How it all started…

I’ve always wanted to run a marathon. Ever since I was little I imagined running in the stadium in the final event of the Olympics, to the cheers of tens of thousands of supporters… Of course, I quickly realised the Olympics were (slightly) more on the unlikely side than likely side, but I still wanted to run one. Then things got in the way and as the years went by and my fitness went down I’d pretty much given up on the thought of ever being able to run a marathon.

Then my friends Chris and Lynne joined a running group in which they trained for a half-marathon. Mel & I had dinner with Chris afterwards to hear all about it, and somehow by the time we’d finished dessert Mel had managed to convince Chris to do another half-marathon and me to do my first, and that we’d be training 2 or 3 times a week to do it.

Anyway, that’s how it all started back in May 2008. I really had no idea what to do, but I told my friend Jane in Guernsey (who I thought was crazy having recently started running) that I was as crazy as she was having started running myself and signed up for the Dartford Half Marathon!! Her husband, Paul, soon sent me a running schedule to help me build up from 0 miles to 13.1 miles in 10 weeks.

So a quick trip down to The Jog Shop for some shoes (my then runners were several years old and well past their used by date!) and off I went, a la Forrest Gump…