Harvey’s unusual journey
“Afew years ago, if you told me I was going to the Olympics I would have laughed at you.” That’s what Rose Harvey says as she gets ready to run for Great Britain in the women’s marathon at the Olympics in August.
A marathon is a 26.2 mile race and Harvey only ran the event for the first time in 2017. In 2020, she decided to take the sport more seriously after losing her job as a lawyer during the Covid-19 pandemic. Harvey has gone on to become a professional athlete and is one of Team GB’s top long-distance runners.
“I used to run as a weekend hobby and now I feel hugely privileged to do it as my career,” Harvey tells The Week
Junior. “I was very dedicated to my job as a lawyer but having switched to running it is a lot more fulfilling and a healthier career.”
Did she enjoy sports when she was young? “I was pretty terrible at sports growing up!” she smiles. “I was chuffed to make the netball B-team at school but I didn’t have a huge amount of natural talent. I was always active, gave things a go and discovered the fun of sport while at school.”
Harvey says the marathon is challenging but very rewarding. “It is hard physically and mentally but you train for it and you prepare. When it hurts in the final miles you find out how tough you can be.”