One of England’s best marathon runners is on island to compete in the Bermuda Triangle Challenge this weekend.

But Anya Culling’s path to becoming an elite athlete is not the one most international runners have travelled, after she went from taking up the sport in lockdown during the Covid pandemic to finishing sixteenth in the London Marathon last year.

It has been a meteoric rise for the 26-year-old, who had no idea how good she would be when she took up running after suffering health issues and falling prey to the partying lifestyle in London.

“I did my first marathon in 2019, but that was more because I had got quite unhealthy, living in London and partying too much,” Culling said.

“I had some health difficulties, where I was put on steroids, I’d put on a bit of weight and lost my spark. So I thought I’d give the marathon a go to prove to myself that I am capable.

“I didn’t fall in love with running then — it took me more than four hours. I found it really hard and didn’t carry on, and it wasn’t until lockdown, when everybody struggled, that I remembered how good I felt when I had finished that marathon.

“I wanted those endorphins again, so I started running and doing proper training in the one hour of permitted exercise we were allowed during lockdown, and what kept me going was it became a social sport for me.”

Culling had no idea she was an international athlete in waiting when she put on her running shoes again, but it quickly became clear she had the ability to go to the very top in the sport.

“No one in my family ran, and I didn’t know any long-distance runners, so it was never on my radar,” Culling said.

“I didn’t know you could make a career out of it. I was just running with guys, and at the point I was running with them, I started to think, ‘Oh, I’m pretty good at this.’ Then it got to a point where there were not that many girls in London who could run at my pace, and I thought maybe that I’d got something.

“As cliché as it sounds, I believe running gave me a purpose, and suddenly I’d found what I was meant to do in life. I just became a totally different, happier, more positive person, and ever since then, I’ve always had a positive outlook, and every time I run I always make sure I enjoy it. I’m very grateful running came into my life when it did.”

Culling has become her own brand and is a sponsored elite athlete with more than 120,000 followers on Instagram, but despite representing England in the Berlin, London and Copenhagen marathons, she is not quite ready to commit to chasing an Olympic dream.

“I’ve just turned 26, and you can peak as a female marathon runner well into your thirties, but my aim is to just enjoy it, not burn out, and keep progressing,” Culling said.

“Right now, I’m not ready to go all in on running and push it to the Olympics because I would have to give up everything to do that. I have some friends who have run similar times to me who are now going for the Olympics, but I also find so much enjoyment from being a successful businesswoman, succeeding in my job and succeeding on social media. I’m not ready to give up on that yet.

“My PB would have qualified for the 2012 Olympics, but female running is now so competitive, and there are so many incredible athletes, and I’m not yet on their level.”

Culling is considering doing all three legs of the Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge rather than just the marathon, but she has a few tips for those doing the long-distance race on how to push through the pain barrier.

“It is all mind games, and the marathon is mainly mental,” Culling said.

“The last 10K is always going to hurt no matter what. I dedicate each mile to someone important to me, and then I say I’m doing it for them and I can’t let them down.

“Then I have the really boring things like counting. I count my fingers, toes, techniques where I’m trying to find, I don’t know, ten green things on the side of the road—anything to try not to think about the pain my legs are in. I have a mantra of smile every mile, and I think the energy you give to the crowd, they give back to you.

“I think about myself in 2019 and the people who doubted me, and I show them what I can do. I also want to show people that they can do what I do, and that I’m not special or superhuman. I am just a girl who took up running a couple of years ago, poured my heart into it, and this is the outcome. I want to inspire people.”