Caroline goes the distance for MS charity

When Caroline Brownlie from Glenrothes signed up for the Edinburgh Marathon – it was a mistake!

She had been interested in finding out more about raising money for a charity close to her heart.

But before she knew it she had booked her place.

Despite having just five months to train and only ever having run a few miles, she completed the full distance.

Caroline, 39, a dog walker, admits her partner Peter, 40, was “always the one into his fitness” with running and cycling.

After Peter was diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) she was inspired to raise money for, and awareness of, the MS Society.

“I went on the website just to have a look and price up doing the marathon,” Caroline explained.

“I clicked to say I’d like to do it for charity. Then all of a sudden a message came through saying ‘congratulations you’ve booked your place’!

“I thought, ‘I didn’t mean to book it, but it’s done now.’ ”

Because Caroline booked her place in January and the marathon takes place in Edinburgh at the end of May, she had to start training right away.

She explains: “Three or four miles was about my limit. People were saying to me ‘maybe you should do the half first’ but I said ‘no, I’m doing the full; it’s all or nothing’.

“My mother-in-law had run marathons previously, so she printed off her old training plans for me.”

Caroline completed three or four shorter runs each week and one longer run where she added extra miles to build up her distance. But her training was anything but straightforward.

First she banged her head while working and ended up with concussion. Then she hurt her back during a long run, in total losing a month’s training time.

But she decided if she could complete a 20-mile run, she would still go ahead with the marathon.

“I ran from the top end of Glenrothes where I live to Kirkcaldy and back.

“In fact I went a little too far because I got back to Bankhead roundabout outside Glenrothes, I’d already done 20 miles.”

On the day Caroline felt fine until the 18-mile mark.

“That’s when I kind of hit this brick wall.

“There’s a bit where you go round, like a roundabout, and you come back on the same road you just went down. Seeing everybody coming back and I’m heading down and thinking ‘I just want to be on that side’.

“But then I saw the 20mile mark and I thought ‘right, all you’ve got left is six miles’ and I seemed to get a second wind.”

Caroline completed the distance in a time of 5 hours 16 minutes and 32 seconds. The mum of two has smashed her £200 fundraising target, raising closer to £1,000.

MILES: Caroline Brownlie went from dog walking to running a marathon in five months.