Member Inspiring Story – Caitlin – A Marathon Challenge
We love hearing your marathon stories and so we were really pleased to hear from member and instructor, Caitlin. She will be a familiar face to many of you as the leader of our junior dance class every Tuesday and as a cover instructor for our Les Mills Balance and Combat programmes, which she recently led us through brilliantly at Fitness in the Bubble 2026 (pictured below). She’s also a regular attendee at many of the Les Mills classes we run each week. A keen supporter of our activities Caitlin is also involved in our 12-hour Charity Classathon in May – team teaching two classes: Gently Active Party and BodyBalance Medley (thank you Caitlin!).
Whilst Caitlin is super fit and very active, she would be the first to admit she’s not a born runner, so “pounding the pavements” isn’t something that comes naturally to her. However, she’s always wanted to run a marathon before turning thirty and with that birthday milestone coming in June, she managed to secure a place in the London Marathon at the end of April. Caitlin is fundraising for a cause close to her heart – Alzheimer’s. Her grandad passed away from this cruel illness when she was eight and she is hoping that the money she raises will make a difference to the research Alzheimer’s UK are doing and the support they can offer to those who are suffering.
She has certainly needed this motivation to keep her going as her training programme has suffered quite a few setbacks since January. Developing a chest infection early in the year that took a long time to shift and a foot injury, she’s really had to channel her motivation when hitting mental blocks with some of her runs. But she is powering through and is back on track after successfully completing the Oakley 20 (miles!) in March, sharing how tough it was because of the hills and no headphones allowed. Hopefully London will be an easier run with the thousands of spectators creating that world famous atmosphere – and it’s certainly flatter!
Caitlin has been doing a mixture of training, using the treadmills in our gym and then road running when it’s dry. She did share she’s a very fair-weather runner! But she has also focused a large part of her training on recovery and supporting her body to run this distance, and she wanted to thank our PT team for their support and advice, particularly with regard to stretching and the power of the foam roller!
We wish Caitlin all the best on 26th April and hope she has a successful, injury free run and achieves a time she’s pleased with.
Her page should you wish to donate and help her hit her target, can be found here.
She did it! Well done Caitlin! Massive achievement!
