A MEMBER of Frome Running Club took on the TCS London Marathon last week raising funds for the Alzheimer’s Research UK, the day after she celebrated her 63rd birthday.
The event was Lynn Brand’s third London Marathon and so far, she has raised around £1,135 for the charity that is aiming to find a cure for dementia.
She completed the 26.2-mile marathon in 4:10:17 and says it was a ‘phenomenal event’. “The atmosphere and crowd support were second to none,” explains Lynn. “I was really pleased with how my race went; I paced it slowly for most of the race and had enough left in the tank to push it in the final four miles.
“My finish time was nearly 15 minutes under my GFA (Good for Age) time, which will allow me to apply for a GFA place in London 2025, so couldn’t be happier! And I celebrated my 63rd birthday the day before.”
As part of her involvement in Frome Running Club, Lynn leads the Couch to 5k programme. She said she took up running 10 years ago when she decided to take part in the Frome 10k for charity. “I was so impressed by the friendliness of the FRC runners I met that I joined the club shortly after. With its support, I’ve taken on greater challenges than I could have imagined and made lots of friends along the way.
“The saying that ‘the marathon is a race of two unequal halves: 20 miles and 6.2 miles’ holds true, so for me, I really have to do the ‘digging in’ for that second ‘half’.
“The highlights of the event are the party atmosphere and fantastic crowd support; seeing so many iconic London landmarks in a unique way; turning the corner at Buckingham Palace and running down The Mall to the finish line. And, of course, the elation that comes with finishing!”
Also running in the event were two other FRC members, Ian Holmes who finished in 3:44:35 and Lizzie Boher, who ran to raise funds for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance and completed the event in 4:36:49.
Lynn said, “We are keen to promote the FRC as a friendly, local support group for everyone whether they are new to running with our beginners/couch to 5k courses; improvers looking for the next challenge; or social runners wanting to run and chat with like-minded people.”
For more information, contact info@fromerunningclub.co.uk
