Moy Park Miles Blog – Sam

‘Moy Park Miles’ is a collection of interviews that are showcasing some of our wonderful staff as they prepare for Belfast City Marathon this year (you might have heard we’re the title sponsor)!

Get ready for our next interviewee – Sam McGrath! Sam is one of our Commercial Graduates at Moy Park and we ask her how she is getting herself ready for the Belfast City Marathon.

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

Hey there! My name is Sam McGrath, I am 23 and I work as a Commercial Graduate.

Fantastic. Next questions: will you be doing the relay or the full marathon?

I am taking a dive into the deep end and I am doing the full marathon this year – eek!

That is wonderful – good for you! We want to hear if you have any fun facts about yourself that you’d like to share?

I have a bit of a funny one. Not only is my name Sam but my initials also spell out S.A.M. Fun, right?

No way! That is funny. We want to know all about your sneaks. What trainers help you hit those miles.

This is a great question but an easy one for me as there are two pairs that I rotate between. Some days I use newer On running shoes - Cloud Monsters for those sneakerheads. Other days I run with my Hokas Mach X.

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 - Air Ambulance NI! Most people are unaware they’re a charity and operate entirely on donations, so it’s wonderful to be able to support them.

A great charity initiative and one that is very much needed across Northern Ireland. Are there any running routes that you’re using to help train?

Yeah, I have some ole faithful running spots that I got back to time and time again. There are some really nice backroads near my house that I am enjoying training on which helps when I need to get out between commitments. If I have a little extra time I like to run down at Lough Shore in Jordanstown.

That sounds like a really love place to run! Have you been using any apps help you train ahead of the marathon?

I am currently following a marathon training plan on the Runna App which has been super useful.

We’ll be downloading Runna after this to check it out! Any quotes that keep you going when you’re struggling through training?

Something that helps me when I am going through a tough training session is ‘If it was easy everyone would do it’. It helps motivate me and keeps me going!

That one is a good mantra for running and life. Any tracks on your playlist that stand out on your training sessions?

Oh, that’s a good question. I have to say when ‘Could have been me’ by The Struts, and when ‘Beautiful Things’ comes on by Benson Boone I really get a boost. There is a noted difference in my pace.

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

There is only one thing that I go back to time and time - a southern fried chicken goujon wrap! They are truly hard to beat – you need to make one!

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