Fast Girls Preview
Curzon Mayfair, London; Sunday 13th May 2012
Andy and I have just got back from the Cast and Crew Preview of the new movie Fast Girls, which will be out in cinemas on June 15th. It's about the rivalry between two British athletes from very different walks of life, and I was lucky enough to appear in it as a runner in the Ukrainian indoor 4 x 200m team. It was very surreal to see myself on the big screen - albeit for a total of about 3 seconds - and Andy was particularly proud to see my name in the end credits, even though I was only an extra!
I was pretty stoked that the film is, actually, really good - even Andy liked it! The story itself follows a pretty basic formula (complete with cute little dog) but the characters are easy to identify with and warm to and the portrayal of the difficulties athletes can face in their careers is really quite close to the mark. It's also nice that, although not an all-out comedy, the film doesn't take itself too seriously, with some excellent one-liners and a few laugh-out-loud moments. Best value-for-money performance goes to Lashana Lynch who, despite playing a supporting role as vivacious hurdler Belle Newman, adds so much to every scene she's in. It's got a few famous faces in it, including Bradley James (King Arthur from Merlin) and Rupert Graves, who plays DI Lestrade in Sherlock, although he pretty much just plays DI Lestrade in Fast Girls, too. And speaking of Sherlock, The Bad Cabbie from A Study in Pink is in it, as well - luckily I don't think the two ever meet!
The ending is the sort where you feel like standing up and clapping and luckily, as I was in a room full of people who helped make the movie, everyone did! I really hope it inspires girls to put their trainers or spikes on this summer and go running. Check out the trailer:
Wallpaper* Magazine Olympics Issue - June 2012
Here's me and amazing yoga guru Nicola Hobbs in Wallpaper* design magazine's Sports Special. Wish I'd smiled just a little bit!! (Designer: Lisa Marie Fernandez for Peter Pilotto; Photographer: Duane Nasis)
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La Villajoyosa, Spain
Saturday 5th May 2012 - 20km Classic - Gold
Sunday 6th May 2012 - 18km Downwind - Gold
A brief round up of an eventful weekend's racing...
Things that went wrong:
In true Jenna fashion, I left organising a ski till the last minute, and found that the boat I had hired for Day One of the racing had to be whisked off to the other side of Spain straight afterwards, leaving me wondering what I was going to paddle for Day Two. But things always just seem to fall into place somehow and, when my buddy Chloe decided to ditch her Fenn in favour of an Epic V12, I was in there like a vulture, or a rat up a drainpipe, or whatever...
The trip was neatly rounded off by a trip to Spanish hospital. Despite feeling considerably more perky than normal after Sunday's Downwind 18km, I felt too sick to eat anything, especially whatever was emanating from the competitors catering tent. Obviously my body was not too pleased about this, decided to shut down all my non-essential body parts, and I flaked out. When I didn't get any better the Doc packed me off to hospital where they rigged me up to a drip which, I can only guess, had some kind of sugary goodness in it cause I was back on my feet in no time.
I left my phone in the car on the way to the airport, so although I've managed to save my phone number, I've lost all my contacts and I now have to put up with the cheapest and worst phone EVER until I can get mine back.
Things that went right:
I was persuaded by the South African contingent to ditch my lonely B&B to go and stay with the race organisers Vio and Jonathan - plus their family, pets and other lodgers - at their farm in the mountains. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, surrounded by orange, lemon, olive, almond and all sorts of other exotic trees. In the evenings there were people from Israel, USA, Canada, South Africa, Denmark, UK, Abu Dhabi, Australia and Spain sat around one dinner table. Even if I'd raced like a turnip this weekend, it still would have been one of the best ever.
I won two races, and got a first place on the World Series! It's a great feeling. I was pretty determined but had absolutely no idea how I'd be going as I've focused my training on flatwater sprint more than ever this winter. I also had no idea what form the other girls were in, so all I could do was paddle hard and see what happens.
It was soooo cool to experience some really close racing amongst a great bunch of European girls. Especially well done to Angie Mouden from France, who made sure I kept my foot on the gas the entire 38km. She's only 20, so I have a feeling we ain't seen nothing yet!
I really owe a massive thank you to Violeta Espi Hernandez and her husband John who, on top of organising a fabulous event, helped me out of all three of my little scrapes.
For a more informative write-up of the event, as well as full results, check out the font of all ocean racing knowledge, www.surfski.info.
Memories of a Perfect Day
Check out this incredible video of mine and Andy's wedding made by my very talented friend Ben Brown. It's so perfectly beautiful and makes me cry every time I watch it. It's exactly how I want to remember the day.
If you want anything captured on film - sports, surfing, music promos, weddings - Ben's your man. And if you're wondering, like I did, what the music is, it's "We Don't Eat" by James Vincent McMorrow.
Taking the plunge with BBC's Tim Dellor
This morning, fellow GB kayaker Coral Burkill and I joined BBC Berkshire presenter Tim Dellor and Olympic rower Sarah Winkless to help out with a very ambitious challenge. All this week, Tim and his team have been dashing from track to pool to pitch to gym in a bid to take part in all 28 Olympic sports in just one week, all in aid of Sport Relief.
Thinking that a racing K1 (individual kayak) might be a little ambitious for a first time paddler, Coral and I set up a K2 (kayak pair). Reasoning that, as 200m is the shortest Olympic distance, 200m would be the minimum distance he would have to cover. Knowing how wobbly a kayak can be for experienced racers, let alone complete beginners, we were a little sceptical.
Tim's favourite sport so far was trampolining, and I don't think his kayaking experience did anything to change his mind. See what happened on our second attempt at paddling...
Then, after a change of clothing, Tim bravely took to the water again, this time in a double skull - the boat that his willing crew-mate Sarah Winkless won her bronze medal in Athens 2004. It was a far more successful endeavour, as the pair made it all the way to the end of the lake and back again. But again there was a price to pay, as the presenter walked back up the landing stage with bleeding knuckles from where they had been scraped by the blades (oars)!
Tim has now completed his challenge, culminating in a thrilling boxing bout live on BBC South Today this evening. Well done!!