‘I’ve loved racing’ – Williams

Not all that long ago it would have taken a big stretch of imagination to see Rosie Williams, a mid-packer at best in previous years, joining the local women’s elite and even winning the Guernsey Marathon honours in 3hrs 13min. 24sec.

But she did exactly that to capture the Guernsey Press Sporting Achievement of the Year Award.

Her crowning achievement? Williams has certainly not forgotten clocking 86-43 for runner-up in the Butterfield Half, but her marathon triumph came out top, for reasons not entirely unrelated to Covid.

‘The marathon was really good and that was the cherry on top really,’ she said.

‘I’d probably trained harder for the half marathon and was really chuffed with that, but I feel so privileged to be able to do a marathon in 2020 – not many people can say that they have.

‘We’re in such a lucky position with that but throughout the year, I’ve loved racing.

‘The All Terrain was amazing and even the virtual races we did in lockdown I completely loved.’

Those virtual races provided the platform Williams needed to showcase her jump from decent – 20-22 for 5km just before lockdown – to one of Guernsey’s top female distance runners.

She lowered her 5km best by another minute virtually before, once a rough normality resumed, posting an official 18-40 on the track. She is now eighth in Guernsey’s all-time women’s 5,000m list.

Williams won all seven stages at the All Terrain Challenge in July, then extended her success onto the roads with Guernsey’s half and full marathon events.

She shifted up to ninth on Guernsey’s all-time list for 26.2 miles and said ‘the support was amazing’ after her one-hour personal best.

Thankfully, Williams is just as appreciative of the support she routinely receives at Guernsey Athletics Club sessions.

‘I think that’s been why I’ve improved so much – the people around you,’ she added.

‘“Ingy” [coach Paul Ingrouille] has been absolutely amazing through all of it and really has put in a lot of time and effort.

‘What I like about running is that it’s such a social sport. The Guernsey Athletics Club are so inclusive and I’m really glad I started training with the club.

‘Seeing other people progressing alongside you is really motivating and pushes you along quite a bit.’

And yet Williams is no novice at motivating herself.

Off her backing as an accomplished long-distance swimmer, she feels that the sports translate well to one another.

‘In the swim training, you really have to push yourself and experience discomfort and actually experience a lot of disappointment along the way as well.’

Williams has also learned how to deal with tricky Town finishes in distance races.

‘Running along the front by Admiral Park, you can see for nearly two miles there.

‘I count down all the pink houses because there’s pink houses every 300m or whatever, and I think that helps a lot.

‘You can use that all the time and change it from “I absolutely hate that part of the race” to “actually, you’re near the end – you’ve pretty much done it”.’

What’s next on Williams’ journey to be the best she can be? The answer is one that captures her ever-positive attitude to the sport.

‘I love running and I want to keep on running and keep on enjoying it.

‘I’ll probably do the London Marathon in the autumn, but we have so many amazing races here and I’m looking forward to doing another year.’