“London’s streets are paved with gold” is a saying that came from the 19th-century story Dick Whittington and His Cat, loosely based on the 14th-century Lord Mayor of London, Richard Whittington.

And while we all know that London’s streets are really just like the ones we walk on around Gloucestershire day in day out, Kirsty Reid will, nevertheless, be heading to the capital towards the end of April hoping to hit her very own gold standard.

You see, Kirsty is a member of Gloucester Athletic Club, and on Sunday 22nd April she will be taking part in the London Marathon for the first time.

The 29-year-old is a pretty decent runner and has set herself a target of finishing under four hours. Do that and she’s achieved her bronze aim. He silver aim is to finish under three hours, 50 minutes, and her gold aim is to finish in under three hours, 45 minutes.

If she strikes gold that would give her a ‘good for age’ time that would allow her to compete in the 2019 running of the race, so there’s plenty of incentive.

“Training is going really well,” she said, “but you never know what might happen on the day.”

Kirsty, originally from Glasgow, has at least got experience of running a marathon.

“I took part in the Kielder Trail Marathon in Northumberland in 2015,” she explained. “That’s off-road and hilly. I ran it in five hours, nine minutes which wasn’t terrible but my time could have been better.

“I’m not a confident runner but because I ran that race I know I can run the marathon in London. The London Marathon will be an easier course.”

Kirsty, who moved to Gloucester in 2015 – she is a student nurse living in Tuffley – has been running for close on two decades having taken up the sport at the age of 11.

“I joined an athletics club when I was at school and I’ve never stopped running since,” she said. “I used to run 400 and 800 metres but as I’ve got older and slower the distances have got longer.

“I started doing 10K when I was about 15 and I’ve now done lots of 10Ks and half marathons.”

Kirsty joined Gloucester AC almost as soon as she moved to this area with her boyfriend James Munroe Boles – he enjoys downhill mountain biking – and her face has become well known on the race circuit around Gloucestershire and beyond over the past two or three years.

“I’ve run the Gloucester 10K and the Stroud and Bath half marathons,” she said. “My best time for a half marathon is one hour, 48 minutes, 18 seconds.”

And while those are all decent races, the London Marathon is obviously another step up, so what is Kirsty looking forward to most on the big day?

“The atmosphere,” she said, without hesitation. “You see the marathon on TV and it looks great. Everyone says the streets are lined with people just shouting and cheering you on.”

Kirsty will also have her own special supporters in the capital because while she is pounding the streets of London, she will be hoping to raise even more pounds for Carers Gloucestershire.

“They’re the biggest independent charity in Gloucestershire,” said Kirsty. “This is the first time that they’ve been given a marathon place and I’m the first person to run for them in this race.”

That’s something that Kirsty is rightly very proud of, of course. And if she runs anything like she knows she can on 22nd April, she’s going to be equally proud of her performance as well.