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Katie's Love 100 km run for FMA UK

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Category: General Information

Published on Friday, 02 September 2016 14:08

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Katie Love has run the South Coast Challenge 100K (60 miles) as her auntie lives with fibromyalgia. It was Katie’s first such a great challenge and she has exceeded her own expectations: she has won in the woman’s category and came second in the overall run. We congratulate and say a big thank you to Katie!

Katie shared with us the experience: ‘’Great news is that I finished and not only that I ended up coming 1st in the women's category and 2nd overall in the two-day challenge!!! Don’t ask me how, I’m just as surprised as you are but I can honestly say what an experience!!! It started with an extremely nerve racking 7am start at Princes Park in Eastbourne with the beautiful weather getting hotter and hotter by the minute. Over the Seven Sisters towards Alfriston, Southease and then onto Hove were I would finish day 1. It was a toughie and would be a milestone by running past my furthest distance of 24 miles. I completed the sweat bucket, unrelenting muggy day 1 of 33 miles at 2.30pm. Surprisingly my body was ok (touching every bit of wood I could find), however the test would be later on that day.

Day 2 started very early at 6am from Hove. I was feeling extremely sore and wasn’t feeling 100%.With my mind all over the place on how the day was going to plan out my confidence lacked, however I took a deep breath and focused on the day ahead. I knew I wanted to finish and as the saying goes "Run if I can, Walk if I must, Crawl if I have to, but never give up. 

Surprisingly I started off from the front and never saw a running soul again, I sang my way through the first 5 miles listening to many inspirational songs (they will be kept anonymous!), 10 miles in and I was still feeling ok but the body started to react and I had to channel it. Still going strong (must have been the tuna pasta bake the night before), I had been going so well until mile 45-46 which seemed to drag on for a light year and I really struggled eating anything but had too as needed energy. Back on track, more grit and determination, 20 miles down only 10 to go.... I can do it and I will, by this time my tendons and ligaments felt as if they were ripping from the bone and my insides felt as if they had a round with Mike Tyson but I had come so far and I wasn’t prepared to give up. Last pit stop 5 miles to go ... I was going to do it, every step , every bump became agony but I did it, the sense of achievement was out of this world , I had just ran 60 miles with very little training and only ever doing 24 miles before. It was amazing!!

Thank you to everyone for the support and I hope I have helped raise awareness’’.

Katie xx

To contribute to Katie’s JustGiving page and to support our work please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Katie-Love6