Our marathon heroes

Karen, Candice and Julie from our office all successfully completed the London Marathon this year. Candice and Julie have shared their experiences with us below:

Candice – First time Marathoner 

Candice’s story is testament to her commitment to following a good training plan and as a result being rewarded on race day.

“London was my first ever Marathon! For the last 16 weeks I have been training with my friend/work colleague Karen we have been on such a journey.

Each Sunday we would meet for our weekly big run although some runs would go to plan others however did not, one of my most memorable moments has to be our last 20 miler where we set off to Timperley and end up getting lost and arriving into Manchester City Centre and having to get a taxi back to our cars!!

Race day seem to arrive so fast and although you train hard nothing can prepare you for the emotions you go through that last week leading up to the race I went from being excited, to anxious and then scared there was plenty of tears that week and even more on the morning of race day I just wanted to achieve my goal of completing the Marathon as it’s been on my bucket list for years.

Once I crossed the start line all the fear and anxiety disappeared the crowds were amazing the support you have all the way round is like nothing I have experienced before. To have random strangers shouting your name giving you encouragement was a wonderful feeling and it kept me going right to the finish line.

I finished in 4hrs 42 and was really pleased with my time this was an amazing experience and a day I will never forget.

 

Julie – our resident Ironman Finisher 

Julie was hoping to break 4 hours and using the race as training miles for her next Ironman event this summer.

“Sunday`s London Marathon was my 8^th marathon and my second attempt to break the Sub 4 Marathon.  After my official time of 3hr 58 at Manchester in 2014 didn’t count due to the course being short.

The first half went really well and although slightly off pace, I was doing ok.   At mile 9, something wasn’t right with my foot.  So I stopped to check it out.

When I got to mile 13 , I asked first aid to look at it for me. Nothing but an inflamed toe , so they strapped it up and sent me on my way.   However, this totally set me off pace and also did my legs no favours due to being sat down for so long and at certain points I wondered if I should drop out.

But running London Marathon is such a wonderful experience.  I had to see it through. I crossed the finish line and happened to come across my work colleagues who were also running.  This was a massive buzz and there were lots of celebratory tears shared.

Even although my race didn’t go to plan, I had a great day on Sunday and met some wonderful people throughout the weekend while raising thousand of pounds for so many different charities.

Running has been so rewarding to me on so many levels.  But most important has been the bond I have made with so many people.

I am not sure what marathon I will run next, but for the next few months I will be out on my bike and in the open water training for my next Ironman event.”

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