Moy Park Miles Blog – Alison

‘Moy Park Miles’ is a collection of interviews that are showcasing some of our wonderful staff as they prepare for all the Moy Park sponsored running events this year.

Get ready for our next interviewee – Alison Matchett! Alison is one of our Finance Managers and we have sat down with her to see how she is getting herself ready for the Moy Park Belfast City Women’s 10K this year.

Hey Alison, how are you? We’d love to learn a little more about yourself.

Thanks for having me. My name is Alison Matchett, I am 44 and I work as the New Product Development Finance Manager.

Great to finally chat! We want to hear if you have any fun facts about yourself that you’d like to share?

Oh, my fun fact can be that I am a Girls’ Brigade (GB) Officer where I am very lucky to lead the Junior Section. The other fun part of this is that I have three daughters in the GB too!

That certainly is a fun fact: we’re sure they love the extra quality time they get with you. Next question: what trainers are your old faithful’s – the trainers you simply can’t run without?

No question there. The trainers that have supported me through many races and many miles are my Karrimors – a great shoe with tons of support.

Belfast City Marathon is a great opportunity to raise money for charities. Are there any charities you are supporting this year?

Yes, I will be running for one of Moy Park’s charity partners this year - SANDS! They do incredible work for the people of Northern Ireland.

They really are a fantastic charity. Are there any routes that you love to run when you’re training?

It might seem strange, but I absolutely love road running. I spend a lot of timing pounding the pavements in Portadown. The local roads have lots to see and help put the minutes in as we’re through the miles.

We love to people watch too! Have you been using any apps help you train ahead of the marathon?

I am an AVID Fitbit user – I love the interface and find it very easy to follow my progress. I also use Sense 2 with GPS to track accurate distance and time. I want to make sure I am definitely ready for my races.

We’ll be coming to you with any running tech further questions in the future! Any quotes that keep you going when you’re struggling through training?

Something I consistently remind myself when training: it’s mind over matter – I can and will do it.

Love that positivity – super important when running. Any songs that you absolutely love to listen to when on a run?

I have three tracks that keep me going when the miles are getting tough: ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ by Guns n Roses, ‘One Way Or Another’ by Blondie, and ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey – some classic tunes to inspire.

The final question: what Moy Park Chicken could you not live without during your training?

I love the classics (as you can tell from my song choices), so there is one dish that is a standout for me: Moy Park’s Garlicky Chicken Kiev

Well, that’s lunch sorted. Alison, thanks for taking the time to talk to us today. Wishing you all the best for your training and race day!

Want more running training tips and like getting to know our team? Make sure to check back next week to discover from other runners to hear how they’re preparing for their great Belfast run!