Born Free Foundation - Keep Wildlife in the Wild

Below is a 1st hand account of what it is like to be part of our 'Run Wild' team from Kate Liddiard, who ran an impressive 2 marathons in 3 weeks...

"Running 2 marathons in 3 weeks, that was the challenge that lay before me.  Some would say that I was a little crazy, lots would say that I had completely lost the plot but I secretly knew that I could do it! The training had all gone well and I had done a couple of extra long runs so I was happy with the mileage leading up to the first one…The Virgin London Marathon.

I ran this a couple of years ago for Born Free so I knew more or less how I was going to feel on the day. It is one of the most amazing experiences of my life! The atmosphere is electric and all the encouragement that you get along the way is mind blowing BUT there is still only one person that you can rely on to get you round and that is yourself.

As I approached mile 12 the hairs on my arms started to stand up with the anticipation that I was going to be seeing my amazing family and friends in a few minutes and in the fleeting seconds that I saw them for I felt like an Olympic athlete! I started to struggle around mile 18 knowing that I had come so far but there was still so many more miles to run but I broke it down and the thought of once again seeing my family at mile 24 and knowing that I would nearly be there got me though.

Before I knew it I was running down the Mall and even managed to bump into one of my friends from my running club, Ware Joggers, with 200 metres to go so crossed the line with her. I think the first thing that I said to my family was that there was no way that I could do another one 3 weeks later!

They all know me far better than that and 3 weeks later I was lining up on the start line, with several members of Ware Joggers, of the rather smaller Halstead Marathon. 750 entrants as opposed to 35,000. In my head I knew that I had to treat this as more of a rather long Sunday run and this is exactly what I did. A group of 8 of us ran round the course together and we when the going got tough we started to sing songs beginning with the letters of the alphabet to take our minds of the pain we were feeling! We even managed to stop at mile 20 for a group photo of us in front of a beautiful patch of bluebells.

6 of us crossed the finish line together and I felt on top of the world and so proud of my achievements. Thank you to Born Free for giving me the opportunity to run for them and for their support and encouragement. I know that the money I have raised will be put to great use."