Page 36 - QARANC Vol 20 No 2 2022

36 The Gazette QARANC Association
Personal
best times
in Fleet Half
Marathon
I have been with 208 Field Hospital approximately four years. In civvy street I am an Emergency Department (ED) nurse at the Royal Preston Hospital, but also work a few shifts at Blackpool ED, and when I get a bit of spare time, I also do First Aid Cover at the Winter Gardens.
When the Half Marathon was posted to gather interest, I put my name down as I enjoy running and it’s something different to do with the Army. A good bunch of people were also in the team – Sergeant Dani Scott, Sergeant Sarah O’Connor and Corporal Matt Rutherford. However, none of us were half marathon runners.
On the build-up for the event, I did minimal specific training and mostly carried on with my normal training focused on shorter distances and 10K.
It’s hard to train around an ever- changing shift pattern, but even when you are exhausted you just dig in and get on with it. Some people assume it comes naturally however there is a lot
of training I do behind the scenes as my age is now definitely against me.
When the big day arrived, the team travelled down the day before and stayed in Aldershot, the home of the School of Physical Training, which seemed appropriate. The Army event was running within the Fleet Half Marathon which gave us a lot more
competitors making it a little less lonely when out on the course.
The event had been running for many years, proving very popular and ran very smoothly. Everybody took a spot in their respective waves and off we went.
There was fantastic support from the locals whilst running which always helps give the extra boost. This was reflected in the teams’ results. The girls managed to gain overall second fastest female team. I also managed overall fourth female and smashing my personal best (PB).
Sergeant O’Connor also destroyed her PB only days after completing an ultra-marathon. Sergeant Scott kept on bringing the results with a ninth overall in the female military category getting exceptionally close to her PB.
Cpl Rutherford didn’t disappoint with being seconds of his PB and finishing in the top 50 males. This was a fantastic opportunity, and hopefully we can do the same next year with an even bigger team.
Corporal Belinda Houghton QARANC
(L–R) Corporal Belinda Haughton, Sergeant Sarah O’Connor, Sergeant Dani Scott and Corporal Matt Rutherford