Get to Know…Emily Proto

A purr-fect smile.
A purr-fect match.

We are joined this week by the feline that is Emily Proto. Having taken up running not that long ago (in running terms) Emily has notched up many personal records as well as being invited to run in the Great South Run last year as one of the elite runners and getting to hang out with Jo Pavey no less. So let’s find out a little more about the ‘Protonater’.
Name: Emily Proto
1. When did you join Arena:
September 2011 after meeting Isobel at an open meet – we did the long jump together and Isobel Muir beat me by 3 metres (no joke).
2. How long have you been running:
Since Feb 2011.
3. Where did you grow up:
Shoreham-by-Sea.
4. What was your first thought when you woke up this morning: 
I’m too tired to go for a run.
5. What do you do for fun:
Go on holiday.
6. Name 3 things in nature you find most beautiful:
Watching the River Adur when running across the Shoreham Tollbridge. Spying on my cat in the garden chasing flies & the smell of freshly cut grass.
7. If you could only have one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be:
Nachos.
8. What’s your favourite app on your phone: 
WhatsApp – I have a family WhatsApp group and even though we are nearby and see each other often we send pictures and videos of what we are all up to.
9. Who is your sporting hero:
Paula Radcliffe – I find it so amazing that no woman has run within 3 minutes of her marathon record of 2 hours 15 minutes which was set in 2003!
10. Without looking, guess what time it is and how close were you: 
9:05am (oops it was 9:23am).
11. Have you ever had or do you have a nickname:
Not really a nickname but a lot of people call me Proto, which I quite like.
12. What makes you happy:
Seeing other people happy.
13. What was the last film you watched:
Identity Thief
14. What type of music do you like most:
I like classical and country music.
15. What’s something we don’t know about you:
If you see me running with my earphones in then I’m probably listening to classical music.
‘i Giorni’ by Ludovico Einaudi is my favourite piano piece and I’m learning to play it too. (Admin writes: I never saw that one coming).
16. What is your favourite piece of running kit:
Running watch.
17. What are your favourite sweets: 
Rhubarb and custard haribo sweets.. mmmm. haribos
18. What was the first song you ever purchased:
It was by a band called ‘Cleopatra’ called ‘Cleopatra comin atcha’. I knew the whole dance routine!
19. What was the last thing you bought:
A skirt from Zara.
20. Who is the most famous person you have ever seen or met:
I met Jo Pavey at the Great South Run last year in the toilets just before the race, we were laughing because every time she went, she kept joining the back of the queue again ‘just in case’.
Our biggest thanks to Emily for this week’s Q&A’s and you will Emily running around Shoreham but only if you’re up at about 6am. Check back next Wednesday for another set of Q&A’s with our next chosen club member.