Maya was instrumental in setting up and leading the East London Runners' weekly beginner runs. The inaugural night was held in May 2015 and ran through to the end of September. This essential session continues annually. Maya's enthusiasm resonates to all the club members not just the beginners. Maya is an active committee member since 2015. Did you know she also ran the London Marathon in 2015? She doesn't like to talk about it though. I nervously joined ELR in summer 2014. Everyone told me how brilliant being a member of running club was, but while I was a confident runner, I was (and still am!) a slow one. I was sure a running club wouldn't be interested in me. Well I couldn't have been more wrong. My first night at track was brilliant. So many friendly faces, everyone was so keen to make me feel welcome. My first ELVIS race was the Forest Five. My first race where I didn't get a medal! And no headphones allowed! But I was so excited and proud to finally be wearing a club vest. Coming over the line to a sea of red ELR cheering me was the most brilliant thing ever. I knew I'd made the right decision and I've been full of club love ever since. I'm positively evangelical about Beginners joining the club, and even more about the ELVIS races. So I joined the committee and started the Beginners 5k runs in May 2015. I wanted to create a pathway for nervous runners like me to join the club, and to see just how brilliant it is being an East London Runner. My other role is press and PR. I'm such a show off, and I loved it when I got a mention in the Ilford Recorder or Woodford Guardian. But the articles were small often just a quarter column with no headlines or photos. I've worked hard at getting a good relationship with the Sports Editors and I send off the results weekly. The papers now save a space for ELR as they know we'll always have news. I scour everyone's Facebook feed for snippets and quotes and photos. So the more you post the more chance you get at your shot of fame!