On 27th April, Holly Brown will be running the London Marathon to raise money for Greener and Cleaner 🏃♀️ We caught up with her to find out how her training’s going and why she selected us as her cause.
Hi Holly! Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hi, I’m Holly and I live in south London. I’ve just moved back after four years in Australia on secondment for my job, which was very exciting, but I was previously a south London resident for six years before then. I work at a consultancy company in our sustainability practice. It’s been fab and really exciting – a completely different career path for me in the last year. I moved into a sector that I felt passionate about and was aligned to something I was interested in.
You’re running the London Marathon this April for Greener and Cleaner. Is this your first go at the London Marathon?
It is my first go at the London Marathon! I’m very excited. I’ve done a couple of marathons before – I’ve done Sydney a couple of times, Dublin and Paris – but nothing like the London Marathon. I go out and support every year and the level of support around the course is unrivalled, so I’m super excited to be part of that atmosphere.
How’s the training going?
Training is going well. It’s hard to fit it around work but I’m enjoying the long runs on the weekend and there are some beautiful routes near me. I’m really enjoying running down to the river and running along Barnes, Putney and back across the bridge and looking at some beautiful houses en route. I’m trying to run four times a week at the moment – twice at the weekend and twice during the week. It’s quite the ramp up from not doing too much before! But I’m following a running app on my phone, which takes all the responsibility and planning out of my head and just tells me what to do, which has been great.
Do you have a goal time in mind?
I’m just going to focus on enjoying it. I really just want to enjoy this one, soak in the atmosphere, soak in the crowd, soak in the beautiful route, so I’m really just doing it for the fun and enjoyment. And also for all the post-run carbs as well! That’s another selling point.
You’ve chosen to fundraise for Greener and Cleaner. What made you pick us?
I think it’s a fantastic charity. I love a community-based charity – I think they’re the ones that can really drive the difference in the local area. I’m in the sustainability work space, so it’s an area that I’m super passionate about. I think it’s great what they’re doing at the London marathon this year too – the number of wasted clothes, shoes and tracksuits at the start line always horrifies me every single year.
What is the best thing about being involved in the London marathon?
The carb-fest afterwards is great… but I actually really like the structure to the training. I like having something to look forward to and plan at the weekend. Planning the long routes has actually been quite fun – I’m arranging it so I can finish at a different coffee shop every time and meet different people for a coffee at the end! I really like telling myself that I have to go out for a run and actually giving myself the time off to do something I enjoy.
Good luck, Holly!
To donate to Holly’s fundraiser, please visit her JustGiving page here.
Greener and Cleaner volunteers will be hard at work at this year’s marathon to ensure as much material as possible from the event is recycled or reused. If you’re out supporting, look out for us at the waste management stations.