27th April 2024
When did you get into running?
‘I started running during lockdown. I was in France doing a Ski season which was cut short. I came back home and started running as there wasn’t much else to do. I did some athletics and Cross Country at University (Bristol) and entered the Bath Half Marathon last year. I did it in 1:41 which was a PB for me.
I’d entered the London Marathon ballot three times and never got in so, when I saw there was a club ballot I thought I would give it a go. I’m so glad I did, it’s been an amazing experience.
How did the training go?
I used an App which had a 4 month marathon training plan. I ran a bit with some friends at Uni but mostly I followed the training plan and did most of my training on my own. I would do two interval sessions each week, one easy run and one long run. My longest distance in a week was 75k.
My longest run was 34k which I did with a friend. I also did long runs of 32k and 30k. I didn’t get injured at all during the training. That really helped.
Tell me a bit about raising over £5,000 for British Heart Foundation.
Unfortunately my dad had a heart attack in October, it was just before the club ballot in November so, when I got the place, British Heart Foundation was the obvious charity to raise money for. Mum’s really good on social media and I had loads of support from friends and family. We raised £5,500 in total.
What was race day like?
I went to London on the Friday to pick my number up. My parents came up on the Saturday and we stayed at a Premier Inn. Mum came to the start at Blackheath with me which helped calm my nerves a bit. I wanted to run sub 4 hours. I ran past the 3:55 pacer and went through the half in 1:49. I felt great at that point.
I got to 16 miles and thought – ‘oh wow, 10 miles is still a long way to go! The last 10k were really hard. By then I knew I would finish in under 4 hours though.
There were lots of friends cheering me on at around 23 miles which was brilliant. I crossed the line in 3:43. It was really emotional. I was in a bit of a daze and ended up walking around trying to find where to pick up my bag.
Eventually I met up with everyone. My Dad said ‘have you got the bug now? I told him no way! But then, the following day, I thought yes, that was amazing. I think, maybe, I will, run another one. I’ve started looking at marathons in the Autumn this year!
