success stories
karen hancock
(Economist in the Civil Service)
…From 7 DNSs (Did Not Starts) to 3:16:40, or how I ran my first marathon in 15 years
I must be dreaming, as I have just done something I
truly believed to be impossible….
…I last completed a marathon in 1989, in a time that easily qualified
me to line up on the Elite Women’s Start of the 1990 London Marathon.
I increased my training volume, got injured, and did not start. In similar
fashion, I did not start London in 1991, 1992 and Dublin in 1992. I gave
up the idea of running another marathon. Instead I ran track and cross-country
with some success, and took up coaching. A prolapsed disc and associated
hamstring problems added to my woes in 1998.
Then I met my partner Daniel, who wanted to run London in 2001. I trained with him and advised him, and as our long runs got longer, I began to think I might do another marathon after all. To cut a frustrating tale short, I entered Dublin, then Berlin (twice) and Amsterdam over the next 3 years, and for each one, I paid the entry fee, loyally supported my partner’s great achievements, but failed to line up, having been struck down with more Achilles, calf, hamstring and back problems. My last spell of injury lasted from August 2003 until Christmas, but my supporting skills were finely-honed by then!
I started running again on Christmas Day 2003. By February, my longest run was 16 miles, and I conceived of the plan of attempting Copenhagen in May. At this point, I contacted Elinor – having heard good reports - to explain that I needed help to keep my muscles and tendons in good order. She was marvellous – providing exquisitely painful deep tissue massage to help me survive my training programme – and lots of chat about running and runners to pass the time. Elinor was extremely flexible about time and place of sessions, which helped fit in with my busy schedule, and more importantly, showed a keen interest in my progress and its outcome.
So, here I am – having not only run my marathon (thanks to Elinor’s
body maintenance work), but vastly exceeded my own expectations in terms
of time (I ran 3:16:40 and was 4th lady over 45). As I said to Elinor: “if
you can get me to the start line, I can get to the finish”. Without
Elinor’s skills, I would not have been able to follow my training
plan. And I would not now be feeling I had achieved the impossible and
wondering what my next challenge should be. Whatever I decide to do next
in running, regular massages from Elinor will be an important ingredient
to reduce the risk of injury.