London Marathon from helper to runner

Cotswold Allrunners member, Angie Ayling, is running the 2010 Virgin London Marathon in aid of the Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre, Higys Heroes.

Angie had been one of the great baggage lorry helpers, which get your kit back to you at the end of the marathon.  Rest assured they are armed with vision, that spots your racing number from a great distance and by the time you reach one of the 90 Kit Lorries, where the familiar sight of your own possessions to be handed back to you is quite wonderful.

 Inspiration is ….. 
 “Giving an 80 year London Marathon 
 finishers their running kit back at the finish line” 

As with such any big event, and certainly with the London Marathon, the 3rd largest participant sporting event in the world, the atmosphere grabs you and gives you a massive adrenaline rush.  This was case with Angie Ayling of Cotswold Allrunners as she helped on a baggage lorry at the finish line in 1999 & 2000, seeing people aged 80 and over coming to collect their kit bags from her.

“This got my mind thinking, I wonder if I could do it”, explains Angie remembering her feelings at the finish line in the year 2000 and decided to enter the 2001 Flora London Marathon“.

After the shock of getting a place in the London Marathon, training began and fortunately in the village in Kent where Angie lived, a friend who was an experienced runner, ran with her on all the long runs necessary to complete the 26.2mile event.  After months of training, Angie finished in an impressive 4hrs39mins.

“I had hoped to repeat my performance, but London Marathon is a difficult event to enter, but I continued my training with my friend until I moved to Gloucestershire in 2004″ explains Angie, “but then in 2008 I got a place again”.

    entering the London Marathon isn’t easy  

A fellow head teacher at a nearby school, Lisa had also got a place, “We both trained and ran the marathon together and finished in 4hrs46min, 7 minutes slower than I had been in 2001, but then I was 7 years older”, says Angie

In 2009, Angie joined Cotswold Allrunners a newly established club that has regular meetings in Nailsworth, just 2 minutes  from where she lives.  After 6 months of solid running and entering various races around the county of Gloucestershire, such as the Pilot Inn Fitness Runs she decided to give the London Marathon another go, “This year, I have a charity place with the MSRC and I hope that my training with the club will enable me to finish in as good a time as before – perhaps even 4hrs 30mins. However, I do not want time to be the most important thing, I simply want to enjoy the experience as I don’t expect to do it again”, she says.

     I simply want to enjoy the London Marathon    

“Angie is a very determined lady and always turns up at training when her schedule allows, irrelevant of weather conditions.  I intend to help her to the best of my ability, so she can achieve what she deserves and that it is an enjoyable marathon, but also finding her fitness and running limits”, explains her coach Simon Barnes, “I wish her all the best, but I know she is going to put everything in that is required for a marathon and she will feel exhilarated when she gets her Kitbag back from a lorry by  a volunteer, who may follow in her footsteps and run 2011 Virgin London Marathon.

To support Angie, please visit herJust Giving Page http://www.justgiving.com/Angie-Ayling or
contact Abi at the Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre, abi@msrc.co.uk