For those who don’t know, I completed my first marathon in Valencia in December 2024, and a week later, found out I’d got the club’s spot for London. That gave me a ‘generous’ buffer of a month off before training started again. A few people have kindly asked me how it’s going, so I thought I’d give you all an update!
Firstly, I’m finding motivation pretty difficult to muster. The thought of running London is spurring me on, but my desire to leave the house is slim. I’m largely blaming the weather. I dislike running in the cold; it makes my asthma worse and coupled with the fact I feel like I haven’t seen the sun in years, it’s safe to say I’m greatly looking forward to the clocks changing. That being said, once I’m up and out it’s not been too bad, and I’m pleased to say that (so far) I haven’t missed a run yet. The friendly faces at track, the social run, and bumping into other Hoops out on their Sunday runs really makes my day. This time around, I’ve come to appreciate that training for a marathon is a marathon in itself. My in-house coach Luke K often reminds me that running rewards consistency, and that mantra has helped me endlessly when it comes to getting out of the door when it’s icy and cold.
In terms of actual running, I’m enjoying the challenge my second marathon is presenting, and I’m slowly starting to see the rewards of that consistency. Like most of the club, I entered Fred Hughes 10 Mile and forgot about it, so I hadn’t really thought about what my plan was, other than it would be more fun than doing a long run by myself. I started with Emmie, Lisa, and Nadia and I was shocked that I was able to keep up with them all and enjoy it. We had a good pace group going and it was lovely to have a chat and distraction too. I ended up running over a minute per kilometre quicker than I’d planned, and PB’d my 10K somewhere in the middle. This means my goal posts for London are still a bit hazy, although the ‘A’ goal is to enjoy every second. I’m generally running quicker than I ever have in my life, which I still can’t quite believe, so I’m excited to see where the next 10 or so weeks of training take me.
In the next month, I’m looking forward to longer, warmer days (hopefully), and seeing how my body handles adding an extra run each week. I’ve entered the Humber Half Marathon as a tune up, so I’m excited to run around my hometown and hopefully have some cheerleaders from home who can’t make it down to London in April.
Since London is the biggest charity marathon in the world, a lot of people have asked me whether I’m raising money. Whilst there’s no obligation to fundraise through the club spot, it wouldn’t feel right to run London for the first time and not try to raise money for one that’s close to my heart. I work for the charity Age UK Camden, and we’re responsible for raising all our own funds, so I thought who better to fundraise for than a charity I know first-hand makes a huge impact on the lives of people in our local area. If you’d like to find out more or donate, it’s all here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/roma-londonmarathon
Thanks again to everyone for keeping me motivated so far. After years of entering the ballot, I’m so excited to finally run London. I never thought I’d join a running club, never mind run a marathon for one, so I feel really proud that I get to do this in my Hoops and represent the club.