Margaret Connolly describes herself as just an average runner but so far her exploits over 26.2 miles have earned her a national title and now an invitation to run in an England vest.

The 58-year-old from Blean, near Canterbury, has been chosen for the England Athletics Age Group marathon team in 2017 but admits she thought someone was playing a joke on her when news of her selection came through.

Connolly, whose call-up came about when she ran a personal best 3hours 56minutes in last month’s Chester Marathon, said: “I received an email from England Athletics eight days after I’d run and I thought it was an absolute spoof, a wind up.

“I forwarded it to three club members who I thought would know about these things and said ‘is this some sort of joke? but it turns out it’s true.
“I’m over the moon. What has happened in the past few months is way above my wildest dreams.”

Connolly’s elevation from recreational runner to England international represents a remarkable journey, particularly for someone who says she used to consider herself ‘the laziest person on the planet’.

A former horse rider, she only joined Sandgate-based South Kent Harriers in 2010 and it was not until three years later that a conversation with one of the club’s coaches, Jim McNeill, got her seriously thinking about the marathon.

Connolly, who also runs 5ks, 10ks, 10-milers and half-marathons, said: “I met Jim through the club at the end of 2013 and he asked me if I’d ever fancied running a marathon. I said I had and he said ‘And?’

“I replied ‘And nothing’ because it will never happen. I said I’d only want to do one if I could go under four hours because I couldn’t imagine going that long without food!”

Connolly, a semi retired chartered accountant and chartered tax adviser, ran 4:19 on her marathon debut, at Edinburgh in May 2015 and a year later tackled the same event, clocking 4:09.

August 2016 saw her lower her personal best by another minute in the Isle of Man event, a performance which also saw her crowned as British champion in the female 55 age category.

A month later, she travelled to Chester – husband Peter’s town of birth – and it was her achievement there which led to her surprise England selection.

Connolly was born at Kilsyth, north Lanarkshire and has an accent to match but she says she has absolutely no truck running under the flag of St George.

She added: “I’ve lived in England for 37 years, I’ve made my life and home here and I run with an English club.

“They’ve not yet said where the venue (for the marathon) is, fingers crossed it’s not in Scotland otherwise I might have to keep my mouth shut!”