The Running Channel & Sports Tours competition winner is going to the 2023 Berlin Marathon!

We teamed up with The Running Channel to giveaway an entry to the 2023 TCS London or the BMW Berlin marathon with a free three-night stay! The lucky competition winner, Martin Turner, reveals why he decided to lace up and start running.

Why did you choose to run at the Berlin Marathon?

The choice between London and Berlin was extremely tough. If I hadn’t already ran the London Marathon this year, then I would have chosen that due to how iconic and influential the race is! Berlin felt like an amazing event to do and getting to complete a marathon in a different country is another incredible life experience! I also watched the YouTube video that the Running Channel did with Sports Tours International, that gave a great overview of the whole event and experience. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity!

What made you take up running?

I hated running growing up, but I was always an active person and played football from the age of four. Cycling was my back up to keep fit, but when I had a nasty accident at the end of 2019, I decided to give running ago. Just after I started, we went into lockdown due to COVID-19 and I had no choice but to keep running. Since then, running has ended up becoming a bit of an obsession. It’s a brilliant escape from normal life and I love that you only need to compete against yourself!

Why did you start competing in Marathons? And how many have you completed?

I applied for a charity place for the London Marathon this year after running the London Landmarks Half Marathon in April. That was an incredible event, the buzz around the city was phenomenal and I knew after I finished, the London Marathon was at the top of my bucket list. Not only did I get to tick it off, but I managed to break the 4-hour mark and raise nearly £3,000 for Worldwide Cancer Research at the same time! I hoped that if I did this run, I wouldn’t feel the need to run that 26.2-mile distance ever again, but I quickly signed up for the 2023 ballots for both London and Berlin and clearly have the bug to do more!

Who inspires you to keep running when you are not motivated?

A lot of running I do is purely for enjoyment and clearing my head, so it’s very rare that I struggle for motivation. However, training for London was tough at times- particularly the long runs on hot summer days with heavy legs, but I managed to get through it. When it came to the marathon itself, my wife was in the crowd along with a number of friends and family cheering me on, that helped me to dig deep and continue going! I really look forward to joining all the marathon runners competing in the 2023 BMW Berlin Marathon.

We teamed up with The Running Channel to giveaway an entry to the 2023 TCS London or the BMW Berlin marathon with a free three-night stay! The lucky competition winner, Martin Turner, reveals why he decided to lace up and start running.

Why did you choose to run at the Berlin Marathon?

The choice between London and Berlin was extremely tough. If I hadn’t already ran the London Marathon this year, then I would have chosen that due to how iconic and influential the race is! Berlin felt like an amazing event to do and getting to complete a marathon in a different country is another incredible life experience! I also watched the YouTube video that the Running Channel did with Sports Tours International, that gave a great overview of the whole event and experience. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity!

What made you take up running?

I hated running growing up, but I was always an active person and played football from the age of four. Cycling was my back up to keep fit, but when I had a nasty accident at the end of 2019, I decided to give running ago. Just after I started, we went into lockdown due to COVID-19 and I had no choice but to keep running. Since then, running has ended up becoming a bit of an obsession. It’s a brilliant escape from normal life and I love that you only need to compete against yourself!

Why did you start competing in Marathons? And how many have you completed?

I applied for a charity place for the London Marathon this year after running the London Landmarks Half Marathon in April. That was an incredible event, the buzz around the city was phenomenal and I knew after I finished, the London Marathon was at the top of my bucket list. Not only did I get to tick it off, but I managed to break the 4-hour mark and raise nearly £3,000 for Worldwide Cancer Research at the same time! I hoped that if I did this run, I wouldn’t feel the need to run that 26.2-mile distance ever again, but I quickly signed up for the 2023 ballots for both London and Berlin and clearly have the bug to do more!

Who inspires you to keep running when you are not motivated?

A lot of running I do is purely for enjoyment and clearing my head, so it’s very rare that I struggle for motivation. However, training for London was tough at times- particularly the long runs on hot summer days with heavy legs, but I managed to get through it. When it came to the marathon itself, my wife was in the crowd along with a number of friends and family cheering me on, that helped me to dig deep and continue going! I really look forward to joining all the marathon runners competing in the 2023 BMW Berlin Marathon.