Conquering the Bournemouth Half Marathon

Suzanne Whitton • October 3, 2016

Some of you will know that in 2014, we committed to raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. Over the year, we completed various events as a company and some of us took on personal challenges. By the end of the year, we had raised a total of £5188.33.

Although we had officially finished our year of support, some of us wanted to continue raising funds in an ad hoc fashion. Gareth Love, one of our Regional Managers, completed the Bournemouth half marathon yesterday. We wanted to catch up with him to find out how it went…

What made you sign up for the half marathon?

I’ve always been a part-time runner; I would go out maybe once a week for a 5k. It was really mid-July when I started to get a bit more serious, running 2/3 times a week. My sister than got me into the Park Run, a weekly timed 5k run, run by volunteers. The Poole Park Run is one of the biggest in the UK.

The Park Run was a great start. With a PB to try and beat each week, I guess this is what got me doing more and more. Surely it makes sense, the more I run…the better/quicker I’ll get?

As I was getting quicker, my sister asked if I would enter a marathon. Obviously I politely said ‘no’ but she sent me the link anyway. I noticed that there was also a half marathon. I entered myself and regretted it immediately – 13 miles is a long way!

What kind of training did you do before the run?

I signed up at the end of August, which gave me just over 5 weeks to train. Training sessions were upped to 4 times a week, running 10k plus each time.

Why did you choose to support Macmillan?

Macmillan is a charity I am familiar with through our fundraising as a company and with the works they have done in people’s lives who I am close to. They do such a fantastic job in the lives of people living with cancer that it really was a no-brainer.

How did you feel during and after the race?

Being cheered on throughout the race was fantastic. Sometimes the cheers came from friends and family but with my name being printed on my shirt, it meant that anyone could cheer me on – it really gave me such a push when I needed it.

Completing the half marathon was a great achievement. It is the first time I have punched the air after completing a race.

I think the only downside to having completed the race, is the fact it is over. On the upside to this, I have the bug for raising money for charity and pushing myself, so there will be more events going forward. Perhaps even the marathon next year. Watch this space.

How much money did you manage to raise?

I have so far managed to raise £450. My target was £515. So to be just £65 off is a great achievement. Saying that, anything I raised would be going to such a worthwhile charity and there’s still time to sponsor me if anyone would like to!