Beverley’s name was pulled out of the hat for our London Marathon club ballot place and in her own words she was “very very excited.”
Well, despite swearing she would never do another marathon, and having fully embraced track and field in 2025 (Sheila Bolland Masters Athletics Winner nonetheless), Beverley has committed to her marathon challenge.
“I swore I’d never do another one because two marathons are enough for anybody,” she said. “But I also did say that if I was to do another, it would have to be London because it’s so iconic.”
So, with London locked in, she sat down with her coach to look at plans and see how training could be adapted to her lifestyle, commitments and capabilities.
The plan kicked off with a gentle 2 mile easy run on the 23rd of December, but there was a Panda Mami all-you-can eat buffet to demolish first preceded by a tour of The Punchbowls of York.
So training actually started 24 December, but since then Beverley has stuck to the plan in every way. “So far, I’m actually enjoying it,” she said. “The secret is to believe in the plan.”
Beverley already has a 10 mile “longrun parkrun” under her belt and is looking forward to the Brass Monkey and a full month of January training. She promises to check in again next month to let everyone know how she’s getting on in terms of mileage and feelings.
“I’m sure in the meantime I’ll see some of you along the way and maybe ask for some help,” she said. “Because I really don’t like to run on my own – luckily there are crowds in London. Let’s hope I’m still smiling like I was on Run 1.”
