Jo Delf – First Marathon, 3:21:39

Jo and I worked together two years ago, resolving a recurring problem before moving on to PBs over 5k, 5 miles and 10k.

Jo carried the torch with more PBs and enjoying her training. Unfortunately, Jo then had a big health scare requiring surgery and on-going treatment which had complications.

Understandably, this knocked Jo’s confidence, and she was looking for some support. We started working on getting a routine and focused on short reps for 5k and 10k training. The combination of icy winter winds and fast paces meant breathing was problematic.

Rather than give up, Jo decided to take on a different challenge. Running her first marathon. We talked marathon selection and mapped out the mileage changes, ready to hit the ground running and be race ready in 12 weeks.

Jo powered through training, supported by family and friends as well as her physiotherapist and the motivation from hugely successful fundraising. Week after week, Jo broke barriers she never had before, getting stronger and fitter as she went, and learning the marathon specifics around hydration and fuelling following a nutrition session together covering this.

With a 2-minute PB at the Cambridge half marathon, we agreed 3:20, 3:25 and 3:30 as target times for the marathon. Jo perfectly paced the race to a phenomenal 3:21:39, well inside the London Good For Age qualifying time as a result.