather the Storm

BBC Clip on The Big Half Vitality Run

Two weeks ago on Sunday 10th March a few of our team were anxious as for most it was their first ever half marathon. Fly Girls Running Community are a beginners running group that meets on Sunday mornings for a run around Wembley Stadium, ten signed up to do the 13.5mile run as a group and others separately for alternative distance runs scheduled for the day. The motivation for our team to do this was the knowledge that your peers were with you on the route, regardless of the distance you were from each other during the race. Having entered the 5km and 10km races locally and London wide the next progressive step was to try this race out, but by no means was anyone under pressure to enter.

Lace Up for 2019

What was and is to come

It's been a while since the last post on this blog, and what a great year 2018 has been for Fly Girls Wellness services with our running and writing communities. Our work empowering women has had a significant successful impact on members and inspiring others in the wider community. Two participants of the writing workshops have published their debut books at the end of the year.

Fly Girl Marcia

Marcia at BMR
Brooklyn, New York

One of the founding members and our front-runner for Fly Girls (FG) Running Community Marcia is a passionate runner whose essence motivates the team. Mileage Marcia loves running with her community on Sunday morning at Wembley Stadium. On event days at the Stadium FG runners run independently and Marcia does just that and encourages the others through the group chat.

Pushing for Progress

International Women's Month Review

Amanda & Leena Khatri at The Grand Hall
Brent Civic Centre

We celebrated the fifth anniversary of Ms Rose Blossom project on International Women's Day with a large community of women at the Brent Council Pressing For Progress Event. It was an honour to be part of the speakers/presenters included on the 8th of March. A diverse mix of women, young and old and in between shared stories of activism in pushing for progress for the empowerment of women, including Samira-Caterina Monteleone from Brent's UK Youth Parliament, Maggie Toy on the Suffragettes in Brent. Also on the line up for entertainments were an Asian Bollywood troupe, from the over 60s Brent Punjabi Association Dance Group.

Anthony Joshua's Victory

Boxing Bootcamp

Anthony Joshua's tug of war Victory
Victory Park

Despite being a freezing cold morning last Thursday, hundreds of parkers turned up for a fun filled boxing fitness session, an Our Parks and Lucozade partnership with world champion undefeated heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua, AJ as special guest chief trainer.

Turn up tone up team of OurParks coaches kept the sports enthusiasts motivated and warmed up for 30mins before AJ took the centre stage in Victory Park fields in East Village, Stratford. The cheerful boxer got everyone doing squats to sprinting on the spot, and we did shadow boxing techniques in this masterclass.

The hype continued in part two with the tug of war game, of course AJ on the landslide victory side. It was an amazing and magical morning training with the Sportsman, leaving everyone feeling pumped to have trained with AJ and engage with him, needless to say the buzz of outdoor exercise.

Making it Important

Make it Happen

On the second Sunday of the month it was the first Fly Girls RunTogether meet for 2018, nine of us turned up ready to get active at Wembley Stadium, no matter the cold weather this morning. It's around about this time, the middle of the first month that we tend to forget our new year resolutions and goals we wish to achieve for the year. However our team were vibrant this morning and we talked about running goals individually and what 5km races we could do together as a group at our brief meeting before our warm up.  Here's a few tips on making sure you make it happen for an active 2018.

New You for New Year

Fly Girls Fitness for You

It's the best time to join in new groups and activities in January, one because you are not on your own as most of us start new things this month and also because this is an economical way of getting active. You'll be sure of burning fat and not your bank account if you decide with signing up to new gym membership. The benefits are many such as being part of a community, making friends who cheer you along and this really helps you get through the winter months together. So come fly with us on the weekends at Wembley if you want to:

Crossing into 2018

Review, reflect and be ready

As we close the chapter of 2017, it's time to review and be grateful for the blessings and challenges encountered during the year. Each of us have our own personal challenges to confront and as a community of runners we set goals in the first week of January. By affirming aloud our intentions we were accountable to each other. Listen here

Fly Girl Sita's Story

Speaking Positive Words into Action

Sita feeling accomplished after The Colour Run, Wembley

Last week we featured  Lene's story believing that she could and did, that story has inspired other members in our group as well as readers on social media.

This week we celebrate the achievements during 2017 of Sita another member of the Fly Girls. Sita has made remarkable progress and transformation from a novice runner to an active runner, now running 5km. At the beginning of the year she affirmed her goal of loosing weight, listen to her on this clip. And she has achieved it!

So inspiring, Sita was the first to be featured by London Sport on the 1 million Londoners stories to tell. Read her interview here and be inspired to get active for 2018.

Being active makes you feel good, it'll make you smile!😊😊😊

Fly Girl Lene's story

She believed she could so she did

Lene before

Fifteen months ago I started out on my fitness journey and haven’t looked back since. The time had come to take my health a lot more serious, instead of just coasting along believing my body could take care of itself. At some point the body will answer back and tell you enough is enough and then it really is time for you to listen. I had to make some big changes if I wanted to stay mentally and physically fit. I found out about a local community fitness group and decided to try out the circuit training session one Monday evening. Well…what can I say…what a shock to the system that was! Never had I imagined that exercising could be so enjoyable. This was a fantastic group of people oozing energy and having so much fun together while sweating buckets. The personal trainer and the members made me feel so welcome, which I was immensely grateful for, as it was my first time in a group exercise like this one. The motivation, support and fun element in the group was the deciding factor that this was the way to go for me. It was the first step towards a personal fitness journey that has given me the inspiration and motivation to ‘keep going’ and not give up even when the going gets tough.

Fly Girls Victory 2017

History to Victory

The Fly Girls Running Community are a group of local women mostly from the London Borough of Brent who meet up for weekly runs, inspiring others as they set off every Sunday morning at 9am to run together at the national stadium, Wembley. Women of all ages and abilities assemble together in the municipal offices at the civic centre before they move off upstairs at the stadium for their warm up exercises. The run is for girls over 14 to senior women but particularly targeted at the older population and women from African, Caribbean and Asian heritages, who have higher rates of health inequalities.


We are a get me started run together group, and we started initially as 3 women back in the first Sunday of October 2016. By getting people started the group encourages people who are new to running and/or being active. New members feel welcome in this friendly group where members are non-competitive and the individual decides whether they wish to run or walk. Those who are new to running take it step by step, gradually going from walking to slow jogging up to 2km, 5km or beyond.

Calling Fly Girls to Get Active in Brent

Booking Essential

Programme available until April 2018

Marathon Motivation

Volunteering at Ealing Half Marathon 2017

Fly Girls Team Co-ordinator Lene

FlyGirls feeling proud of medals and inspired to run 

for Ealing Half Marathon 2018

FlyGirls spirit of support and togetherness

UFO SteelBand great melody

Fit and fab runners in Ealing

Rays of Sunshine on runners and volunteers

                                                           Water Station

Who needs reasons to run?

Bolt-on Inspirations

Amanda Epe
inspired meeting Usain Bolt

The Great North Run the world's largest half marathon with over 43,000 competitors took place today. These marathon runners need not be convinced on the benefits to run their 13 miles, neither do the track athletes and champions we have recently spectated over the World Athletics Championships London 2017, but for some of us to take that first step or to keep going we need motivation to just do it. Usain Bolt stated that he wanted to be remembered as one of the greatest athletes ever in sport, but also as a laid back fun-loving person who inspires others. He has incontestably inspired millions!

Why Diversity for Fly Girls

Fun Fitness Activities

FlyGirls at Willesden Sports Centre

The Fly Girls are a fun focused fitness community, we exercise purely for our wellbeing with our main activity being running (not racing), jogging or simply walking. Taking advantage of the summertime today we went back to childhood, the beginners that we are went back to basics in cycling. The sun was out and there was a fresh cool breeze cooling down any nerves and fears of falling off our bikes. They say you never forget what you learnt as a child, and that theory proved true today for the Fly Girls, starting off with wobbles before we found our feet and began cycling laps around the race track. Here's some findings from today:

Women In Sports Week 2017

Inter-activities in Brent

Fly Girls at Wembley Stadium 18--6-17

Monday 19th - 25th June is national Women In Sports week to raise awareness of those playing, delivering, volunteering and watching sport to promote sports for women across the UK. There are various activities in Brent for girls and women, many run on Sundays ( pun intended Fly Girls run every Sunday) such as the various women's football clubs and training for women at Preston Manor School or Vale Farm Sports Centre to name two. As we get into summer it is an ideal time to find activities locally and get out and about.

Reviewing 3 Fitness Trackers on Global Running Day

 Tracking our steps

Fly Girls Running Community
Wembley Stadium Run 

Some of my running buddies from our running community use fitness trackers on the runs when we run together. They tell us the distance they have run, their time and speed as well as steps. One explained that it monitors her sleep as to how deep or restless her sleep was. Most people use it for monitoring their steps and calories used, others may want more specific facilities.

The Garmin Vivofit 3 is a simple effective fitness tracker that counts steps, monitors sleep and captures different activities such as walking, running, biking, swimming and cross training. It costs under £100.