Kelly Holmes set for marathon challenge
Twelve years after claiming her Olympic 800m and 1500m titles in Athens, Dame Kelly Holmes is using another Olympic year to embrace a new challenge in the form of the Virgin Money London Marathon.
The British middle-distance running great, who also took 800m bronze at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, is set to make her 26.2-mile debut in the British capital on April 24, but why this year?
"I suppose there are a few reasons. If I was ever going to do a marathon it was always going to be the Virgin Money London Marathon," she told AW.
"I thought to myself, I feel like I need a challenge, a personal challenge, and this is a huge one for me.
"If I make changes in my own life I tend to see that I do them in big years, Olympic years. So obviously I won my medals in 2004, I started my own charity (the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust) in 2008 and I’ve got to that period in my life where I’m thinking, what do I want to do next?
"It was to get back into the world of running and fitness and wellbeing. I figured while I know I’m fit enough to actually give a good challenge, it’s Olympic year – let’s give it a go."
First park run done.Nice to not been seen at start-jumped in as everyone set off. Cold muddy but inspired by others pic.twitter.com/i4t0LFdktL
— Kelly Holmes (@damekellyholmes) January 23, 2016
With British record PB times of 1:56.21 and 3:57.90 for 800m and 1500m respectively, fans are keen to find out what time the 45-year-old might be targeting for her first marathon, but Holmes, who has run one half-marathon for which she clocked 87:21 last year, says it is too early to tell.
"I literally started preparing for this marathon on the fourth of January when I decided I was actually going to do it and I have no idea," she says. "I did download a programme just to have some guidance on how to up the distance but that’s it, so I am a complete beginner when it comes to this.
"I’ve been 11 years retired and I haven’t purposely gone into competition because I don’t want to be judged against what I used to be when I was a full-time international athlete," she adds. "It’s different. I do it now for lots of reasons like other people - to hopefully raise a lot of money for charity, it’s a personal challenge to actually see if I can do it and there’s a health and fitness benefit."
Holmes has set herself a target of raising £250,000 for five charities through her marathon challenge. See uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/KellysHeros.
