Aimee Rolph, Senior Project Coordinator in our infrastructure team in Bury St Edmunds, completed the Cambridge Half Marathon on Sunday 8 March in support of her family and to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s.
Aimee signed up to push herself outside her comfort zone and to run in honour of her grandparents, with a special dedication to her Nan, who has been living with Alzheimer’s for many years.
“I ran for my Nan who suffers with Alzheimer’s and has done for a long time now. It’s slowly getting worse and it’s so tough to see,” Aimee said. “We lost my Grandad unexpectedly in December last year, and it’s been a tough time, especially as Nan didn’t understand what was happening and needs help from family every day.”
Aimee only started running in July last year, using it as an outlet for stress and emotions. “That was the first time I’d run since school and I was very much a beginner,” she explained. “Now I really enjoy it and look forward to it each week.”
Heading into her first official race, Aimee was excited, and understandably nervous, particularly after picking up a slight injury during training. She originally set herself a target of finishing in under 2 hours 30 minutes, before going on to beat it by a remarkable margin on race day. Aimee crossed the finish line in 1:56:16, comfortably achieving a sub2hour time.
“I had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the race and the whole experience. The weather was ideal for running, the atmosphere and the supporters were absolutely amazing,” Aimee said.
After the race, Aimee said: “I’m feeling understandably achy but once I’ve rested, I am keen to continue improving, I plan to run another half marathon and long-term, I would like to tackle a full marathon in the future.”
Looking ahead, Aimee plans to keep running and build on this achievement, potentially taking on another half marathon and, in time, stepping up to a full marathon.
If you’d like to support Aimee’s fundraising, you can donate via her JustGiving page.