HELEN’S STORY

I had been a friend of Sally’s for several years and my husband was a bit of a runner.  Despite these two facts, I had never done any running at all.  I can’t remember if it was Sally or my hubby who suggested that I do a 5K fun run, but I DO remember thinking “No way!”  I was in that category of “non-runner”.  I had no interest in it and I was certain it wasn’t for me.  I was lucky, because I had a fairly physical job and didn’t tend to put on much weight, so I suppose the main incentive to go running wasn’t there for me.

I’ve got four kids, three of whom are boys.  One afternoon, we were out at the park and the boys asked me to have a kick around with them.  After about 3 minutes of chasing the football I was totally puffed out!  I felt shocked and a bit upset, not least because my little monsters were laughing at me!  I was in my late thirties, so I wasn’t exactly old.  I decided I needed to do something, so I rang Sally!

She gave me a program to follow and showed me some stretches.  My husband agreed to waddle around the village with me for company, even though he could run backwards and still beat me.  Before I started, he took me off to the running shop and a lovely Frenchman fitted me with the perfect shoes.  This running lark was already looking much better than I had thought!

My first run was terrible.  I felt so weedy at one point that I had to lie down in a field.  I hasten to add that my husband stood guard while I recovered myself!  By the time I got home I was bright red and breathing quite heavily.  I felt like I’d been out for hours, but it had only been 20 minutes!

I stuck with it.  Soon, I felt able to join a couple of other friends who had been running for a bit longer than me.  It was hard, but I enjoyed the challenge.  By this time I was feeling a lot more confident and before long I could even chat with them as I ran!  The idea of doing a 5K fun run cropped up one day in conversation and I thought “I could do that…”

Three years later, I am a veteran of 5K running.  I’ve even done a couple of 10Ks.  Last year, Sally persuaded me to do a half marathon.  It was tough, but I have the medal to prove I did it!  I doubt I’ll do another one (I ached for days), but I still enjoy my shorter distance running.  I’m much fitter than I was.  Although my weight was never a problem, I look more toned than I used to and I seem to have a healthier complexion.  My lovely Frenchman always helps me when I need new gear and my boys don’t laugh at me any more; in fact, they told me they were very proud to have a “running mum”!