Olympian Jo Pavey MBE returns…

on 22nd March 2019 by Nicky
News People

Recently announced returner to the 2019 Windsor Women’s 10k, five-time Olympian, Jo Pavey MBE, will be starting the race and joining runners along the route through Windsor Great Park on Saturday 28 September 2019. Here, she talks to us about her love of running and why she chose to return to Windsor for this race. “I’ve loved being active since I was a child, but it wasn’t obvious that I could be a runner. On sports day at Primary school we only did 70m sprints and I wasn’t particularly good at that! It wasn’t until Secondary school, when we were asked to run two laps of the grass track that I loved running and shortly after that I joined the local athletics club, Exeter Harriers. This was the start of my lifelong passion for running.

In terms of my running career, I think winning European Gold medal at the age of 40 was my most significant achievement. This was because the Gold came at a time when I least expected it – being over the age of 40 and being a busy mum just coming back from having a baby, this win felt extremely special.

I’m really looking forward to being a part of the Windsor Women’s 10k for a second year. There’s something special about this event; the beautiful scenery of the course winding through Windsor Great Park, the overwhelming local support from friends and family and the passion of every runner to promote women’s running and cheer each other on as much as possible.

I think it’s key to encourage people to get active and I’ve been pleased to see the big upsurge in the popularity of running recently but I still think more could be done to promote families enjoying active time together. Another reason I love the Windsor Running Festival because there are also Sprite Sprint on both days and the Glynn Shefford Memorial Run just after the Half Marathon starts on the Sunday.

It’s especially important to me to support women’s running. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a beginner or an elite athlete chasing a new PB – this 10k is more than a race, it’s a community. I’ll be running to enjoy myself and support everyone else along the way.”