Rose Harvey’s Olympic Marathon Journey

Rose Harvey has had quite the journey, making a remarkable leap from law to becoming an Olympic athlete. Just four years ago, she found herself without a job as a corporate lawyer and decided to take on a new challenge—running.

During the lockdown, she pushed her limits and ran her first marathon, the Cheshire marathon, in 2021. She completed it in just over two hours and 30 minutes, which was an impressive start to her running career. Her talent quickly drew the attention of Puma, and soon she was training full-time.

Harvey’s hard work paid off when she became the British champion and set a personal best time of 2:23:21 at the Chicago marathon last year, placing her sixth on the British all-time list. It wasn’t long before she was selected to represent Great Britain in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

However, things didn’t go as smoothly as she hoped during the marathon. Shortly after starting the race, Harvey realized she had a serious problem—she was running with a stress fracture in her femur.

Despite the pain, Harvey was determined to finish the race, knowing that it was the Olympics. She fought through the discomfort and crossed the finish line in 78th place, earning the respect and admiration of fans and fellow athletes alike.

Reflecting on her experience, Harvey shared how tough it was to keep going. ‘There were so many moments when I thought I couldn’t take another step,’ she admitted. However, she found motivation in the energy of the crowd, reminding herself to smile and just keep moving forward.