THE RUNNER BEANS

Running

Active Travel

Nutrition

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About Charlie

Hi, I’m Charlie; runner, NHS dietitian, wife of a British Airways pilot and dog mum to a toy labradoodle called Chester. This blog documents my running/training, nutrition advice, travel and fertility journey through surrogacy.

I’m currently training for a Boston Qualifying time of sub 3.30 in Chicago 2022. I’m not a natural runner, in fact, I have to work really, really hard but I truly believe that anyone can run a marathon if they want.

My goal is to champion the journey to a healthy, more active life where honest fitness and food makes wellbeing more accessible to all – without losing sight of the real lives we lead. I want to make running and healthy eating simple, approachable, realistic and without missing out on any of the good things in life!

My first marathon was London in 2012, where I ran for MIND in memory of my university housemate, Vic, who sadly took his own life after battling depression. I share my own struggles with anxiety and hope to continue to use my platform to help ditch the taboo around mental health. 

In 2018 I became an Abbott Six Star Finisher, completing the Marathon Majors (London, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, New York and Tokyo), and have completed 13 marathons in total. My fastest 26.2 was in May 2019 at the Edinburgh Marathon where I ran a 3.38.  As a Registered Dietitian, I believe in an 80/20 balance when it comes to eating, a lot of what’s good for you and a little of what you love. I don’t follow a specific diet, I just try to eat real, whole foods. This ethos is reflected in my recipe book for runners; Cook Eat Run – available here – the perfect training companion for both new and veteran runners.

I have MRKH, where girls are born without a cervix and uterus, a condition that affects 1 in 5000 women. I was diagnosed at 16 years old and felt huge amounts of shame and embarrassment around it until my husband and I started our fertility journey. Talking to IVF clinics, surrogacy agencies and other women with MRKH, I realised how crucial it was to talk about fertility! We are sharing our progress through IVF and surrogacy, and really hope we’ll become parents in 2022.  Thanks for joining the journey – you can follow me on Instagram for daily updates on life and running!  

I completed my first marathon in April 2012, running alongside one of my best friends, Emily  and we finished it in 4.54.59! I ran the marathon in memory of a very good friend, Vic, and raised money for MIND. I managed to raise over £4000! I’ve since run the New YorkParis and Berlin marathons, improving on my finishing time in each race. My goal is to run all of the Marathon Majors (New York, London, Berlin, Tokyo, Chicago and Boston) before I turn 30!4 down, 2 to go… Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you’ll have a look around my blog before you go.

If you’d like to get in touch, I love hearing from readers, brands and PR at therunnerbeans@gmail.com