“I was halfway through my training for the marathon when I injured my knee. I went from training nearly every day to not being able to walk. I was demoralized and worried about my ability to finish the race, let alone start it.”, Charlie Matthews tells me.
Her goal was to run her first marathon. And she did. Injury didn’t stop her. On the 22nd of April, she was one of the 40,255 runners that finished the 2018 London Marathon, making the 38th edition of the race the biggest in its history.
“When I crossed the line, I burst into tears from the sheer relief that I had finished it and from the immense amount of pain I was in. After getting my medal, finding my family and sitting down I really began to appreciate what I had done and I was incredibly proud of myself”.
Read more about the inspiring journey of Charlie in order to achieve her goals. She has a “number one tip” to give to those planning on running a marathon.
How was running London Marathon 2018?
The London Marathon was amazing. Training all the way through a freezing and wet winter to then get to the start line on a boiling hot day was very nerve wracking and seeing so many people needing medical attention on the way around was quite scary. But the crowds were incredible and pushed me through the pain and although I can’t say I really ‘enjoyed’ it, I managed to get myself a good for age spot for next year so can’t wait to do it all again!
How Body Logic Health has helped you in this journey?
Body Logic Health massively helped me. Initially I was nervous about seeing a physio as I didn’t want them to tell me I couldn’t run, but when I went to Body Logic Health that was not the case. My worries about not being able to race were put to one side as with the help of Terho, I worked on not just fixing the running injury but building up the correct muscles, so it would not happen again. At BLH I felt in safe hands and initially had regular sessions, up to 2 a week. However as my knee improved these became less frequent so that I could continue checking I was still on track. Without the help of BLH I am unsure that I would have made it to the start line, and if I had then it would not have been with the confidence I could finish the race, let alone get so close to my target time on such a hot day.
What do you recommend for anyone planning to run a marathon?
Slowly build up your miles. This is the number one tip I was given and one I didn’t listen to! It is much more important to remain injury free than to do high mileage every week.
Also, no matter what time you finish in, be proud that you did it!