Liz Cook prefers to stick to short runs - but that won’t stop her from completing 1000 km this year!

Liz Cook is ready to take part in the Derbion RAM 5 Mile race on Sunday 19^th June. However, for Liz, these five miles through the streets of Derby are just one part of a much bigger challenge: she’s on track to run 1000 km in 2022.

However, you won’t see Liz out running marathons every weekend. In fact, the furthest she has ever run in one go is 7.5 miles. She’s definitely proving that don’t have to be a long distance lover to challenge yourself, accomplish incredible feats, and enjoy all the benefits that running has to offer!

Born and raised in Derbyshire, Liz works for the Derby City Council and is a leader for Spondon Brownies, Girl Guides and Rangers. She’s always enjoyed running and is a co-leader for the friendly small group Derby Joggers, who are part of the Run Derbyshire network. Because she has surgery coming up in early 2023 and expects a significant recovery time, Liz wants to make the most of running while she can.

“With the return of many races and events, I decided that I'd enter all the ones I was interested in and have a "crazy year of running",” she explains. “When I started to add up the distances I would cover, for both races and parkruns, and then included my regular runs with Derby Joggers, I realised that I would be close to 1000km so made it a goal.”

“I'm not a long-distance runner, so to achieve this goal I'm doing 3-4 runs per week. 2 runs with Derby Joggers, a parkrun and usually an event on a Sunday. Occasionally I have had a weekend off where I have only done parkrun and no event.”

The biggest obstacle that she’s faced in her 1000 km challenge so far is balancing running with life - you've heard of work-life balance but probably not run-life balance!”, she says. She also wants to ensure that she doesn’t push herself too hard and end up with an injury.

Liz has three favourite things about running: “meeting people and making friends, the perseverance skills you learn that also help and benefit mental health, and I do love a good parkrun!”

It’s true – Liz does love parkrun. She’s is actually on track to become a parkrun gold level obsessive – someone who completes 50+ parkruns in a calendar year! For Liz, one of the highlights of her 1000 km year has been touring parkruns, “which is a great way of meeting new people and trying different routes.”

RAM 5 Mile is set to bring Liz up to 450 km and she hopes to complete this race in under 60 minutes. The route for RAM 5 Mile is nice and flat, so hopefully she meets her goal. 

Derby Joggers are a friendly running group for all abilities who meet at 6pm on Mondays and Thursdays. They regularly run C25K courses as well as 5k-10k training groups. For more info click here.