Meet your Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon Motivator, Niall

Niall, who works at independent record label, Melodic Records will be running the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon on Sunday 12^th May with his sister and fellow Marathon Motivator, Paige.

Alongside his incredibly active sister, Niall will be drawing motivation from his bandmates as they try to navigate training around the hectic lifestyle of a touring musician.

We caught up with Niall to hear about his running journey so far and what he hopes to achieve.

1. Who or what encouraged you to start running?

I started running in the hope of getting fit whilst attempting to re-ignite any footballing ability I had in my early teenage years and playing Sunday League again. It turned out that I preferred the running around to being kicked in the shins!

Like you hear a lot, it went from something I felt I had to do to keep fit/lose weight, to something that I really enjoyed.

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

A lot of what I enjoy about running is the routine. I like being happy to get out of bed early for something that I enjoy, rather than resent. Each time I overcome the urge to stop, and go on to complete a run is my favourite part of running.

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

I work at a record label in Manchester called Melodic Records. Commuting daily from Dewsbury means early morning running is my only opportunity to squeeze any miles in!

I'm also a musician, playing drums in a few bands. The touring lifestyle doesn't lend itself too well to keeping fit, but a number of us in the bands run and try our best to keep up with it whilst we're away.

4. How do you stay motivated to train?

Strava helps a lot, seeing my friends keeping up with their runs motivates me. It helps if you enjoy it too, it doesn't become a chore. My sister is also a running machine, so seeing her up at 5am finishing a crazy long run leaves me with no excuse!!

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

This will be my first marathon, so training for it and running in a respectable time is my biggest goal!

To follow Niall on his training journey, and to help keep him motivated use the #MarathonMotivators. You can track his progress, or use it to share your own!

Entries are still open for the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon. To sign up and find out more click here