A size 18 woman who set up a blog to document her running experiences to inspire others in the same position has been nominated for a bloggers award.

Julie Creffield began the blog, Fat Girls Guide to Running, in 2012 as she was training for the London Marathon. It began as a way of keeping her friends upto date with her progress and inspiring other plus sized women but the blog has become so popular that it attracts as many as 10,000 hits a month.

Now she has been nominated in the health and fitness category of the National UK Blog Awards 2014. Voting for bloggers ends on January 26. To vote, go to http://www.blogawardsuk.co.uk/

Although Julie, 34, from Cam Road, Stratford, is still a size 18 she has maintained her commitment to running even in the face of the abuse and nasty comments she gets, mainly from men, while she is pounding the streets. She remains undaunted and has even set up @fatttymustrun as her twitter handle after a young boy shouted out “Run, Fatty Run” while she was running in Beckton Park.

Julie said: “ I would love to be a size 14 but I can’t remember ever having been a size 14. Now its much more to do with having a healthier lifestyle, so its a lifestyle choice. It is also about inspiring other people - I get messages from people I have never met.”