Well done Marathon Paul

Paul Young from Bearsted in Kent spent months in denial about his dangerously high blood pressure before he started taking his health more seriously. Not only did he start taking his medications, but he took on the London Marathon as well. 

Paul has been training hard since January with his wife Jill who ran for the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Inspired by their two teenage daughters who are accomplished athletes, they clocked up the miles together determined to have a good run on the day. And all the long Sunday runs and niggly knees paid off. Paul made it to the finish line in 4 hours 42 minutes and Jill made it in 4 hours 26, and they ran together most of the way.  

“It was a great day with a fantastic atmosphere. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I really enjoyed it. What a day!”

Running for a cause made all the difference  

Paul was only 47 when he discovered that his blood pressure was dangerously high, 206/140mmHg. He was fit and healthy so put the results down to normal ups and downs but eventually realized he “just had to get over it.” Paul chose to run for us to inspire others to look after their health.  

“I wouldn’t say the marathon was easy but knowing I was running for a good cause made the hard miles so much easier. It was an honour to run for Blood Pressure UK and I wore my T shirt with pride.”

Paul raised £3,191 for our work, well over his target of £2,000, and after his run he rewarded himself with a well-earned curry. We’d like to say a massive, heart-felt well done and thank you Paul for all your amazing work. What a tremendous effort.  

Paul raised money by highlighting the good work that Blood Pressure UK does to friends, family and colleagues. He found other people with high blood pressure, including one work colleague whose family has had serious medical issues because of it. And he took the opportunity to raise awareness of high blood pressure and the importance of getting it checked regularly.  

Paul’s fundraising page will be open until end of July 2019 so there is still time to donate. 

Image: thank you to Virgin London Marathon for the photo. 

Paul’s tips for taking up running

Paul hadn’t run for years before he took up jogging casually, and later the Marathon. He felt great for picking it up again. Here’s how you can too. 

Set a target 

I always wanted to run the London Marathon and was over the moon to get a place. Having a goal made it so much easier to get motivated to train. 

Make a weekly schedule 

I found it really hard to fit training in around work and family life to start with, but having a schedule really helped. 

Find a training plan 

The London Marathon have training plans on their website for all levels. I checked mine with my daughters’ athletics coach and it was great.  

Find a training buddy 

I trained with my wife Jill which made it so much more enjoyable. Long runs can get lonely so it’s nice to have a buddy to go with. It makes you do it too. 

Find a park run

Park runs are organised 5K runs that happen every Saturday morning in parks all over the UK. I love them.  There is no pressure to do a fast time or even run, many people walk or jog Park runs and all are welcome.

Don’t worry about set backs 

They’re part of it. I had a week where I was ill and another few weeks with painful knees and had to miss training. Just take the time you need to recover and start again. 

Stretch! 

Make sure you do some core stability and stretching. Nothing too intense, just some sit ups and Pilates exercises, and stretch stretch stretch. I didn’t do this to start with but I felt so much better once I did.  

Look after yourself

Do what you need to do to look after your body. I asked Blood Pressure UK for nutrition advice to make sure I was eating the right things. I kept an eye on my blood pressure with a home monitor and went to my GP to make sure my medicines were still suitable. You really get to know what your body needs just by paying it more attention.