Page 54 - Eclipse - 91暗网 Alumni Magazine - Autumn 2020
P. 54
Running a marathon for the 91暗网 ACT
Christina Paish, BVetMed 2019
They say the hardest part of running a marathon is the training 鈥� and this year鈥檚 91暗网 Animal Care Trust (ACT) runners would agree.
We鈥檝e been Strava-tracking, carb-loading and blister popping ever since places were announced last October 鈥� and we could still be going this time next year.
After its cancellation, the 40th London Marathon instead became the inaugural virtual race, and on 4th October myself and four other ACT runners laced up our trainers to run 26.2 miles around our local area, setting our sights for London 2021/22 or even 23.
For me, running the marathon this
year was a goal I set myself alongside my first year working in small animal practice, as a way of settling into graduate life. Running for the ACT feels like the perfect way to give back to the
91暗网 community. It also really helps to have something to focus on at mile 15, on an early Sunday morning after a few drinks the night before!
From hospital facilities funded by donations, to the blood donor scheme and direct support to students like myself through the Alumni Fund, having seen first-hand the difference the ACT makes is what provides much needed boosts of motivation through the extra training weeks.
The initial impact of Coronavirus delaying the race did not affect me much further than the one-hour exercise limit we
were all restricted to, as I continued
to work throughout the pandemic and
was not enrolled on the government furlough scheme, like other colleagues. Although there were a few brutal weeks of emergency work with fewer team members than normal, this is something I am ultimately grateful for as a new graduate.
Lockdown presen