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Find Out Why Emily Is Training For The London Marathon In This Month's Member's Story..

Find Out Why Emily Is Training For The London Marathon In This Month's Member's Story..

Hi, I’m Emily and after four years of unsuccessful applications, I've finally been given the chance to run in the 2018 London Marathon! I am so excited, although I'm sure that the day before and the day after the race, I will have a very different view. However, there's no denying that it will be the experience of a lifetime and hopefully, the first of many other marathons to come.

I have chosen to run for a registered charity, the Miscarriage Association, which provides advice and support to women, their partners and families, who have been affected by the loss of a baby before birth. Help is offered on line, by phone or through support groups. Choosing this charity was a no-brainer for me, as earlier this year I myself went through the traumatic loss of a baby. This had an enormous and life-changing effect on me and it was difficult to find the empathy, understanding and reassurance that I needed. I discovered the great work that the Miscarriage Association does and decided that I wanted to undertake what will be the biggest challenge of my life so far, in support of this cause, which is very close to my heart.



I see my friends with their little ones and could not imagine them not being here or being part of my life. It will give me enormous satisfaction to know, if I raise the amount I have pledged (or even more), that this will go some small way towards helping someone affected by a miscarriage to find a way through their loss. I've always loved running and to run this race for such a fantastic cause will be an unforgettable privilege.

I would say that my fitness levels are quite high. I used to run mini marathons and compete in cross country runs as a child, and three years ago I swam the distance of the London Marathon over a three week period for charity. I go to the gym on a daily basis, attend group classes, lane swim and also enjoy long runs out on the roads. I used to compete in athletics at a top level until injury forced me to give this up, but this hasn't changed my determination to continually challenge myself in the sporting field!

One of the main things that has changed for me whilst training for the marathon is that on weekends I no longer do an easy hour-long run around Bushey and Watford. Instead I now endure two - hour runs, which take me into Harrow, Northwood or wherever takes my fancy, and which can completely wipe me out for the rest of the day. But I'm slowly getting used to it! Another thing that has also taken some getting used to is that I am eating more than usual. I've never had a big appetite and I regularly used to try out new diets and weight loss shakes, so having to eat more carbs etc. was difficult. Now I understand that I am actually burning off far more calories than before and the extra food is not having an impact my weight. As a bonus, on the lead-up to my next holiday, I am actually more toned, which is great.

Mentally I know that I can run the Marathon. It’s just a question of building the distance up slowly, so my legs get used to it. A family friend ran this race a few years back and the best advice she gave me was to not actually run the full marathon distance during training, but to build up to achieving about 15-19 miles, as for the last few miles of the actual race, you are purely just running on adrenaline!

If anyone is looking to start running longer distances, applications from potential training partners will be gratefully received!

 Incidentally, I would definitely recommend wearing the same trainers throughout if you can and always wear-in your trainers, as blisters are literally an absolute pain!

If you would like to support Emily in her marathon challenge or you would like to find out more about how the Miscarrage Association works to support people affected, please use the links below.

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=EmilyWilliams95

miscarriageassociation.org.uk/

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