This April I’ll be undertaking my 1st London marathon, a goal I’ve been working towards for over 5 years. I’ve decided to raise money for Trinity hospice in memory of my Mum and in recognition of the amazing work they do.

I first entered the London marathon ballot in 2017 following a break from running after my Mum passed away. I was just starting to get back in to running and decided to challenge myself having not run much more than half the distance. I was rejected from the London ballot but I was determined to complete the distance so I decided to enter Manchester marathon instead. 

I completed Manchester marathon in 2018 and due to my finish time I managed to qualify for a Good for Age place at London. I then fell pregnant with Josh so I deferred my London place to 2020. Training was going well but 5 weeks before the race we went into lockdown. 

Because I’d already deferred my London place once, I lost my Good for Age spot so I decided to re-qualify by running Manchester marathon again in 2022. My training indicated that I was not only capable of obtaining a Good for Age spot but that I should be able to achieve a Championship qualification time of sub 3.14. However, having avoided covid for 2 years I managed to get it 2 weeks before the marathon, I was really poorly with it and although over the worst it certainly impacted my performance on race day. I finished 20 seconds over the required time. I was determined not to give up so the following month I ran Manchester half marathon in 1.26, 2 minutes under the Championship qualification time. 

So here we are, another year on and finally ready to face my first experience at London. I wanted to mark the occasion by raising funds for this much needed charity. They have helped and continue to help so many families and I wanted to give something back. I have faced so many obstacles and challenges in the road to get here, it hasn’t been easy but this goal has always remained. I’d love to be able to talk to my Mum about my marathon journey, we spoke pretty much every day, I know she’d be supportive and will be with me every step of the way.

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