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More than 50 runners turned up for the early morning run from Clerkenwell to St James’s Park in bright winter sunshine, attracted by the opportunity to run with Pavey as well as the chance to take part in a competition to win a 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon race place.
After the run, Pavey pulled one name out of the hat in the prize draw to win the place. Sophie Ommanney was the lucky winner, saying afterwards:
“I’ve never run a marathon so I’m really thrilled to have won this place. I only started running this year, but the London Marathon is something I’ve always wanted to do so I’ll have to start training a bit more!”
Ommanney’s boyfriend Rory Campbell also took part in this morning’s training run. He’s a big fan of the variety of sessions that adidas runners offer, saying: “I like training with adidas runners because they offer such a diverse range of sessions and it’s really well organised – the bag drop is simple and convenient and there’s free coffee afterwards. So far I’ve done a hill session, an interval session and this progression run. It’s nice to explore different routes in London and it’s a really fun social thing. I do most of my running on my own so it’s really nice to meet other runners and train with them.
Campbell, who lives in Bow in east London, also admitted that the competition to win a place at next year’s London Marathon was a great incentive to get up early for this run.
Lucy Gorman, who lives in Balham, agreed: “This was such a nice way to kick-start the day; the weather is lovely and it was a beautiful route. I also wanted to come along to take part in the competition for the London Marathon place.
“A group of friends and I are trying out free workouts in London at the moment. It’s been really useful to come along and join the adidas runners’ community because you learn so much. Jo talked about how she works through her training too so that was really interesting.”
Chatting with runners after the session, Pavey said: “I’ve had such a brilliant time this morning. It’s such a treat to run with the adidas runners, and being from Devon it’s a lot of fun to run around central London in the big city with all these enthusiastic people. It’s lovely to hear how they’re all progressing. I love the concept of adidas runners; of everyone getting together to improve their fitness.
“After the run it was an honour to pick one of the runners to win a place at next year’s Virgin Money London Marathon. The London Marathon is such an iconic event; I’ve been chatting to people about it as we’ve run around.”
Pavey concluded by giving any first-time marathon runners out there the following advice: “Start to think about building a base, then introduce variety into your training – long runs that you build up gradually, and an interval session each week. I also think when you are marathon training that it’s important to do a tempo run each week where you run hard for 40 to 50 minutes.
“Finally, make sure you take your rest days and listen to your body because the last thing you want is to get injured. adidas runners cover all of the sessions I’ve mentioned, some early in the morning like today and some in the evening, and I think it’s brilliant if people can come together like this to work towards their goals.”
adidas runners offer two running sessions a week in London, starting on Friday mornings in Clerkenwell and on Monday evenings in London Bridge.
Find out more about how to get involved here.
Source: Virgin Money London Marathon
