About Christina
Christina says: I've always been sporty - when I was younger, I was a club swimmer, and took up running so I could enter an aquathlon. I then started running cross-country at school, and realised I had potential when I won some of the races. My husband has always been into distance running, so we did the Rome Marathon together in 2006. I really loved it and went on to do my second marathon in London last year.
This year, I want to reach my potential and learn exactly what it takes to achieve sub-3:00. I want to approach my preparations more scientifically – up until now I've been running on how I feel, without a watch. I'm looking forward to making the most of the resources available – learning about proper nutrition and of course, Paul's mentoring. Paul's already helped me highlight key sessions in my schedule, and we'll work together to fit my running and racing into my lifestyle.
I'm looking forward to getting stuck into the forums to share Paul's training tips and enjoy the community input and support too. I promise I'll share both the highs and lows with everyone - whatever they may be!
Paul says: Christina has been running for the past 22 years so is no stranger to the rigours of training on a regular basis. She ran 3:13 in fancy dress in 2008 - this proves she has the capacity to run a sub-3:00 marathon. From meeting and exchanging emails with Christina, it is very apparent she is very organised and will start her 16-week build-up on January 4 from a good base.
However, it's important that we don't get too carried away: the key is to try and get Christina training consistently for the whole 16 weeks. She has formulated a very good but demanding race programme
so making sure she gets enough recovery between races - while keeping to her schedule and avoiding injury or illness - will be one of our main challenges.
Christina works from home so can be flexible in her training, which was music to my ears. I'm really looking forward to working with Christina, and helping her achieve her goal.
