Drumroll please
I have been shortlisted for the Women’s Running Magazine Big Marathon Challenge team. I am pretty stunned to say the least. If I make the final three then I’ll be on my way to competing in the Manchester Marathon, receiving top notch training and full kit courtesy of Asics.
I’m in amazing company, the women are all pretty inspirational and each have their own reasons for wanting to run as part of the team.
So, what’s mine? I have tackled two marathons but feel I succumbed to the dreaded wall in each one. That little devil on my shoulder won each time and to finish the thing I had to switch to a walk/run strategy. Physically, I know each time I could have run the whole thing. But that little voice, that seed of doubt in my head took over. I know I can do it. I know I can finish a marathon, running the whole way… I also know there is no shame in using a run/ walk strategy, many runners do it and it’s still a huge achievement to complete a marathon that way. That being said, I have that voice in my head, telling me I’ve failed, that I’ve let down my biggest reason to run… my amazing daughter. She beat cancer at just 21 months and I want so very much to make her proud, to show that I have even an ounce of her strength. Every time I lace up my trainers I think of her and all she has been through and she encourages me to want to be a better me. I want to be a part of that team to get through the marathon in one piece, crossing that finish line, knowing I did the best I possibly could and raised a ton of money for Children with Cancer UK in the process.
