“If you had told me that one day I would be here after I finished the New York marathon with blood pouring down my legs, I would have never believed you.”
But 10 years on from that crucial experience, Alison Jardine is on the verge of becoming one of only 2,500 women across the globe to complete all six World Marathon Majors.
The 36-year-old, from Inverurie, thought she would never run again after her first marathon in 2013 was a “complete disaster”.
She had decided to take up the challenge in New York to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of her friend Garry Herd who died from the disease.
However, the race went “so bad” that she gave up the sport altogether for nearly two years.
Mrs Jardine said: “We’d done various charity events but when the opportunity came up, I decided to run the marathon in New York for him to help other people as well.
“I had no idea how to train for a marathon and I didn’t think it would be that hard.
“It was horrific. I got to halfway and it was fine, and then I really struggled – I had blood pouring down my legs and I ended up doing kind of a shuffle walk jog to get to the end.
“And it was so bad that it really put me off. It was one of those moments that almost break you.”
‘Never give up and never be disheartened’
Always determined to bring things to a head, Mrs Jardine didn’t let this defeat her and joined a running club, Motherwell Athletics, when she moved to Glasgow in 2016.
She began an intense training plan, braving wind and rain every day, to get back on track and achieve the seemingly unachievable.
In 2017, she conquered the London marathon and has since been moving from strength to strength, dropping her running time from five hours to three hours.
Mrs Jardine has now run five world major marathons – including in Berlin, Chicago and Boston – with her last challenge due to take place in Tokyo on Sunday.
The impressive feat—finishing all six Abbott World Marathon Majors – will be rewarded with a Six Star Medal as she becomes one of 8,400 people worldwide to accomplish it.
Mrs Jardine added: “When I started I never thought I was going to go on a six-star journey. And now, to be completing it and doing it in Tokyo, a place I had never dreamed I’d go, is so exciting.
“It’s taken years to get here and a lot of hard work, but it’s incredible to almost be at the end, achieving this.
“And this is the message I want to send to people – don’t give up and don’t be dishearten. To anyone thinking about it, please go for it because you will never regret it.”
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