Thinking of doing a Marathon in 2016? We catch up with Laura after she finished the Bournemouth Marathon…
To all of the wonderful people who have supported me with kind, encouraging words and generous donations, I wanted to say a massive thank you for helping me raise over £1400 for Muscular Dystrophy UK.
I ran the Bournemouth marathon on 4th October in a respectable (first) time of 3:50:27 and loved every minute of it!
It was a brilliant day, the sun was shining which made for a beautiful back-drop once we escaped the town and got to the coast. There was plenty of support along the first 18 miles as there was a lot of “out and back” so people could stand in the same spot and see runners several times. I was lucky to have a mini mob that came out to support me including my enthusiastic 6 year old son who blew a trumpet for 3 hours! I could hear him at least 10 minutes before I could see him!
I felt really strong for the first half and then began to feel tired as the sun kept shining, the wind kept blowing, and the hills kept coming! Although I had dutifully completed hill training sessions in the build up (you do well to avoid hills where we live!) I don’t think I was mentally prepared for the amount of climbing that I encountered. I had naively assumed a coastal marathon would be a flat one.
However I persevered and never once considered stopping or doubted my ability to finish. As I approached the last mile I managed to speed up and even managed a sprint finish (in a meta fit style “final round THE FINISHER” effort)!
As I crossed the finish line I couldn’t contain the overwhelming emotions I had controlled all day. The gratitude for those that had supported me, pride, happiness, euphoria, excitement, tiredness and sadness that it was all over. I cried and laughed at the same time as I was sent along a line towards the medals and reunion area. This was one of the best days of my life and one of the most surreal.
The experience was profound and certainly hasn’t deterred me from doing it again and I would highly recommend any one to give it a try. The whole process is amazing and requires a huge commitment from you and your loved ones in the emotional and practical support they offer you.
Which leads me back to a big thank you! For every word of encouragement and every donation that kept me steady and able to complete my training and run a marathon!
P.S. My fundraising page is still open until 4/01/16 www.virginmoneygiving.com/laurabaldwin (wink wink nudge nudge) Laura Baldwin.
Thanks Laura: If you feel your Body-Torque classes are helping you prepare for a challenge in 2016 and you’d like us to share your journey with our members please let us know!