"It's going well." Our Marathon runner Paul gets ready for the big day
Paul from Kent clocks up the miles as he gears up for the London Marathon.
Paul from Kent clocks up the miles as he gears up for the London Marathon
This April, father-of-two Paul will face down 26 miles of London tarmac to raise £2,000 for Blood Pressure UK. He hasn’t taken the challenge lightly, training four times a week all year. Every week brings a challenging long run on Sundays, and he’s begging to feel it.
From 6 miles in January, he recently reached 18 miles mark before tapering down before the big day.
“We did over 18 miles the other day but I have to admit it nearly broke me .... my body is starting to complain in all the wrong places now! I’m getting more disciplined now and building in more stretching and core work to deal with the inevitable niggles.”
The hard work isn’t all for nothing. Paul was diagnosed with high blood pressure when he was only 47. After years of high readings which he put down to normal ups and downs, his numbers reached a staggering 206/140mmHg. He spent a few months in denial about his health, but knew he couldn’t ignore it any longer.
Inspired by his two teenage daughters who are both accomplished athletes, he picked up his old love of running. With medicines and training, his blood pressure is under control and he’s looking forward to 28 April – Marathon day.
“It does feel good to do all this exercise and I am 100% confident I will have a good run on the day. I find my blood pressure is much lower in the evenings after I have done a very long run so this is a welcome side effect of all the training. It’s going well, tiring but good!”
Paul has been training with his wife Jill who is running for the Royal Osteoporosis Society. We’ve been overwhelmed by their dedication to their training to support people with high blood pressure and osteoporosis and can’t say thank you enough.
You can sponsor Paul through Virgin Money Giving. Thank you so much for your support.