As an official media partner of the Bath Half Marathon, The Business Exchange is bringing you a series of articles focusing on some of the corporate teams entering and the charities they’re running for.
Each year thousands of people take to the streets to run the 13.1 miles of a two-lap course of the historic city raising significant sums of money for local causes.
Here we profile Emma Robson, trainee solicitor at Royds Withy King who’s running for Bath Mind.
Name: Emma Robson
Age: 29
Brief company description: Royds Withy King – “lawyers ahead of the curve”. We have offices along the M4 corridor with two offices in central Bath. Our expertise ranges from commercial and corporate transactions to private client, residential property, farms and estates.
Tell us a bit about Bath Mind. Bath Mind provides support and guidance to people experiencing mental health problems. They campaign to promote understanding, raise awareness and help people take control over their lives to build a sustainable future.
Is this your first Bath Half Marathon? This will be my third time running the Bath Half. The pressure is on to try and beat my previous times.
Whose idea was it to sign up for the Bath Half and why? Royds Withy King have voted Bath Mind to be its chosen charity for the next two years. As part of raising as much money as we can over that period we have 19 people signed up to take part in the Bath Half. We’re all in agreement that it’s such a great local event to be involved in.
Tell me a bit about your history of running: I started running when I was at school and was a member of the track team. The transition from sprinter to long distance runner has taken me a few years to master but a long weekend run has become a part of my routine.
How is your training going? At the moment training is fairly steady. I go to Goodgym (a running and volunteering hybrid group) every Tuesday which clocks up a few miles. During the week I’ll go to the gym for cross training and treadmill sprints, then enjoy a longer slow run at the weekend. The next couple of months will be all about gradually increasing the mileage.
What will be the hardest part of the race for you? The hardest part of the race will be finishing the Lower Bristol Road section on Lap 1, knowing that another lap is still to come!
Which part are you looking forward to the most? The final section down Great Pulteney Street. It always attracts the most spectators and the atmosphere is buzzing with applaud and screams of congratulations as people cross the finish line.
Tell us about the Royds Withy King team: The Royds Withy King team includes people running their first half marathon to experienced runners looking to get a personal best on the course. Although we will be running it individually – with each person inevitably having their own goals – we will be supporting each other throughout the training process. For a bit of healthy competition we have also entered as a corporate team so our fastest 5 runners across the line will have their cumulative time put forward in competition with other local businesses. Last year our ladies team came second overall beating Buro Happold and Veale Wasbrough Vizards.
How can people donate to your team? The team have set up a Virgin Money Giving page where people can donate http://uk.virginmoneygiving.
Pictured above: Emma Robson, trainee solicitor at Royds Withy King
