Fetcheveryone Member of the Month

pedroscalls asks: Congratulations on your MoTM win. My question is, if time and money were no issue what race or route would you love to do?

jelly says: Thankyou Pedro there is an ever growing list! At the top of it at the moment is the Round The Isle of Wight Ultra which coincidentally falls on the May Day bank holiday weekend which is also very close to my birthday but since meeting Minardi I’d also like to add Round the Rock Jersey to the list too, I’d also love to do Beachy Head Marathon and well if we are on the subject of marathons and I can go anywhere New York Marathon would be good!

westmoors asks: Congratulations jelly. If you could meet anyone, past or present, who would it be and why?

jelly says: This is quite an interesting question, it’s certainly got me thinking! I mean at the top of my list is David Bowie, I just think he was a really interesting person and it felt like a terrible loss when he died, but also I’d really just love to go back in time and meet my ancestors and learn more about them.

chunkywizard asks: Well done! My question for you is, what are three things that most Fetchies do not know about you?

jelly says: Thanks Chunky Wizard!
I think I’m quite an open book so it’s been hard to think of three things but here we go…
I collect pears! I have some wooden ones, antique pears, pottery pears, glass pears and one of my favourites is also an engraved bell. I don’t really like pears to eat but I do love pear drops, but I find the shape of them aesthetically pleasing!

My husband would call me a hoarder but really I’m a minimalist hanging onto useful stuff!

I’m not much of a gardener, there are occasional half hearted attempts to grow a few outside plants and sunflowers and occasionally a tomato plant, but I’ve grown cacti and succulents indoors on windowsills since I was 12. Some of my older plants have been transplanted to my mums conservatory when I haven’t had windowsills, where they all go on to lead long and happy lives!

geordiegirl asks: A very worth winner and congratulations both on winning the member of the month and the Castle Challenge.

When did you take up the longer/endurance running and what motivates you to keep running the crazy miles you do? What is your top tip for others (like me) in that journey.

jelly says: Hi GG, many thanks for your question! I ran my first marathon on 30th Dec 2018, I knew straight away it was my distance and I’d aim for running 100. The following year I ran 20, including 2 ultra distances and won my clubs Le jog trophy for the most competitive miles in a year!
Things started to dwindle in the first few months of lockdown and I did a couple of different challenges! Firstly I ran 10 days of 10k, that was my longest streak, then in July 2020 I started to run every day for a month and my husband had said why not follow my 10 x 10k with 15 days of 15k. I signed up to Virtual Run to the Stones 100k and completed that in 6 days and just kept going and after I’d seen a couple of friends starting End to Ends Virtual LeJog on 13th July, I signed myself up. There was a year to complete the 874 miles, which I knew was easily achievable so I kind of said I’d try and get it done by Christmas in just under 6 months. In the first 2 weeks I was still running the 15k a day but increased it to 10 miles and realised if I could keep that going I would finish the 874 miles in less than 90 days achieving a gold medal. I wasn’t sure I could do it until I tried, it was as much a surprise to me as it was to everyone! I took Aug 1st off after my July streak and I’ve ran every day since! I finished Le Jog in 61 days and enjoyed pushing the extra mileage so much I re set my personal spreadsheet and ran an unofficial Jogle back in 81 days, finishing just in time to run a virtual race of 400 miles across Lapland last December. The Castles challenge has been my favourite Virtual race though and I was just lucky to have a Triple Marathon start which put me out infront and I just carried on!

What motivates me to keep running the miles every day? it’s the streak and the competitive part of me! I’m working on a 10 mile a day average for the year and I’m also doing a personal 52 in 52 challenge and really deep down right at the bottom of the knitty gritty I just enjoy getting out there running for hours, it makes me feel normal!

RRR-CAZ 🇬🇧 asks: Congratulations Jelly- My question is if you were offered a golden ticket to any sporting event what would you choose to watch.

jelly says: Thanks RRR-CAZ! Like many who answer this question I don’t really watch sport very much but there are some interesting events where I’d like to see other runners pushing the boundaries, so a golden ticket to see Big Digs Backyard Ultra would do me with a trip to Tennessee!

ITG 🇮🇸 asks: Well done! If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be?

jelly says: Ooooh! I think if I could go back in time I should give myself the advice to start running sooner!

Pothunter asks: Congratulations! What would you have for your death-row meal? 3 courses plus something to wash it down.

jelly says: Hi Pothunter! Thanks for your question! I’m not a big foodie and I hate most starters so here are my three courses!
First a nice roast beef dinner with roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings, no vegetables!
Second an apple crumble!
Followed by warm choc brownie and cream with a nice cup of tea!

FlyingScotsman asks: Congrats on winning MotM jelly, My question for you is: If you were a proffesional in a sport of your choice, what song would you want tpo have playing as you walked out onto the pitch

jelly says: Thankyou Flying Scotsman! I find it really difficult to choose just one song as music is a very important part of my life! Anyway I have managed to pick one just for this momentous occasion, but I think it would really depend on the build up to the actual event and how I was feeling the week before! There is a song by one of my favourite bands Hot Chip called Over and Over! If you do get the chance to look up Hot Chip on YouTube take a look at the the video for Boy From School!

minardi asks: Many congratulations jelly. How do you manage to fit all those miles into your life?

jelly says: Hi Minardi, Thankyou for your question! Most of my miles are done while people are still asleep! I often find it difficult to stay in bed past 5am and that gives me just over 2 hours to run before my husband goes to work!
At the height of finishing Le Jog last year I was often doing this early morning run coming home having a bath getting changed and once my littlest was off to school at 9 I’d head back out for another little run!
I’ve also been lucky as until recently I didn’t have to work many hours! My new job means that I have had to juggle my miles around a bit but I’m still on target for a 10 mile a day average for this year!