Nickname: Jelly
I’m a 41 year old corporate desk jockey. In 2012, after recently losing about 30kg, my sister challenged me to run the Burnie 10 with her as a way to help keep the weight off. At the time I hated running and couldn’t run 500 meters without having a heart attack but I’m competitive and couldn’t pass up a challenge.
Jelly in the Glenorchy 10k.
Little did I know that this simple challenge would change my life and would ignite a passion for running! Three years on, I’ve kept the weight off and have run countless fun runs including 2 Point to Pinnacles. Now its time for the real deal – a marathon.
So why am I running Cadbury? There are many reasons. I see running a marathon as a lofty goal and I sign that I’m a serious runner and not the hack I think I am sometimes. I also want to bury the idea that I’m still the “fat kid”. I’ve never been athletic or been good at sport and that still dogs me. I want to prove to myself that I can do this. I still remember the feeling when I conquered Mt Wellington for the first time. I can only imagine that feeling will be 100x better at the finish line at Cadbury. I’m also booked in to run the Chicago Marathon in October 2016. I grew up in Chicago so returning back to where I was the “fat kid” and crushing those demons at the finish line will be an amazing experience.
While I’ve got tons of motivation, I lack the running know how on training. This is where the Make Me a Marathoner Program comes into it. I was stoked to be chosen for the program and have got a fantastic training program in place along with heaps of support. I’m 1.5 months into it and haven’t missed a session. I won’t lie and say it’s been easy – I’ve had a few challenges battling corporate exhaustion and nagging self doubt but I’ve got my eye on the prize. I hope to run Cadbury in 4hr 30min or better but hey I’d be happy to crawl to the finish! The longer term goal is to beat my Cadbury time in Chicago and maybe just maybe do an ultra in the future.