Radio and TV presenter Jenni Falconer is gearing up for the London Marathon, and sharing worlds of encouragement for her fellow runners. Falconer, 48, posted a picture of herself wearing black running gear, smiling for her selfie. “I bloomin’ love running. 💙 It can be hard, it can be challenging, I’m certainly not going to breeze round the London Marathon course next weekend but I do know that at the end, I will feel an overwhelming sense of pride and achievement. If you are running any race, whether Manchester tomorrow, London next week or another, remember the fact that doing it is enough. Good luck. If you’re running London on April 21st, I’ll see you on the course! Happy running,” she captioned the inspiring post. Here’s what Falconer’s diet, exercise, and training looks like.
Falconer prefers a light breakfast during the week. “Getting up so early for work means I’m not usually very hungry so I don’t have a large breakfast,” she told Top Santé. “I may only have a banana and toasted bagel, then perhaps a protein shake after a run, followed by eggs or a chicken salad for lunch. If I am out and about, it can be quite difficult to sit down to eat during the day, but I try to always make sure we have plenty of protein-rich meals at home as I feel that it is good for recovery. I do love carbs, though – I adore bread but try not to buy it too much.”
Falconer swears by both the mental and physical benefits of running. Running has always enhanced my mood and lifted my energy levels,” she told Top Santé. “Getting up at the crack of dawn can be tough but I am a morning person so I quickly feel awake. Then, I love to run early. I am on the radio every morning hosting the Smooth Radio breakfast show, so once I finish work, I run my commute home to southwest London. It really energizes me and I love that part of my morning. In fact, I just love the feeling I get after a run. For me, the runner’s high is the closest you’ll get to feeling like a superhero. You feel invincible, like nothing can take the shine away from your happy mood.”
Falconer added weight training to her fitness regimen. “I’m in my mid-forties and with that, things change in your body as a female,” she told Runner’s World. “I’ve been told the ideal thing to do is lift heavy weights – so I’ve started working with a trainer twice a week, focusing on running moves with heavy weights, such as lunges, squats and deadlifts. It’s really benefiting me.”
Falconer loves to play golf with her parents. “Three years ago, I developed a new sporting passion for golf and am now obsessed!” she told Top Santé. “I come from a family of golfers, so I now get to spend time with my parents doing something they love. Golf is such a great way to keep fit as you can get in so many steps going around the course. It’s also led to me having a new social group of friends, too. I don’t find it too difficult to keep fit in my 40s. I actually feel so much stronger and confident in my body at this age. I also know where I am in terms of work and family life, so keeping up with exercise is vital for my well being, too.”
Falconer loves running with similar-minded people, especially along the coast. “Every time I run I have a big cheesy grin on my face,” she told Runner’s World. “If you see me out running, please smile back because I smile at everyone, but no one else smiles! My favorite place to run is the south of Spain – there’s a stretch near Marbella that goes on for 10 miles along the coast. If you go out in the morning, you see the sunrise, and in the evening, you see the sunset – there are loads of people out there running and walking.”