CLAIRE
PRICE
Age 55
From Whitchurch, near Aylesbury, Bucks
Big Marathon Challenge To get off her pace plateau and
get her marathon time under four hours, while raising
money for Wheel Power, a local charity
Day jobs Practice manager for a physiotherapy centre and
works evenings in Waitrose
Twitter: @ClairePrice2017OFFICIAL
PARTNERSClaire had applied to be on our Big
Marathon Challenge team last year, for help
running her first marathon in Manchester,
but wasn’t successful. Undeterred, she
applied again this year in the hope of getting
some help breaking out of her pace rut.
She ran an impressive 4hrs 15mins last year
but now she hopes to break four hours at
the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon,
followed three weeks later by the Virgin
Money London Marathon.
How’s your training going?
It’s going OK at the moment. I can’t say
it’s going really well, only because of
Christmas, work commitments and family
commitments. It’s my own fault, I take
everything on board and I have to do
everything, which is my error. My husband
isn’t able to drive at the moment so I’m
doing everything, and I haven’t
got the hang of online shopping
yet! I’ve also been poorly, I’ve
had a cold, but it was probably
the relief of Christmas being over and
I’ve got over it, but now I know I need to up
my nutrition massively and concentrate on
that. Because that’s one of my weak spots, I
have to eat more; I have to eat better and at
optimum times.Has anything come as a surprise to you so
far about your training plan?
I’m loving it! Because it’s not just running,
it’s all the differences; the interval sessions
and the Kenyan hills, which I thought I
would absolutely hate but I just love it. It’s a
new challenge.How does it differ from how you would have
trained yourself?
I suppose the effort that I’m having to put in.
The concentration – it’s not just going out
and having a run. I’m pushing myself.How have people reacted to you being on
the team and have they seen you in print?
They love it! They’re really supportive about
it. Yes, they have seen me in print, a lot of
people – they haven’t taken up running yet
but I will get them all there!What are you finding most difficult about
your training?
The time. Fitting it in. I went for a run last
Wednesday, which I don’t normally do
between my two jobs. And I went to my
second job and saw my friend and she said,
“But I’ve just seen you running!” and I went,
“Yep!” It’s just squeezing everything in but at
least the days are getting longer now.How are your fundraising plans coming on
for Wheel Power?
They’ve taken a bit of a backseat to be
honest. I didn’t want to bother people
over Christmas and push them
because they’ve got enough to
think about, and no money, so
I think at the end of January
I will start really pushing. I’ve
got some ideas of how to
raise the money.How did you find the shoe
fitting at the ASICS Store?
I’ve done it before, and I found it really
interesting, but my expectations have been
turned on their head by what they’ve found.
What the physios have told me in the past,
and the physio on our assessment day said,
was that I was weaker on my left side and
I’m supposed to overpronate more on my
left side and actually it’s my right side! I’m
going to be in the ASICS Gel Kayano and
they’re really comfortable, so I’m looking
forward to that.THE COACH’S VIEW
Claire had a wobble with some lurgy but she’s
OK now. She’s training well and consistently. She
ran a solid 3 x 8mins off 90secs at threshold in
our session, and was maybe a little over-effort at
the end of the session. She’s well on track. Claire
can be a little harsh on herself sometimes
(wrongly as she does really well!).Follow the team’s
progress on Twitter using
#BigMarathonChallenge- and don’t forget you’ll find
your own Big Marathon
Challenge plan starting
on page 34!
womensrunninguk.co.uk MARCH 2017 91