25–26 Jan 2025 47 days to go! #RunShow Tickets

Karla Gregory

As a runner from childhood cross country, 1500 & longer pounding streets always wanting to know if I can run that bus route or route we took in the car! 

I’ve been a running coach, a walk run leader during my time. 

Having to stop at times for illness, accidents & life! But always gone back and always missed the running environment on those enforced breaks. 

I’m a London Classics medal holder  – having my first attempt at LM breaking my pelvis at mile 4 then being pulled out at mile 18, after asking for magic cream thinking it was cramp – no reason identified why. 

Having run various half marathons following this my last and final was Royal Parks. As a runner we know our bodies pretty well my recovery was not good I’d had this before over the years – it was the same feelings when in training I could not increase my pace, when I’d depleted energy at times of training for marathon, the days I’d turned up to run club and just couldn’t get it going………

The final crunch came 2019 at NRS I was so ill but well cared for by the team – I left for home and boom meningitis – this led to a wonderful consultant also enjoyed running looked through medical notes, running diaries the reason for the random difficulties and poor recoveries – he got it Myalgic encephalomyelitis and he tracked back to 1993 – that was it running was no more. (I tried!) Various wrong diagnosis over yrs but when you get a Dr who listens & understands sport – so do keep a diary of your runs/recovery you never know. 

So volunteering in the running world was my new thing – I love runners, I love encouraging others and I try and walk when I can it’s 5k it’s slow but I don’t care I’m smiling! 

So anyone every needs a volunteer to help at an event I’m hands up might be restricted to needing positions to sit sometimes, keeping me topped up on plenty of hot drinks, but I can cheer, smile, press buttons, hand out goody bags & keep runners in order!