It was always in the back of Katy Hosford’s mind to run the London Marathon.
But, when her grandfather sadly passed away from prostate cancer in 2016, it gave her an added incentive to run.
The Swansea City Ladies winger heroically completed the 26 miles in four hours and 10 minutes, remarkably reaching her £2000 fundraising target for Prostate Cancer UK.
Hosford expressed that she was raising funds for a charity that is close to her and her family’s heart.
“It meant absolutely everything. I never thought I’d be able to raise £2000 but to raise that sort of money and have so many generous people donating means the world to me and my family.
“They’re a great charity that means a lot to me and my family. If I can give anything back to them, I feel really proud of that and I’m really glad that I could raise the money for them.”
The Swans winger has impressed once again at the start of this Adran Premier season, netting four league goals so far this campaign.
While her football helped her train for the marathon, Hosford insisted that her intense preparations were a challenge.
“I’ve always had it in the back of my mind that I’d love to run a marathon, particularly in London because that’s the best one you can run in.
“Playing football helped to have basic fitness, but I felt that I had to go out and do a lot of runs and follow a program.
“It was pretty intense, but they say that you have to get a certain amount of miles in before you run a marathon, so I tried to get in as many as I could, but it was quite challenging to find a balance.”
Despite the difficulty of preparing for the 26-mile run, Hosford thoroughly enjoyed the experience of completing the challenge.
After completing her first London Marathon, the 24-year-old expressed that she’s eager to go one better next year.
“I absolutely loved it. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. The crowd definitely helped me, the atmosphere was amazing. My grandad definitely gave me extra motivation; he crossed my mind quite a few times. He’s a massive motivation for me.
“The run went really fast. Every hour just flew by and before I knew it, it was the end of the race, so when I got to the end, I was ready to finish and my legs were in bits, but it was such a great feeling to do it for a charity that’s so close to my family’s heart.
“I’ve caught a bit of a running bug now. I’m quite a competitive person, so I’d like to run again and under four hours this time, but we’ll have to see next year.”
Having reached her target of raising £2000, the support for Hosford’s run has been fantastic.
The Swans winger expressed her gratitude for the encouragement from friends, family, and teammates.
“It means everything. A lot of people were wishing me luck, but to have such close support from family, friends, and teammates who have pushed me along the way, made it very clear how proud they are that I managed to run a marathon for such a great charity.
“They’ve been amazing and really supportive. In the weeks leading up to the marathon, they were always checking in and seeing how everything was going.
“They were pushing the donations as well and getting their friends and family donating so it’s been a massive help.”
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