Amelias Marathon Story

Amelia Mullins shares her marathon experience as she claimed a club record when running 26.2 miles for the first time.

“Back in the spring, I was enjoying the increasingly long weekend runs along the Cotswold Way with Gavin, who told me he had entered the Abingdon marathon. As a distance runner the marathon has always seemed the ultimate goal, and the idea of a smaller, more local event appealed to me much more than the lottery entry and crowds of London; before I knew it I had entered too. Armed with a 20 week training plan from club coach Chris Hale, Gavin and I gradually increased our weekend long runs, with 6 of these being over 20 miles and the longest 24 miles. On the day, this preparation significantly helped both physically and mentally.

“The morning saw almost perfect conditions with very little wind and cool but not cold temperatures. There was a friendly atmosphere amongst those assembled behind the start line at the track in Abingdon. The course wound its way alongside the river, through the town and into the countryside. There was great support from locals, marshals and most enthusiastically from my ‘army’ of family supporters, who managed to see me 3 times along the route. Having kept up a good pace together for 19 miles, Gavin unfortunately suffered from cramp in both calves. I pushed on towards the finish, working hard for the last few miles and managing a slight negative split. I was elated to cross the finish line in 3:31:34, with Gavin following soon after in 3:40:57.
“It was a very positive experience, I enjoyed the training, most of the race itself and the satisfaction of achieving my goal time. I would thoroughly recommend Abingdon as a friendly, local, low-key marathon through attractive countryside. I’m not in a hurry to do another one … but never say never!”

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