When I was 13 years old I was diagnosed with stage 3 non-hodkinsons lymphoma. I had tumours on both sides of my neck, and more worryingly, nearby my heart and lungs. Luckily I write this having undergone successful treatment for the disease and can happily say that I am fighting fit.

I've never been one to step down from a challenge. In July 2010, me and a group of friends cycled the 1000 mile distance from John O'Groats to Land's End in 9 days. Saddle-soreness aside, the three of us cycling were fuelled by around 120 cans of Nurishment, the replenishing calories were exactly what we needed every hour or so of our endurance cycle. We raised over £11,000 for charity Momentum, who had helped me out a lot when I was ill.

My fundraising days are far from over. This year I am competing in Iron Man Wales on 16th September, and the following September I will be attempting a crossing of the English Channel, again for Momentum.

When my friends and family told me that I was mad, I silently agreed with them.

Fitting all that training in and around university work (and...cough... university lifestyle) is a fairly daunting task, and it means that I'm pretty much constantly on the go... when I saw the opportunity arise to join Team Nurishment I lept at the chance and signed up straight away.

The protein boost is exactly what the body needs after a hard workout to enable the muscles to recover, not to mention the added benefit of all those vitamins to restore what the body has depleted in training.

To see my fundraising page for the channel swim follow:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/swim-the-channel

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a dip in the pool!

Tudor Morris, Team Nurishment

If you're a sportsperson or team who could benefit from some Nurishment support, join our winning team and enter here: http://www.nurishment.co.uk/team.asp

Here's the second guest blog post from Team Nurishment.

Jason Richards-Thompson is a triple jumper.

Hey all,

2012 has come around so fast. It seems like only yesterday I was reflecting back on what went wrong last season. Thankfully, just as I was starting winter training, Team Nurishment decided they wanted to sponsor me for the new season. So that definitely gave me an extra boost to train hard and do well as I know I am capable of reaching the top.

Five months into my sponsorship with Team Nurishment and they've been absolutely brilliant! Sending me Nurishment at the start of the month without fail, I'm always happy to see what flavours they've sent me J After a session, I seriously feel the difference the next day after drinking a can.

I've been really proud of the way I've been managing to split my time between working and training. My coach is great in that he understands the importance of my job commitments and we make sure training is structured around this. However at the same time, we still apply the same level of intensity. I haven't missed a session since I started my new job!

As far as Indoor season plans are concerned, we're looking at keeping it short like last year and focusing on the new techniques we've both learnt recently and to keep improving my leg strength and the technical aspects of Triple Jump. But the main goal is to qualify for the Aviva World Indoor UK Trials this month. After this my training will be re-focused on the Outdoor season, as that is what people judge you on really.

Until next time everyone.

Jason Richards–Thompson, Team Nurishment

If you're a sportsperson or team who could benefit from some Nurishment support, join our winning team and enter here: http://www.nurishment.co.uk/team.asp

Welcome to the first guest blog from one of our Team Nurishment members!

Dave Bell is a rower, living in Henley-on-Thames.

Winter is a tough time for rowers. As if 6am starts weren't bad enough already they have the added bonus of being in completely dark, sub-zero conditions that, if we're really lucky, will include strong winds and flooded rivers in the mix.

But winter is also where champions are made. Because let's face it, we all love to train in the summer when its glorious conditions and we can top up our tans as we train, winter is where you set yourself apart from the competition. Treating yourself to a lie in instead of that extra session, cutting your session short because it's snowing and missing that last set of deadlifts because your back hurts from the 2 hour row you did earlier are all examples of things people think don't make a difference in the short term, maybe they don't, but over the course of a 6 month winter training period they really add up.

That makes me grateful for all the support I have around me. Rowing is a team sport, and as a team we spur each other on towards the common goal. The support I've received from Nurishment helps keep me going too. When you're training 3 times a day, with sessions lasting as long as two hours, you need the right fuel to keep yourself going. You need loads of carbohydrates, plenty of protein and the right minerals in between every session and having a Nurishment in my bag at the ready gets me through these long days one at a time.

It's so far so good for me this winter, with all the major races being in the summer it's important to do some races to stay motivated while training hard throughout so you are continually improving. Having won three of my four races for my club, won two national medals for my university and reached the penultimate round of GB trials in March I'd say things are shaping up nicely so far. But for me it's still about going as fast as possible this summer, and putting myself in a position to do so over the winter. For now, I'm just taking it one long hard session at a time.

It's tempting to use the festive period as an excuse to hibernate - i.e. abandon all energetic activity in favour of curling up on the sofa. After all, it's cold and dark outside, and having the heating cranked up to the max all day makes us sleepy.

But exercising in the winter months will help keep your body healthy, release endorphins to fend off winter blues, and make you feel less guilty for eating vast quantities of roast potatoes.

 Here are our top tips for exercising in winter:

- Get an exercise buddy. Exercising with someone else will motivate you, as well as increasing safety if you are running outside when it's dark, for example. If you do exercise outside in the evenings, don't forget to wear high visibility clothing.

- Try something new. Make the most of winter and try a totally different form of exercise, like ice skating. Outdoor rinks pop up in city centres around Christmas, so you can soak up the festive atmosphere whilst toning your legs. Or, if it snows, shovelling snow is great exercise!

- Wear a hat if exercising outside, as you can lose up to 50 percent of body heat from here. Don't forget to do a thorough warm up too, as your muscles can get even tighter when it's cold.

- Try something indoors. If you can't face the cold, try an indoor activity like aerobics, archery, swimming or squash.

Enjoy!

Here are a few of our top tips for getting the most out of your run:
1) Choose the right soundtrack: somehow, a run seems to go by much more quickly if you select the perfect tunes to help you on your way! Our favourites include Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now' and Survivor's 'Eye of the Tiger', which makes us feel like Rocky.
2) Warm up properly: in cold weather it takes longer for your body to warm up, which is essential to avoid injury. Start with gentle running or walking for at least 10 – 15 minutes to make sure your body is raring to go.
3) Fuel your run: make sure you eat something on the morning of your event to make sure you don't run out of steam! Stick with food you have eaten previously so you know how your body will react, and make sure you stay hydrated.
Visit the Runners World website for plenty more running tips.

After Adoption works with children in the care system, adopted children and adults, adoptive families and birth relatives to improve the lives of the one in four people in the UK who have an adoptive connection.

Look out for a bottle of Nurishment Extra in your race goodie bag!

The school summer holidays seem so long ago!

Parents up and down the country are well and truly back into the manic world of the school run, dirty sports kits, packed lunches and difficult maths homework.

At the same time, college and university students will be setting the alarm clock for those 9 o'clock lectures and getting ready to get back into their routine. Just as the days get greyer and shorter!

Talking of going back to school, a big congratulations to Gemma from Bradford who won £500 worth of book vouchers in our recent competition!

If you're busy juggling work and kids or about to go back to university and get your head stuck in the books, grab a handy-sized bottle of Nurishment Extra to give you that extra boost to keep you going!

And remember…  the next holidays will be here before you know it!

Did you know that in 2001 there were more than 300 banana-related accidents in Britain - mostly involving people slipping on their skins? No, we're not joking, it's true!

Well, bananas may be (apparently) slightly hazardous, but they're still delicious! That's why we thought we'd bring you this simple smoothie recipe which contains plenty of lovely banana goodness. We hope you enjoy it - just be careful not to leave the skins on the floor…

Serves 1

Ingredients:
1 large ripe banana, sliced
Half a can of Vanilla Nurishment
150ml (1/4 pint) low fat natural yogurt
6-8 ice cubes
2 tbsp clear honey (optional)
Freshly grated nutmeg

Method:
1 Place the freshly prepared fruit, the flavoured Nurishment, the ice cubes and the remaining ingredients except the nutmeg in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
2 Pour into a tall glass, dust with grated nutmeg. Enjoy!

Close your eyes while drinking this mango smoothie and you'll feel like you're sitting on a white sandy beach in the Caribbean…well, almost. You can even add a dash of coconut rum for that extra special cocktail experience (over 18s only).

Mango Rum Smoothie:
1 ripe mango (peeled and flesh diced)
A dash of Coconut Rum (optional)
Half a can of Vanilla Nurishment
150ml (1/4 pint) low fat natural yogurt
6-8 ice cubes
A few drops of natural vanilla extract
Freshly grated nutmeg

Method:
1 Place the freshly prepared fruit, the flavoured Nurishment, the ice cubes and the remaining ingredients except the nutmeg in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
2 Pour into a tall glass, dust with grated nutmeg. Enjoy!

Here's a recipe for a simply scrumptious summery Strawberry Smoothie.

Serves 1

Strawberry Smoothie:

200g (7oz) small ripe strawberries

Half a can of Strawberry Nurishment

150ml (1/4 pint) low fat natural yogurt

6-8 ice cubes

A few drops of natural vanilla extract

2 tbsp clear honey (optional)

Freshly grated nutmeg

Method:

1 Place the freshly prepared fruit, the flavoured Nurishment, the ice cubes and the remaining ingredients except the nutmeg in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

2 Pour into a tall glass, dust with grated nutmeg. Enjoy!

Chef's Tip:

Select very ripe fruit when making smoothies - they will be at their sweetest and most colourful when blended.

Are you lucky enough to have tickets? If not, why not host an Olympics party – gather your friends, whip up some international snacks and settle in to watch some volleyball, water polo and athletics to your heart's content. Here at Nurishment we like the synchronised swimming – how on earth do they do it?

Did you know that the football used during the London 2012 Olympic Football tournament will be called 'The Albert'? It's based on cockney rhyming slang ('Albert Hall' = 'Ball') and was submitted by Robert Ashcroft from Long Eaton in Derbyshire as part of a public competition. Well done Robert!

We'd love to hear how you'll be celebrating the Olympics in a year's time – keep us posted, Nurishment fans!

With a total of 3,430.5 kilometres to cover and plenty of mountainous inclines to tackle, we can't say we envy them! But while the weather is (mostly) fine, why not do a little cycling of your own to show some moral support?

Whether you cycle for fitness, enjoy leisurely bike rides in the country or commute to work, laughing gleefully as you fly past stationary traffic, there's a lot to be said for this two-wheeled pastime. Whilst hurtling happily along with the wind in your hair, you can strengthen leg muscles, reduce stress and burn calories, all at the same time!

To inspire you even more, Nurishment is offering the chance to win a £500 voucher to buy shiny new bikes for you and your family. Just visit our Prize Draw page and answer the simple question before July 31^st to be in with a chance of winning – good luck!

The sun's out and we've seen lots of people out jogging and playing football in the park, making the most of the sunshine. It's a great excuse to add some fun to your usual fitness routine – grab a frisbee or a beach ball!

If you're out and about getting fit, here are our top tips for exercising in the heat:

• Wear light, loose fitting clothes that let your skin breathe. Try cotton or special materials that are designed to keep you cool.
• Take regular breaks.
• Avoid exercising at midday, the hottest part of the day.
• Avoid dehydration – drink plenty of fluids before, during and after exercise.
• Wear sun cream, even if you're exercising early in the morning or in the evening.

The sunny weather also means it's time for summer holidays, barbeques and fun days out. What have you got planned this year?

This year, two young British hopefuls, Laura Robson and Heather Watson, battled for glory, but unfortunately have been knocked out of the tournament. Laura was defeated by Maria Sharapova and Heather lost to Mathilde Johansson.

Commiserations to them both, but we wish them the best of luck next time!

It's not all over for Team GB, though. Our fingers are crossed for Andy Murray – could this be his year?

If any of you Nurishment fans are lucky enough to be at Wimbledon munching on strawberries and cream, we're utterly jealous – but we'd love to hear about it. As for the rest of us, a cold strawberry Nurishment in front of the TV is almost as good!

Feel free to let us know who you think will be this year's men's and women's champions by posting a reply – we'll let you gloat if you get both right, and we might even send you a coupon for a free bottle or can of your favourite Nurishment flavour as a prize…