Virgin Money London Marathon Report by Paddy Yarranton-Green

After gaining my place for the London Marathon with CMRC, I decided I needed to seek some sort of advice to get me through my first marathon.

I could no longer wing it anymore, so I sought advice from the fabulous Jo and Andie at RunWell who are able to provide bespoke plans to suit your goals and lifestyle. Jo & I had a chat and came up with a plan to start in October, a little earlier than normal with goals along the way and a few training races.

Training was going extremely well despite the harsh winter months, not the wisest move I’ve made. But all in all I was very productive, I ran a 5km PB at Worcester Pitchcroft in the January, finishing ahead of coach Jo! I believed in the process and it was working. In March came the Half Marathon at Bath with the dreaded Covid looming in the air, uncertain times lurked.

It was my last race before I had to taper for the big one. I ran Bath and gained another PB of 1 hour 40mins. I was in prime race condition. The dreaded news hit, races and life as we knew it would change. COVID outbreak! I spoke to Jo and we arranged plans to train on throughout the pandemic. I also panic bought a treadmill to help with training.

Fast forward 22 months, I eased off training and came off plan and decided to run more socially. This was because of life changes and commitments. But that said I ran MAN VS COAST in preparation, which I completed with my brother in 8 hours 30 mins. I’ve just recently run Tenbury 10km and am running Hereford 10km in September.

I'm so excited about running London, not just for myself but for all the people who have struggled through tough times. I'm living proof you can do anything and there are no limits.

See you all at the finish line. Paddy