Meet Marathon Motivator, Ellie

Ellie, 25, originally from Hull, but now living in York started her running journey around five years ago as a way of getting fit. 

Ellie was inspired by Rob Burrow MBE and his journey living with MND which led her to take up long-distance running. 

"Running never came naturally to me but I found a love of this wonderful, inclusive sport and I’m so excited to share my journey and hopefully help some people even in the smallest way in the lead-up to the event."​​​​​​​

To find out more about Ellie and her motivations for training, check out the below. 

1. Who or what encouraged you to start running?

I started running in 2018 using the Couch to 5k App. I had never ran before in any capacity and I was always the kid at sports day who never wanted to join in or stuck at the back, but fast forward to 2018, my friend had just begun training for the London Marathon for charity and it inspired me to begin my running journey. I would recommend C25k to anyone! 2020 encouraged a whole new level of challenges however with me finding the love of long distance running. I am a lifelong Rugby League fan hence I was inspired initially by Rob Burrow's MND Diagnosis and subsequently Kevin Sinfield's challenges, running two half marathons for MNDA and the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon to raise funds and awareness for the cruel disease.

2. What has been your favourite running experience so far and why?

My favourite running experience so far was running the London Marathon in 2022, this was my first marathon and the roar of the crowd and running arm in arm surrounded by so many people running for incredible causes was inspiring. There was a moment where I hit the wall at Mile 22 and the sheer kindness of everyone, especially one woman who scooped me up and managed to carry me through until I felt right and carried on. That will always stick in my mind as a moment of true kindness and the true spirit of running a marathon.

3. What do you do in your spare time and how does running fit your lifestyle?

I work as an Accountant day to day so fitting running in is sometimes difficult but something I try to prioritise as part of my routine but something I have definitely had to learn to manage through our busy periods. In my spare time,  I am an avid sports fan especially Rugby League with a season ticket for my favourite team as well as a keen theatre goer. Sunday is consistently my long run day and I try to get out as early as possible so I can still enjoy the rest of the day. As the mileage rocks up for marathon training, I find myself waking up early and getting out before work so I can manage my schedule better and try to prioritise getting as much sleep as I can. 

4. How do you stay motivated to train?

I try to always remember the amazing feeling after a run and look forward to those endorphins! Being completely transparent, running got me through some really tough times and I found solace in it as it was a way I could dedicate time solely to myself where I was fully in control and be able to take in my surrounding. I find that having a structured training plan helps keep me motivated, I look forward to having an end goal and something to work towards. I find ways to keep myself accountable too, whether that be Instagram or Strava, or going out with my local running group. I run with an amazing group called ‘These Girls Run’ which is a super inclusive, lovely running group.  But I try not be too hard on myself if things don't always go to plan, the key is bouncing back and coming back into it with a smile on your face!

5. Do you have any running goals that you would like to achieve in the future?

In future, I would love to achieve a marathon PB, my current PB is 4:56 and I would love to one day achieve sub 4:30. Maybe even one day going further than a marathon as scary as that sounds at the moment! But the key thing for me is trying out lots of different races and getting to explore the country from the love of running!