St.Brendan’s AC members share their personal stories and different experiences of getting fit and embracing new challenges in recent years.
Numbers game – Maggie story
Maggie
I am a mother of 3 and I work full time as a nurse, 3 nights
a week. My running story began in March 2007 when I decided to quit smoking and
set my goal to run Cork City Marathon in June 2007. This was a fantastic event
for me with great sense of achievement at the finish line. I follow up after
such a positive experience and complete Dublin marathon that year in just over 4hrs,
since then I have done lots of half-marathons, 10K and 5K races.
2 years ago, in 2013 to celebrate my 50th
birthday, I decided to do my LAST full marathon in Tralee. I did it in 3hrs
29mins and loved it. It supposed to be my last marathon but the great support I
got on route changed my plans for the future. Few more marathons followed,
including 6 in 2015.
2015 was my best year of running and my greatest
achievements from this year was winning the very challenging (weather
conditions) Brandon Bay Half Marathon in July and also winning the Donegal
Marathon few weeks later (my husband is from Donegal).My most enjoyable
marathon was in November 2015 in Sixmilebridge. One loop 26 times, great
banter and great encouragement on route.
I do not have a training schedule, I like to be active so I
run or go for a walk every day. I will do a few long runs 14-16 miles before a
marathon in few weeks prior to event. I do some cross training too and enjoy a
swim.
Last year I joined St.Brendan’s AC and found it’s great to
be part of a team and proud to be a member of the club which also give me the
opportunity to meet other likeminded people and it’s a great social network
which allowed me to made many friends through running.
I enjoy running and I never had and injury so it’s easier to
maintain fitness required with marathon training. It keeps me fit and healthy
and I can proudly say I am a non-smoker.
I would love to run London Marathon in 2016. I have a
competitive streak in me, so a few minutes off my PB time (currently stand at
3:26) would be a massive bonus. For the rest of 2016, I’m planning few more
marathons including Tralee Marathon as I preferred the longer distances. I did
try 100m sprint but I will stick to the races I can enjoy. It’s never too late
to try new things and challenge yourself.
Maggie
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