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Jackie: For this week's podcastsinenglish.com we're talking about running. With me is Jemma. Hi, Jemma.
Jemma: Hello
Jackie: Now Jemma, you're not a professional runner but I know that you take running very seriously...
Jemma: Yes
Jackie: ...and I know you actually have done a marathon, haven't you?
Jemma: I have, yes. Many years ago I have to say. Um... in 1994 I actually did er... the London Marathon. That was my first and to date the only marathon I have ever done and it was a fabulous experience, I really enjoyed it.
Jackie: Tell me about the training that you had to do for that.
Jemma: Well, I sat on the settee at home and I watched in 1993, I watched the marathon and I said to my husband, “I'd really like to do a marathon”. So I applied and I... fortunate enough to be accepted so throughout that whole year I gradually increased the amount of miles I was running each week so through the year I did three half marathons, which is 13.1 miles, and that led me to being fit enough to do the London Marathon the following year.
Jackie: It must have been an amazing experience. How... do you know how many people took part that year?
Jemma: I can't remember that year. It...it was still quite early on in the er... the popularity of running. It's certainly much, much bigger now. But it was the biggest race I had ever run in, it was just a sea of people and I just remember running under Tower Bridge and past the Cutty Sark and there were bands playing and I had my name on my t-shirt so all the children would call out your name and give you sweets and things like that so the atmosphere was fantastic and the crowds in some places were about five or six people deep even, you know sort of fifteen years ago so it was, it was amazing I don't think I would ever forget that. It was fantastic.
Jackie: So... so do you think all those people calling out your name, that kept you going?
Jemma: Oh yes, very much so, yes, I mean it was lovely, 'cos they would say, “Go Jemma, go on, well done.” And just that encouragement, when you're feeling quite tired and your legs are really feeling a bit heavy just to have people calling you by your actual name makes it much more personalised; they're not just cheering anybody, they're cheering you specifically so that made a big difference because obviously I didn't have family with me, I was just running it by myself so that was lovely, yes.
Jackie: How did you feel when you crossed the finishing line?
Jemma: Well, it was very emotional actually because it was such a sense of achievement and I was so proud of the time that I'd run it in. Um...
Jackie: Can you remember how fast you did it?
Jemma: Oh, I was four hours twelve minutes. [both laugh] You never forget the time of your first marathon. So I was very pleased with that and I never hit, they have a term called 'hitting the wall'...
Jackie: Right
Jemma: ...where if you haven't trained properly or if you run out of energy you really find it difficult to even walk let alone run and I never felt that. I felt well throughout the whole of the run, I ran continually and didn't stop.
Jackie: Fantastic. You've just done um... a race recently. What was that?
Jemma: Yes, well, I was very pleased to have done the Lisbon Half Marathon, er... just yesterday and that was fantastic. I hadn't run a half marathon for quite a few months. I did... I'd done one at home in November and this was my first one actually abroad, that was lovely.
Jackie: Well, fantastic Jemma and long may you keep on running.
Jemma: Thank you very much.
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