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Former Sports Stars Face Their Toughest Challenge
Anna Watkins may be a world-beating Olympic gold medallist, but the former
rower believes that this Sunday's Virgin Money London Marathon will be her
toughest challenge yet.
Watkins, who will be the official race starter alongside her double-sculls
teammate Katherine Grainger, will make her marathon debut just six months
after giving birth to her son, William.
"I was three months pregnant when the London Marathon was on TV last year,"
said Watkins. "At the time I felt like my body was being taken over so I
was looking for something I could do after the pregnancy that would make me
feel like me again.
"Running a marathon is so far out of my comfort zone that I know I'll feel
a huge sense of achievement when I cross the line on Sunday, but it hasn't
been a smooth ride.
"Being an Olympic champion gives you great confidence and bags of
self-belief, so six months ago, when I started training, I thought to
myself, 'How hard can it be to run a marathon?'
"Then I started training and discovered that even though my fitness is ok,
I'm pretty heavy on my feet - like a lot of rowers - so my joints have
taken a pounding and I'm expecting to suffer on Sunday, but I think that
shared feeling of doing something tough for a good cause is going to carry
me through."
Like many runners making their marathon debut on Sunday, Watkins will be
running to raise money for charity. "I lost my father-in-law to cancer just
after the Beijing Olympics so I'm running for Macmillan Cancer Support."
Former footballer Michael Owen will also use his marathon debut to raise
money for good causes. Owen is running for three charities - Alder Hey,
Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and Prostate Cancer UK - and hopes to
finish in under four hours.
"My main reason for running is to raise money for charity, but when I was
thinking about retiring from football at the end of last season, I wanted
something to aim for," said Owen. "I wanted to train for something and the
marathon seemed like the perfect event to target.
"I've spent my life trying to improve my speed and power for sprinting, so
training for a marathon has been a big challenge, but I've really enjoyed
it and I'm looking forward to the race, especially as I've done all my
training on my own."
Retired rugby player Lewis Moody echoed Watkins' words, saying his inflated
sense of confidence has been a hindrance rather than a help during his
marathon training.
"Like most former sports stars, I have a healthy belief in my own ability
until I go out and try a new sport," said Moody.
"I did 20 miles for the first time a few weeks ago and had a full-body
meltdown. The experience made me realise that I need to readjust my target
time by about an hour.
"I did a half marathon in 1:38 and naively thought I could just double that
time for the marathon, but I think I'll probably finish in just over four
hours."
Moody will be joined on the start line on Sunday by another rugby legend,
the league player Keith Senior. Having made a record 560 Super League
appearances in his career, Senior today admitted that he's focusing on the
mental challenge that lies ahead.
"My body felt broken before I even started training but on the day it's
going to be more about mental than physical toughness," said Senior. "An
OAP power walker raced past me when I was out training, which didn't do a
lot for my confidence, but I'm confident I will make it to the finish
line."
Marathon veteran James Cracknell offered the debutants some words of advice
ahead of the race. "When you're running a marathon you have to rely on
yourself, and only you know what you're capable of," he said. "So only you
will know if you've given it your all."
Sky Sports presenter Charlie Webster is no stranger to giving it her all.
Webster will run her fourth London Marathon on Sunday, but it will be her
second big challenge of the year - at the end of January she ran 250 miles
in seven days and raised £75,000 for the charity Women's Aid.
"Running the London Marathon is an extension of that challenge and I'm
hoping that by running on Sunday I'll increase the total I've raised to
£100,000," she said.
Find out more about the other celebrities and former sports stars running
the 2014 Virgin Money London Marathon here.
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