London Marathon runners raise over £14,000 for Brooke

Running a marathon has always been on my bucket list and, as a lover of horses and a supporter of Brooke, I knew I had to run it for them. Brooke is brilliant at addressing the root causes of the suffering so it deserved my support. Somehow, the hardship endured by working animals pulled me towards running a marathon with all the hard work I knew it would involve.

I’m a single parent of two young boys and I also run my own business. With a horse to keep fit and a dog to walk as well, spare time is definitely limited but I already run three to five miles a few times every week, and I’d run a half marathon before. Fortunately, working from home meant I could fit the training around other commitments.

My longest run was 20 miles, which I did four weeks before the big day (in accordance with Brooke’s running plan). I did a lot of work on the cross trainer and rower, and some core fitness workouts and weights. I also ate well and drank less booze (the hardest part) as I wanted to recover quickly afterwards.

Knowing you’re doing such a great thing makes you feel good inside, but it was an emotional roller coaster and tears while running were a regular thing for me. Thinking about the poor animals I was helping and the pain they were suffering really helped to keep me going, and got me moving on days I struggled with motivation. I knew they didn’t have the choice of working or not. Also, I was coming back to a lovely, comfortable home – they weren’t. Eddie Izzard’s recent accomplishment also helped to keep things in perspective: if he could do 27 marathons, surely I could do one!

Fundraising was fairly easy, and I managed to raise just under £2.5k through Facebook, texts, emails and a few posters in livery yards and riding schools. The JustGiving link in my email signature worked well and meant I never had to deal with any cash.

On the day of the marathon the weather was perfect for running: dry, cool and clear. I completed it in five hours and 32 minutes - slower than I’d planned but I ran all the way which was the important thing. My fella and my oldest son, along with his friend, came to support me. My youngest son was on a rugby tour but he watched it on TV. They totally loved it: the buzz, the experience, it was great. As a parent and their role model, this was a pretty good thing for them to see me doing.

Despite being overtaken by rhinos, bananas, blind OAPs and men carrying fridges, I’d recommend it to everyone. I’m still polishing my halo!