Mum-of-two prepares for London Marathon

Dawn Whiting, 40, of Clarence Road, St Albans, has joined a group of mums across the district who are all running the London Marathon.

The PE teacher has never run a marathon before but this year she decided it was the right time to do the 26.2 mile race.

She said: “It will be my first marathon so I'm excited but very nervous.

“It is something that I have wanted to do for a long time. I turned 40 at the end of last year and I thought if I don’t do it now I might not be able to.

“The training was quite difficult. It is more about trying to fit it in than anything else. I work and have two young children. It was hard to fit the training around my life.

“I was trying to follow a training programme for about 17 weeks. I think it gets harder as the higher mile goes.

“It’s difficult to motivate yourself to go on a three hour run especially if you are running by yourself which is what I was doing.

“I would sometimes get my husband and children to come cheer me on.”

Mrs Whiting is one of a number of mums from St Albans who is running the marathon and they have all become virtual friends through Facebook.

The mums all support each other through the training and Mrs Whiting said they give each other motivation to get through the training.

The mum-of-two is running the marathon for Anthony Nolan – a charity set up in 1974 which helps match individuals willing to donate their blood stem cells or bone marrow.

Mrs Whiting said: “I wanted to run for a cancer charity as both of my in-laws died because of cancer.

“When Anthony Nolan contacted me saying I can run for them I knew I had to do it which was another motivational push.

“I wanted to run for something that means a lot to me. People have said the London Marathon is the best one to do because of the atmosphere.”

Mrs Whiting is hoping to raise around £1,950 and is currently only short of about £60 but she is hoping she will beat her target.

Any donations can be made at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/DawnWhiting