Warwick Ward Receptionist Completes Boston Marathon

On Sunday 15th April 2018 Fiona Davies, receptionist at Warwick Ward, ran the Boston Marathon UK in Lincolnshire. This was the 6th marathon for the 44 year old Rotherham Harrier, and she finished 1st woman and 8th overall out of 532 competitors in a personal best time of 2:50:39, beating her previous best time from 12 years ago by over a minute. She brought celebratory cakes to share with the staff. Next year she plans to run the London Marathon. We'd like to say a massive well done to Fiona and she has written a report herself - enjoy 

 

I am 44 years old and have enjoyed training hard and racing regularly for the last 15 years. On Sunday 15th April 2018 I competed in the Boston Marathon UK. It's the second time I've run here, winning the women's race in the inaugural event in 2016 in a time of 2:54:36 after having a 10 year break from marathons. I came 4th overall out of 142 competitors. It was a lonely race and I ran most of the way from mile 5 on my own, the next person being two minutes ahead. This time gained me an automatic championship entry for the London Marathon the following year, when I ran an almost identical time of 2:54:48 and was 2nd woman in my age category (40-44). I received a beautiful trophy and a cheque for my efforts.

 

This Spring I have trained harder than ever, doing most of my training while my children are at gymnastics or dance club. I calculated from my training and recent race results that I should be able to run the marathon at 6:30/mile, which is 10 seconds per mile quicker than the previous two years. I decided upon Boston in Lincolnshire again because of its very flat course profile and lovely quiet country roads where I could focus on running at a controlled pace without too many distractions.  The weather was dry, sunny and mild, and these are perfect marathon conditions although it was a little breezier than what I'd hoped. The first half of the race went well and I had other runners for company. At 14 miles I was slightly ahead of schedule with an average pace of 6:27 per mile. The inevitable tiredness had set in by 20 miles and my average pace had dropped to my predicted 6:30 per mile but I was still on target. Miles 23 through to 26 were very tough indeed.  Everything hurt and I had to dig deep to maintain my tempo. Thoughts of all my hard training in the prolonged winter we've had pushed me on. There was a large crowd near the finish and I knew my family were among them cheering me on. I crossed the finish line in 2:50:39, 1st woman and 8th overall out of 532, beating my previous personal best from 2006 by well over a minute. 

 

Next year I plan to run the London Marathon again when I will have moved up into the 45-49 age category. Until then there will be plenty more challenges! Thanks for reading. Fiona