Caitlin runs for FitzRoy
“The people we support are my main motivation. Everything we do here is for them.”
With no running experience, Caitlin signed up for the London Marathon to fundraise for FitzRoy – and in just one month she’s gone from running 1k to 10k!
Caitlin joined FitzRoy when she was 22, looking for a flexible job to fit around university. Now, nearly 25, she’s still here and loving it!
Caitlin said: “Before I joined FitzRoy, I had no care experience, but FitzRoy gave me all the training I needed. I love it and everyone we support makes my work so rewarding.
“I signed up for the marathon because I just want to give back. We had a tough year at Timber Grove last year, losing a couple of people we support, which was incredibly sad for everyone. And although they’re no longer here, I still think about them a lot. This is my way of doing something for them and the team.
“I’m not a runner, so when I signed up for the marathon I thought I must be absolutely nuts! But it has given me something to work towards. A month ago I couldn’t even run 1k and now I’m running 10k – so touch wood I’m doing alright so far! I’m doing three runs a week and I’ve got a personal trainer helping me with strength training too, to make sure I’m as ready as possible.
“The biggest challenge is fitting in the training around my shifts and having the motivation to go the gym or for a run after a full day’s work but I just keep reminding myself why I’m doing it. I think on the day I’ll feel anxious because it’s such a long distance but people we support face so much on a daily basis and they get through everything with such determination, It’s really helped me to put things into perspective.
“What a privilege it is that I’m actually able to do something like this and for such a good cause too. And how many people get to say they’ve ran the London Marathon right? I had to do it!”
The people we support are my main motivation. Everything we do here is for them and they’re the reason I signed up for this in the first place. They’re all so inspirational, so funny and all just completely their own person, so it’s just really nice to be able to go that extra mile to do something for them.
So far Caitlin has already raised £159!