Karen Hutchinson

I started running in March 1998, training for the Preston 5k “Race for Life” in May, with a group of girls from work. My aim was simply to run the whole course. This I did, finishing 46th out of 1090 in a time of 24:22 mins. This gave me great confidence that I could do much better and I was hooked. I had caught the running bug!!

Since then, apart from 2002, when I was injured, I have ran “Race for Life” every year, my times and position improving with each event. I won this year’s race at Haigh Hall Country Park in Wigan, in a time of 19:49 mins.

Another memorable race for me was the 2001 London Marathon which I completed in 3:25 hours. The sheer size, organisation and atmosphere of that race was truly incredible.

I currently race in the 5k to Half Marathon range; my PBs are:

5k	19:09
5m	30:17
10k	39:13
10m	1:04:45
½ M	1:26:20

I joined Horwich RMI Harriers in June 2002. The club camaraderie is brilliant, everyone being really helpful and friendly. In my quest for better racing times, I have recently (Sep 04) started training under the supervision of Norman Matthews.