Last week I spoke with our Police and Justice Lead Lin Sands as she prepared for the Bath Half Marathon on Sunday 15th of October.

I spoke with Lin to see how the day went.

The first question has got to be, did you finish the race?

I did! I can’t quite believe that I finished. I am shocked really that I actually completed it – I only started running in lockdown and never thought I would be able to run any great distance. I am exhilarated now it’s over.

I finished in 2 hours and 40 minutes which was within my target and now my personal best!

How did you feel the evening before?

I was really nervous the day before and had cold feet about the whole event. I went through a ‘worry’ stage of ‘what have I done’ ‘Why did I say I would do this’ ‘Will I be able to finish’. I tried to relax during the evening and made sure I was super hydrated and loaded with carbs – and got an early night.

How was the day?

Bath is my home town and it was so lovely to be back there with all the familiar landmarks and the accent I haven’t heard for a long time.

The weather was perfect too, sunny, no rain, and no wind to slow me down.

There were 15,000 runners taking place and the atmosphere was fantastic. The marshalls and other volunteers did a great job in handing out drinks and jelly babies to keep us all going and the support from the spectators made such a difference to motivation.

I wore a tee shirt printed with NWG and Link to Change logos on the back along with the QR codes to the donation pages and it was lovely to stop and speak to people about the work these charities do for children and young people. Many of the runners were taking part to raise funds for charities and lots were dressed in uniforms or fancy dress, I don’t know how some of them could run with all the gear they were wearing.

Any low points?

Prior to this event, I had only been running a couple of kilometres at a time and as we set off I thought ‘What have I done’ – but once I got in my stride I really enjoyed it. Oh, and I had an early blister which I could have done without – but I focused on the young people and the donations and kept going.

And the highs?

Finishing!

But what a day – it really was exhilarating and to know I had done it for two great charities made it so worthwhile.

There was a bottle of chilled Prosecco waiting for me at the finish line as well as my medal.

I had a hot bath afterwards and a sports massage this morning and that is probably the reason I can actually walk today!

So is that the start of a new activity for you? Will it be a full marathon next?

I am not rushing to do anything beyond a half marathon but might sign up for other running events to keep me motivated for running and to give me something to aim for and train for.

And the donations?

I have set up a GoFundMe page with a target of £1000 in donations for each of the two charities. It would be amazing to reach that target or even more! The page is still open so I am hoping people will continue to donate.

I would love you to share my GoFundMe page far and wide and please, even if you can donate just £1.00 it will make a difference.

Click here to access my page and help me reach my target.

Scan to donate to Lins Fundraiser

Well done Lin we are all super proud of you