Tracy Ratcliffe

I'm taking part in the TCS London Marathon as part of #TeamStroke

I am the very fortunate recipient of the club ballot place for Rushmere Community Runners for the TCS London Marathon 2024. I have decided to join #TeamStroke to raise money in memory of my dear mum who passed away in July 2023 after suffering from a stroke. My mum was always very supportive in my running achievements and this seems the perfect way to pay tribute to her.

There are over 1.3 million stroke survivors in the UK, with 100,000 strokes happening in the UK each year. That's one stroke every five minutes.

The Stroke Association supports people to rebuild their lives after stroke. They believe everyone deserves to live the best life they can after stroke, so work with the stroke community to make sure people affected by stroke get the very best care and support. They rely on your support to provide vital services, campaign for better stroke care and fund research into preventative and rehabilitative treatments.

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My Achievements

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My updates

Mission Accomplished ✅💜

Tuesday 23rd Apr

Wow! What an amazing day! Completed the London Marathon in 4.33 with the fabulous Maria Huntley. 🤩💜🏅

We ran the race without stopping or walking which was the aim but that was basically thanks to Maria who encouraged me the whole way around. Massive thank you to our support team. The purple army was out in force and we saw both our families.

The donations to the Stroke Association made a big difference to me and I’m nearly at £2000. Thank you to all the superstars who have donated. I had my mum on my mind the whole time and was very emotional at the end.

Feeling very proud. 🤩

Taper Time

Monday 8th Apr

With two weeks to go, this is probably my last marathon training update! I can’t believe after all of the training and long runs, it is now time for tapering and getting prepared for the big day.

With marathon season now in full flow there is a lot of chat on social media about races completed and those coming up that it means the excitement is really building.

Having done five runs of 20 miles or more (with a couple of half marathon races thrown in for good measure) and a taper run at the weekend of 18 miles, I feel as prepared as I can be at this stage, even if a bit nervous.

Fellow RCRer Maria Huntley deferred her London Marathon place from last year and we have done most of our long runs together. We had some good news last week in that we have both been allocated into exactly the same wave at the start line! We are therefore intending to run together and support each other to enjoy the experience fully.

For those of you who have mentioned that you are coming down to cheer and support, hopefully we will be easier to spot as a pair than on our own! I will be in my Stroke top as shown below and Maria is running for Tommys. We just hope that we see people who have made the effort to come and cheer us on. Just make sure you give us a big shout so we can spot you in the crowds and give you a big wave!! 👋👋

I know I have said it in every single blog, but I really appreciate all the support and encouragement from everyone at the club.

From those wonderful guys who have joined me for part or all of my training runs, to people regularly asking me how the training is going, to those who have kindly sponsored me, I couldn’t be more grateful. Thank you all. 🥰💜

I just hope I will be a good ambassador for the club and do the RCR place justice as it is a great honour to run for this fab club.

Colchester Half 💜

Sunday 24th Mar

Hills and miles and hilly miles

Sunday 24th Mar

🏃🏼‍♀️💜 London Marathon Training Blog 💜🏃🏼‍♀️

Another two weeks have flown by since my last blog and with it lots of miles. I’ve done another 40 mile plus week so the endurance training is really ramping up! Go #teambol 😉

Last weekend brought the challenge of the Colchester Half Marathon. Teresa Brown persuaded me to enter and we ran it together. With all the longer, slower runs I have been doing I had no idea how it would go but I was super chuffed that we both came in just under 2 hours. Well, I was more shocked to achieve that on such a hilly course. As Teresa says ‘hills pay the bills!” 😂

I love seeing all the Strava posts when there are several events going on, in horrible wet conditions. It’s all very inspiring. 🤩

Four weeks today is the big event so a 22 mile ‘hilly’ route was on the plan. My RCR running friends did not disappoint and turned out in force again to help me and Maria get around another long run. Thank you again. The wind was not our friend today but at least it wasn’t raining for once! I can’t express what a difference everyone’s support makes. I love this running club for such good vibes and motivation. 💜💜

Have fun everyone in your runs and lighter spring evenings will soon be with us to make this running malarkey more enjoyable in the evenings. 🌞😁

Lots of miles and cakes!

Monday 11th Mar

It’s a couple of weeks since my last training update and it’s been a good couple of weeks.

Since the Tarpley 20 race I’ve been on target with my training plan and completed 21 miles and 22 miles on consecutive weekends. It all feels like an awful lot of miles in my legs but as I’ve been told on numerous occasions, I’ve got to ‘trust the process’ and have faith in people who have far more experience at this marathon lark than me! Massive thank you once again to all those who have joined me on these training runs - I honestly couldn’t have done them without you. 🥰🫶

It’s also an opportune time to be part of a team mileage challenge as last week alone I completed 40 miles - the most I’ve done for a long while! 😉

I was so pleased with the success of the recent bake off with over £315 raised on the evening for the Stroke Association. We are extremely fortunate to be part of this fabulous running community and I was overwhelmed by the generosity of those who provided baked goods and donated money. It all helps with my motivation as does the enquiries on how my training is going which is always appreciated. Thank you all. 🍰🎂💜

In addition to my training, we had the fantastic Kesgrave parkrun takeover last Saturday, encouraging the newer members who have graduated from the Run 2 5 course to experience the mass participation of a parkrun. I had the pleasure of marshalling and being on the finish line, cheering them all home. They all did amazingly. We all started with a 5K in our running journeys and if I can start there and now undertake marathon training, then who knows what these new runners can achieve? 🤩👊👏👏👏

Tarpley 20 Miles!

Wednesday 28th Feb

Marathon training continues and this week’s long run was the joy that is Tarpley 20!

Not many RCR runners doing the 20 miles today but Carl, Coxy, Maria and I all met up before the start for the obligatory photo.

Maria and I stuck together each encouraging the other along the way. We both wanted to get around non-stop, including up all the hideous hills, so we were proud of ourselves for keeping a steady pace throughout.

It was also a bonus that the weather was far better than the weekend before!

Another well organised, great event with a nice t-shirt rather than a medal.

Good luck to everyone who has races coming up and keep on adding those miles for the team challenge.

9 weeks to go 😱

Sunday 18th Feb

On days like today I really appreciate being part of an amazing, supportive running community like RCR. 🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏻‍♂️💜

Having decided to do a long Sunday run, the forecast was not looking good and on waking early, my fears were confirmed!

Lots of messages backwards and forwards with words of encouragement and the long run was still on so out we all went. 💦💦

It’s fair to say I wouldn’t have gone out on my own but the fab group of runners I joined on the way to Felixstowe to complete 16 miles made it all worthwhile (despite much puddle jumping and a couple of route changes on the way!). Massive thanks to Maria, Mariella, Teresa, Marcus and Christy for their company today. Definitely character building for us all but at least the sun came out towards the end. 😁🌞💪

Otherwise, training has been going really well over the last couple of weeks with lots of smiley, sunny runs with fab friends (as shown in the photos) Thankfully tough, wet and challenging runs like today have not been the norm.

On to Tarpley 20 next weekend, so if the weather is awful again, at least I’ll feel more prepared. 🤞😉💜

Five weeks of training done

Sunday 4th Feb

I’m now five weeks into my training and the London Marathon is 11 weeks today.

The training is going well and to plan. I’m sticking to four runs a week with the RCR Tuesday sessions being particularly useful for the speed and interval training.

With a fartlek run and an easy paced run during the week, I leave the joy of a long run for a Sunday.

The long runs have been steadily increasing and I’ve been joined my some amazing friends and RCR members. Thank you to all you guys. 😊🫶

Today I managed my first non-stop half marathon for a while when I completed the Great Bentley Half. 🏅

This is a great event, and pretty flat (although at times there was a strong headwind today). I had no real aim for a time. It was important to me to push myself to run a little faster than other long runs. Thanks to the lovely ladies I ran with today, I managed this, but definitely struggled on the last couple of miles.

All the friendly faces and encouragement make such a difference. My confidence is increasing all the time. 💜

I really appreciate all the people who have been checking in with me to ask how the training is going. Thank you. 🤩😍

Onwards and upwards with plenty more miles to cover over the next few weeks.

First few weeks Training Completed

Wednesday 17th Jan

After the initial shock of winning the RCR club place and having a nasty cold and cough over Christmas, a 16 week training plan meant that marathon training had to begin on 1st January.

However, the weather has already been rather a challenge with some weekly RCR track sessions being cancelled. Plans have had to be adapted and I’ve forced myself out the front door in the cold and wet!

Training weeks 1 and 2 are now complete despite a busy home and family life so I just need to continue the momentum. I’m also doing strength and conditioning classes and some rides on the Peleton to improve my fitness.

The support and encouragement from everyone including fellow RCR members has been amazing. Thank you.

Thank you to my sponsors

£300

Carl Ratcliffe

We are very proud of you and it is a wonderful way to honour your Mum. She would be so proud of you. Carl, Harry, Charlie, Holly and Morgan xxx

£42.40

Robert Scarfe

£31.80

You will be brilliant Tracey and you will have the best day ever!! Enjoy ☺️🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️

£20

Marcus

Good luck Tracy 🙌 All those training miles are going to pay off come the day. You’ve got this 💪🤩

£15.90

Val

Good luck Tracy! Hope you enjoy the experience x

£11

£5.30

Sarah Wheeler

£5

Adam Plummer

£5

Sarah Peck

Hope all went well Tracy xxx

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Tracy Ratcliffe

I'm taking part in the TCS London Marathon as part of #TeamStroke

Please help me reach my goal

Raised

£2,039 + £348.39 GiftAid

My Goal

£2,000

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Postal Address

My Achievements

Mission Accomplished ✅💜

Taper Time

Colchester Half 💜

Hills and miles and hilly miles

Lots of miles and cakes!

Tarpley 20 Miles!

9 weeks to go 😱

Five weeks of training done

First few weeks Training Completed

Thank you to my sponsors

Carl Ratcliffe

Cash Proceeds From Rcr Cake Sale

David, Candy, Atticus, & Bodie

Graham & Tinsley

Mde Electrical Supplies

Ian B

Caroline Ratcliffe

Maria Huntley

Brendan Brien

The Blooms

Robert Scarfe

Mark Banham

Pete Phillips

Rachel Hammond

Amanda Andrews

Anonymous

Anne Jauk

Angelique

Andrew Snowling

Sarah Weston

Morgan Webb And Family

Gemma

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Carl Purnell

Margaret Landin

Tanya Mctiernan

Carolyn Fraser

Natasha Steward

Bex

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Lee Stephenson

Leanne Moss

Kerry Jacobs

Kate

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Teresa

Mary Cleeve

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Marcus

Val

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Leah Phillips

Claire Hunt

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Angela Bainbridge

Lee And Ann Knight

Karen Richardson