Meet Jayne Hunter from the Experiment Group and ambassador of Cool FM

Name: Jayne Hunter

Tell us a little about yourself:

I am 37 years old and have been married to Sean for the last 10 years and we have two beautiful children, Olivia who is 7 and Charlie who is 5. I am an Advertising Account Manager at Downtown Radio and Cool FM and love what I do.

What inspired you to take on this challenge?

Downtown Radio & Cool FM are the Radio Partner for the Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon and after meeting a few of the girls from the BCM team, they had asked if I would be interested in applying for their Ambassador programme. I have always wanted to do the marathon but never had the confidence to simply go for it, the programme however has given me the support and guidance that I needed.

Were you an active person before you signed up?

2 small children keep any mum pretty active but before children my husband and I would have trained together in the gym. It was Sean that got me into running about 12 years ago and I simply fell in love with it.

Longest run to date:

In the past I have done a few 10k’s but my longest run to date has been 10miles in preparation for the marathon.

What has been the biggest struggle so far?

I work full time and both kids are at school, so it’s difficult to drag yourself out after homework’s, dinner and bedtime routine. But once I am out in the fresh air, I feel great!

What are you enjoying?

I’m loving that it’s making me a better runner, not only is the training plan great but the nutritional advice from Sarah from Framar Health was brilliant.

What kind of things do you think about when you’re running?

Some days I sing along to my music and some days I simply allow myself to not think at all and enjoy time to myself.

Do you think you’ll keep up the running after race day?

Definitely - running is a big part of my life.

Has your diet changed?

I have probably had to start to eat a little more, especially more protein and carbs to make sure I have plenty of energy to do my run and also to repair afterwards.

What’s the first thing you’re going to do after the marathon?

Probably look for my family for a massive hug and then convince my husband to carry me back to the car.