Virgin London Marathon place update - Netty Colley

26 Apr

All the best of luck to Netty Colley who won the CMRC entry place into the Virgin London Marathon on Sunday.

Netty’s name was chosen at random at the CMRC Christmas Party last year and after getting over the initial excitement, she has been in training ever since

Read her update below as she gets nearer to the big day.

Wishing you all the best luck on Sunday Netty from us all at Cleobury Mortimer Running Club!

I entered the CMRC ballot for the VLM place to be in with a chance of running the Marathon, not for one minute believing that that I would win. When my name was called out, I was completely shocked! It wasn’t so long ago that I struggled to run 3 miles and now I was signed up for 26 of them … in one go!!

I knew that If I was going to do this then I would need a plan. I work better with structure and have got a lot from the Run Well plans I have completed so far. Also having a plan helps keep me focussed; after all, when someone has gone to the time and effort of writing one for me, the least I can do is stick to it!

When my name was drawn, I was already on a plan for the Wrexham Half Marathon, so my official VLM plan started on New Years Eve, a great date for a new challenge! What I have loved about my training is being able to run with friends; Sunday runs with the CMRC ladies and dogs in the forest lead by Shirley; Chatty runs with Kate, Sian and Andrea putting the world to rights and long runs with James and Ben, who are always there to push me just that little bit further and make me laugh while I’m doing it.

The kindness and willingness of people to run with me and support me has been overwhelming and unforgettable. Along the journey there have been highs and lows, achievements and injuries. I was thrilled with my Half Marathon PB at Ironbridge, and New Park Run PB (thanks to Ben and Alan who ran with me, supported me and wouldn’t let me ease up for a second!)

In February though, I came down with a virus, just in time for Wrexham. I felt so ill but ran it anyway; this was definitely the toughest run of my training. Straight after that came down with the dreaded runners’ knee; I was so upset that I couldn’t run and felt that I was letting everyone down. Luckily being fit from running I was soon back to good health and weekly visits to the physio have kept my knee in check and got me back on plan.

Marathon training is a huge commitment; I started my training plan with a real buzz and sense of excitement, but I’m not going to lie, as the weeks have gone on I have got more and more tired, and found it more and more difficult to make myself go out and run, but one thing I have learned and surprised myself with though, is just how determined I can be.

As Marathon day approaches, I veer between excited and terrified! I have put the work in and ‘trust the plan’ written by Jo, my amazing and inspirational coach, but Sunday is a step, or rather, quite a lot of steps actually, into the unknown….

One thing I do know is that there is no way I would even be contemplating this without CMRC. Through the club I have met and made friends with the most wonderful bunch of positive supportive people. I wouldn’t swap this experience for anything.

Sorry if I’ve missed anyone out - everyone has been amazingly supportive….