Nia runs the London Marathon for the NSPCC

My friend Nia Jenkins is running the London marathon next month, in aid of the NSPCC.  I caught up with her to find out how preparations are going, and what made her get involved in the marathon. Please sponsor her at her Virgin Money Giving page, she really appreciates every donation, so if you can spare a pound, please do.

 http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/NiaJenkins

What inspired you to run the marathon?

I started volunteering for the charity last year and at the same time the charity were looking for people to run the London Marathon, so I said yes!! It was as simple as that! I have always had an active sports life but I was never a big runner, I was a gymnast for 9 years so running was a big change for me and it took me a while to get used to road running and dealing with the sore legs and bum the day after!! By now I can run 10 miles no problem; if you had asked me to do that a year ago there would have been no chance!!

 

Tell us why the NSPCC is important to you.

The NSPCC is a very important charity to me and is very close to my heart. My mam has worked for them for about 10 years and I always used to admire her for that. Raising money to help save children's lives really is rewarding and I couldn't think of anywhere better to spend my free time and spare money.

Describe your training regime?

I have been training for 11months now but in the last 2 months my training has become a lot more intense! I usually run around 35-40 miles a week, spreading them out to 6 days a week (so I have one day a week to rest!) I usually do 5 mile runs every night mid week, day off on a Saturday, then a 10-15 miler every Sunday.

I haven't changed my diet that much, as I've always been quite healthy anyway, but I have been 'carb loading', that means that my diet includes more carbs to give me energy and I also eat more protein now to help the recovery process. I won't be drinking ANY alcohol now until after the race, it shocked me how much alcohol can affect your training stage!!

When are you going to London - what will the weekend involve?

I will be travelling down to London on Saturday April 20th and I'm not planning on doing ANYTHING that day but be lazy and chill out! I will need to have a high carb and protein meal that night and an early breakfast including carbs on the Sunday morning! Then it's time for the race, aaaarrrrggghhhh!! I'm lucky to have some amazing friends who will be there to cheer me on and then I'm sure we will be having a 'few' celebratory drinks that evening in London! :)
I'm hoping to finish the race in 4.5 - 5 hours!

 

Good luck to Nia and we will catch up with her after the marathon.  In the meantime please donate at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/NiaJenkins