Report Andy Stevens
Thanet Roadrunner Jo Holl has been selected to run for the England Masters Half Marathon team.
Jo has been selected for the England Masters V55 age group after an incredible performance in the qualifying race – the Great Eastern Run – where she not only beat her personal best time by over a minute but also won her overall age group category with a time of 1:34:20.
Jo is the first Thanet Roadrunners female to qualify for an England Masters vest and this makes it even more special for her and the club.
Jo has been working hard this summer and has set a number of PB times. Andy Stevens, who has been coaching her, said: “I am so pleased for Jo that she has been selected to run for her country. She has worked so hard over the last few months and this is a well-deserved reward. Jo has real mental toughness and isn’t afraid of meeting those tough training sessions head on.”
Jo started running in 2013, aged 47, when her parkrun PB was 25 minutes, with some runs of 30 minutes. She joined Thanet Roadrunners and made consistent progress through regular runs and focused training.
Jo will be one of the leaders supporting the clubs free Couch to 5k start running programme, which starts on Monday 6th January.
She said “You’re never too old to start running. The secret is to build steadily, reducing the risk of injury and when the weather is tough you need to be strong and keep going. Running with others really helps with that. As a nurse I know how shift work affects training. We are giving extra support to shift workers this year.”
Further details will be released on Thanet Roadrunners social media pages in mid-November.
Congratulations Jo young lady thanet road runners are going from strength to strength having a purple patch right now well done each of you.