Running out of time

It's one month today until the official end of my year of eating my way around Oxford. When I began my project at the start of April 2011, I wasn't sure how it would all work out - whether anyone would actually read my rambling, whether I'd be able to keep up. Thankfully the answers to both those wonderings were 'yes', and although I'm a little bit heavier and my wallet a little bit lighter than one year ago, I've really enjoyed having the excuse to dine out with frivolous frequency, see my friends more often and write about my discoveries. My monthly slot on BBC Radio Oxford was the icing on the cake, and one of the many reasons why I've decided to continue the project beyond its initial one year scope.

Regular readers might have noticed that my reviews have been a little less frequent this year. Well, restaurant reviewing isn't the only hobby I took up in 2011: more surprisingly (to myself anyway), I've also started running. And on 1 April, a year since Girl Eats Oxford began, I'll be running the Reading Half Marathon in aid of Sue Ryder Care. If anyone ever tries to tell you that training for a half marathon isn't time-consuming, you have my permission to laugh in their faces: all that pounding the pavements really cuts into the time I could be spending gallivanting around Oxford's eateries.

I'll be back on track with my weekly reviews soon, and you can tune in to BBC Radio Oxford on Friday 9 March to hear my recommendations for Italian restaurants in Oxfordshire. In the meantime, please bear with me as I prioritise running over refuelling. If you'd like to be so kind as to sponsor me, that would of course be much appreciated both by me and Sue Ryder Care, who work incredibly hard to provide support to those with life-changing illnesses, as well as hospice care. My employers have kindly offered to match what I raise through sponsorship, so even a little will go a long way.

Thanks for your continued readership and recommendations!