How do you get to work? To Uni? To pick up your kids or wherever you travel on a daily basis?

Perhaps you hop on a tube, take a daily train or jump in the car? Or maybe you live close enough to walk, cycle or run?

I’m just starting on training for another goal (more revealed tomorrow!) and have also just got a new temporary job writing recipes for the World Cancer Research Fund UK (thanks Mollie for giving me the heads up about the role!) and will be commuting into London a couple of days a week during August. With increased work, training, wedmin etc, I’m going to need to utilise my time and get part of my workout in with an active commute.

The best thing about an active commuting, other than limiting the time you spend with your face in someone’s armpit or balancing your coffee/paper/handbag and trying to do your make up, is that it’s the perfect opportunity to multi-task.

• Warmer weather = less clothes to carry with you. Whether that means less running/cycling kit or simply fewer clothes needed once you get to the other side. Boots in winter are my personal pet peeve to carry with me. It does however mean you might be a bit sweatier on arrival so a shower/baby wipe clean will probably be necessary.
• It’s light outside… sadly it will become darker as the weeks progress, but for now it’s awesome to make the most of the daylight hours. Plus if you start the habit of active commuting now while it’s quite appealing, you’re more likely to power through the cold, dark months!
• You don’t have to run/walk/bike the whole way. If your commute is a long one, I’d find a way of active commuting for part of it. Like running to a station a little further from your house, or running to the office/school/uni at the other end. Parking further away from work or cycling to a station.
• You’ll save money! I spend so much ££ on tubes, trains, parking etc and would love to save a couple of quid a day by utilising my own energy to get around. Think of it as your post commute coffee money.
• It’s better for your health. Most of us that exercise regularly get our hour long workout in per day, then spend most of the rest of the day sitting at a desk. An article published by the British Medical Journal showed that active commuting by bike significantly reduced risk of death from cancer and cardiovascular disease than passive commuting.
• Download and listen to a new podcast without fear of the person next to you interrupting or overhearing ‘My Dad wrote a Porno’ ?

I wanted to share with you the rucksack that I’ve been using to commute run from uni to Paddington. The I AM RUNBOX – it’s designed to hold a laptop plus your clothes, purse, phone etc. It is so light I had to check on more than one occasion whether I’d left my laptop behind because I really couldn’t feel it.

The design is fab. It’s waterproof and weatherproof with reflective strips, has a waist strap to keep the backpack secure with padded back support to ensure it’s comfortable and the bag doesn’t move around. They’re also wide enough to fit your phone, Oyster card etc within the straps so that you don’t have to rummage around in your main bag! Have I mentioned that you can easily fit your laptop or tablet within without fear of it falling or getting damaged?!

Full disclosure – I was sent a I AM RUNBOX but they didn’t ask me to write about it – I just love it and wanted to share. I’ve been using it for about 6 months now and I have no complaints – except for the fact that there’s no space for my overnight oats and coffee mug!

Photos by Anna Jackson.