Winning woman shares her inspiration

On the annual International Women’s Day, the winner of the Ikano Bank Robin Hood Half-Marathon revealed her Mum is her greatest inspiration for her success. 

Emily Waugh (handicap 0.2), 24, an amateur runner who was a surprise victor in September, wants to empower other women to achieve their fitness goals. 

She said: “International Women’s Day is super important to me, any opportunity to showcase and celebrate all the wonderful women out there is fantastic.

“My biggest inspiration is my Mum. Coming from a single parent family, she has been both parents to me and has worked incredibly hard to allow me to never limit myself. She’s now in her 50’s and still setting her own half marathon personal best’s this year!

“To any amateur runners, I would say find yourself a friend or training partner to enter a race with. The event requires you to train for the distance and this is a whole lot more fun with company.

“Days when you don’t feel motivated to get your trainers on, having someone to meet up with and share your session really helps.”

Competing with seasoned professionals to win the race in September, Emily showcased that hard work and determination can help you achieve above and beyond your expectations.

She added: “I have always been into running growing up, but last year I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone and complete my first half marathon. That was in February and I was instantly hooked!

“The distance is challenging and requires dedication and hard work when training for the event, this all adds to the huge sense of achievement and endorphin rush when you finish!

“The event last year was brilliant, really well organised and the atmosphere was fantastic both before and after the race. The course was challenging with more hills than I was expecting, I particularly liked the section through Wollaton Park which is really beautiful.

“I was surprised about how many supporters there were out there on the streets, the crowd cheers really help when things get tough out there!”

The Ikano Bank Robin Hood Marathon Events will be returning in Nottingham in 2018 and will take place on the 30^th September.

Sign up for the event here http://www.robinhoodhalfmarathon.co.uk.

runbritain training plans for numerous distances and tailored to your focus are available via our Training Wizard here. 

.