Phoenix Running - Devon

George and Emma met through Scouting, where they are both leaders at 2nd Exeter Scouts, and members of the Devon Scouts County Leadership team with Emma serving as the Deputy County Lead Volunteer, and George as Programme Lead. Working together, they have organised many Scout Camps and Events, in the UK and abroad. When George wanted to combine his experience of organising Scout events with his love of running, Emma was his natural first choice to join him on this venture.

Like a lot of runners, George started with shorter events and quickly got the running bug, working up to half marathon distance. In 2015 he entered his first marathon, the Bristol To Bath marathon, swearing during training - I'm never doing this again. However, with a time of 4 hours 8 minutes, he thought he might do one more, to see if he could get sub 4, and entered Milton Keynes the following year. There he got chatting to someone from the 100 marathon club, and you can probably guess where this is going... George is hoping to reach the half century in 2026 as he works towards joining the 100 club himself. George is a member of the South West Road Runners, having joined the club in 2018 while training towards a goal of completing 4 marathons in 4 weeks. In 2021 he completed his first Ultra with the Exe Estuary 50k. 2025 has seen George complete his first 100km, at the Hope Ultra Festival, and his first back-to-back day marathons, completed of course, with Phoenix Running! When he is not busy Scouting or running George can usually be found following Devon's best football team, the mighty Plymouth Argyle, or on the baseball diamond, having helped start Exeter Baseball Club.

Emma is a big sports fan, following her beloved Liverpool Football Club, alongside Devon's best football team, Exeter City (its unlikely George and Emma will ever agree on who is Devon's best football team is!) Although not a long distance runner herself, Emma is no stranger to supporting runners, having managed the Great West Run bag for a number of years, and been support crew on many of George's marathons and ultras.

George is a firm believer that running is for everyone and being able to shape your own challenges, and is excited to bring Phoenix Running's inclusive ethos to Devon, while Emma is looking forward to bossing George around and handing out sweets!