Local girl Stephanie Richards from Avening, Gloucestershire will be taking on the 26.1 mile course in support of HS&J.

Name: Stephanie Richards
Age: 33
Job: Economic Development Consultant
Best Marathon Time: 4 hours and 2 minutes
Target London Marathon Time: Under 4 hours
​​Furthest Distance Covered: 100k Ultra Marathon - London to Bletchley Park
​Equipment: Saucony​
Favourite Running Tunes: Avicii
Secret Weapon: Avocado and Lentils - great for energy and taste really good​
Favourite Place to Run: The Cotswolds for the hills, Dubai for the weather, Oman where you get both!
Training Regime: I’ve been doing lots of hill work which strengthens muscles and is great cardio. It also improves perseverance – a must when you’re going so far! I’m trying to build​ the mileage up at the moment and ​aiming for around 40-50 miles a week​.
​Why Ultras? : Because it is so difficult - to challenge myself and see how good I can be. I used to do horse riding and coxed a rowing team – both of those are very hypocritical, telling others what to do whilst not doing it yourself – now it’s all down to me!
​Why London? : ​I’ve always wanted to run the London Marathon – I’ve heard the atmosphere is amazing and I’m really looking forward to taking part – the route, the people, the spectacle – I can’t wait!
Why Hop Skip and Jump? : Hop Skip and Jump really is a brilliant charity and I have seen how hard everyone works to make a difference to the families they support. It’s great to be able to help the Hop Skip and Jump team through doing something I love
Favourite Thing to Do Outside of Running? : Travel the world - it’s great to see new places and try new things - it always triggers new ideas!​

Stephanie is based in Dubai and has been training for the marathon by running in ‘ultra’ races, covering distances of up to 60 miles at a time! Her last training run was a 72km ultra marathon through the heat in Oman, taking her over 10 hours! What an incredible thing to do - we’re not surprised she couldn’t walk for a week afterwards! Wow!