My story starts as person who has never been a runner and not actively playing sports for few years…well since University Badminton days to be precise

Until one day, London Marathon Day, 2011 in fact, inspired by so many heartwarming stories, I started running. My single ambition was to reduce weight and get fitter. So I started a program called “Couch Potato to 5k”. It was planned to take 9 weeks.  Day one was hard (and I’m not joking) but it comprised “running” for 1 minute, then walking for 90 seconds which was then repeated 8 times. So I managed actually 8 minutes of running…. but I completed it, running for all the allotted time.

And so I had begun, three times a week and started loving it. Each day was difficult but I just made sure I ran for the full time and always running on the committed day.  So fast forward, having ran 5K in <34 minutes, 10 kg lighter and some long distance runs (max 10 miles so far) I got confirmed a place in the Amdocs NSPCC team.  

I now have a 22 week training plan and by the time it comes to marathon day I will have covered 568 miles and spent a large number of early morning or late evenings to be ready.  My ambition is simply to finish and in doing so raise as much money as I possibly can for NSPCC with your generous support.

My biggest critique, my daughter (8, going on 18!) has named my style as “huffing and puffing” but to balance this she has also heaped praise on me as well with such sound bites as “OK for someone your age” and “much better…for a new runner” or “You are looking thinner”.

With such praise to boost my training I am signed up for the Brighton Half Marathon in February for an intermediate test so that should be interesting!