Age: 34
Occupation: RAF Aircraft Avionics Engineer (currently Typhoon)
Years Running: My first race was the Sleaford Half Marathon 2010. Before I started training for that I did no exercise whatsoever.
Favourite race: The London Marathon is a must do for all runners. I ran it in 2013 and although I didn’t have the best of races I really enjoyed the whole experience.
Least Favourite Race: The Milton Keynes Marathon was pretty poor – the course was far hillier than advertised and it was just underpass after underpass. More locally the Belvoir Half stands out for me. It’s clearly a race organized by non-runners to make maximum profit so I’ll avoid that one in future.
Why did you start running? I started panicking about turning 30 and a mate of mine inspired me by running the Edinburgh Marathon.
Injuries received?: I had 3 months out in September last year due to a ruptured hamstring tendon right where it meets the inside of the knee. Turns out the root cause of the problem was that I have flat feet. I now wear orthotic insoles whatever I’m doing.
Furthest Distance ran?: I’ve never gone further than a marathon which I’ve done seven times. After
running the Stanley (Falkland Islands) Marathon in 2012 my Garmin showed 27 miles but I put that down to the wind blowing me sideways all the time.
Trainers worn: : I’ll try anything for day to day running but I race in New Balance 1400 flats.
Top tip from your experience: Keep a log/diary of all the miles you run and have it visible to you in your day to day life (such as a calendar). It can reassure you or adversely give you a kick up the backside to get out of the door.
How many miles do you run per week? I have a weekly running target of 32 miles but I normally go a couple of miles over that. When there’s a marathon coming up it can rise to over 50.
Favourite Running Kit? It’s not really running kit but I’m a massive fan of Strava. I upload everything from my Garmin onto it and I love all the geeky stats it gives me. I also like to see what all the other GRC runners are up to.
Other hobbies? I’m partial to a bit of wine, beer and gin tasting – often during the same night. But as far as cross training goes I do very little. I just run.