surrounded by an incredible amount of supporters, she soon realised how big it was!
“The heat made it really challenging, and I swore to myself Iwould never do a marathon in the spring again - but passing the finish line was a testament to all the support I received before and throughout the race which is worth more than achieving a PB.
“The feeling of being carried around the course by the other runners and the supporters is not overrated! The London Marathon has made me want to try more challenging local multi-sport events to push my comfort zone further on the trails.We’ll see what the future holds!”
Stuart and Carolann Main:
Husband and wife Stuart and Carolann from Peterhead found out they were running in the 2011 Virgin London Marathon in July 2010, in aid of Fertility Scotland after Carolann had successfully raised nearly £2,000 for the same charity during the 2010 event.
“For the first time, Iwas in the green start with Carolann” explained Stuart, who had waited on the course for Carolann last year as they had started off in different pens.
“The green start was great – it was amazing to see so many of the celebrities and it was a very relaxed start which was good for our nerves!
“The marathon itself was an amazing experience, more so the second time around as we both started together. The heat was unreal but we did it and loved every minute. We even knocked an hour off last year’s time which was amazing.
“Being part of such a big event is something we will treasure always. The opportunity to raise another £3,800 for Fertility Scotland was worth every blister, ache and pain!”
Phil Humphreys:
“On Sunday 17 April at 2.15pm, I achieved a lifetime’s ambition in completing the London marathon.
“After seeing various doctors and specialists, I was diagnosed with Sarcoidosis 18 months ago, a condition nobody knew much about. I was told there were generally three outcomes. 1) People had it and it went away, 2) people had it forever and it would come and go with no adverse effects, 3) could be fatal in extreme cases.
“Panic set in. I had already stopped exercising and I added gallons of coke and handfuls of snowballs to my diet. My weight ballooned. So I decided to fight my condition through fitness and started running.
“At the jogscotland 5k challenge in Edinburgh I spotted people wearing jogcowdenbeath t-shirts and so I joined up! On my application form I had to fill in my aims and ambitions. I laughed as Iwrote down ‘to run a marathon before I’m 40!’”
As the weeks went by, Phil’s fitness improved, and the more his fitness improved, the more he kept thinking about marathons! So he entered the ballot and got lucky!
“It was a great experience.While Iwas training for it, the advice, support and encouragement I got from my Jog Leaders and fellow jogscotland group members was fantastic. And now that I’ve been given the all clear from my specialist, I’m looking forward to my next marathon, and maybe even an Ironman!”
great strides 33
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