Lockdown runner speeds from redundancy to Olympics

Rose Harvey threw herself into running in 2020 and she was the fastest British woman at the London Marathon just two years later

A lawyer who became passionate about running during lockdown “still can’t quite believe” she has been selected for the Paris Olympics.

Rose Harvey, 31, from Evesham, will represent Team GB in the women’s marathon race this summer.

Ms Harvey threw herself into running after being made redundant during the first Covid lockdown – and her sports career has since moved with astonishing speed.

“It’s one of those moments that I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” she said of making the Olympic squad just two years after becoming a professional runner.

Ms Harvey said she was not particularly sporty at school, although she enjoyed being active and trying different games.

After studying law at Birmingham University, she moved to London in 2015 and joined a running club, partly to make friends.

She said she would run to and from the office to avoid commuting on busy tube trains, but her long working hours prevented her from devoting much time to the sport.

However, when she was made redundant at the start of the pandemic in 2020, she needed something to keep her busy and going for a run was one of the few activities still permitted.

“It just kind of snowballed from there, I absolutely loved it,” she said.

'Whatever you enjoy'

Ms Harvey went professional in 2022 and she was the fastest British woman at the London marathon that year.

Her running time of 2:23.21 in Chicago last year was the fifth fastest-ever marathon time for a British woman.

She is currently training in the Pyrenees, in preparation for her 11 August race on the relatively hilly Paris marathon course.

She said the past few years had taught her to “find whatever you enjoy”, because “you never know where it will take you”.