I wasn’t sure if running was the answer, but I was determined to give it a go. So every Saturday for the next twelve weeks I turned up at Jubilee playing fields, to be encouraged by coach Claire, to run for firstly two minutes, then three minutes, and so forth, increasing each week.
There were times when I felt like my lungs where going to pop or my legs were like lumps of lead and there was homework of repeating our Saturday session ourselves at least twice more in the week!
To my surprise, I did manage to complete the Rookie Runners programme and even ‘graduated’ by running the Woodland Woggle 6K in May. Even more surprising though were the results of my next and subsequent blood pressure and cholesterol tests – perfectly normal.
I have dropped a little weight and I have toned up so much so that in August I wore a bikini for the first time in twenty years!
I am delighted with the impact that running has had on my life and lifestyle. Gone are the long years of dieting and nowadays I enjoy eating sensibly and burning off the calories. I am healthy without medication and I feel great!
Vicky Jarman
I was someone who had avoided exercise like the plague for the first 26 years of my life, much to the detriment of my weight and health, so a point came when something had to be done.
It was my Mum, a keen runner herself, who introduced me to the Rookie Runners. Claire was starting a club for complete beginners. People with any ability would be welcomed and then encouraged to run 6k by the end of a 12 week programme.
For someone that literally couldn’t run for more than 40 seconds at a time (I couldn’t keep up in week one when we had to run for just one minute), a 6k seemed beyond impossible, but with bridesmaids duties looming and diets failing, I decided to give it a go.
If I had done this alone, I can hand on heart say I would have given up after week one. However, the encouragement I got from my entire group got me out of bed every Saturday morning and the pressure of this, of course, meant that “homework” had to be done or I wouldn’t be able to keep up.
Since “graduating”, we’ve not only remained friends but continue to push each other onwards, from booking races together, to Facebook motivation. Without their encouragement I could have easily given up a long time ago.
A year down the line I have lost almost two stone, dropped three dress sizes and am the fittest and healthiest I have ever been.
My journey to this point kicks me out the door on the cold, dark nights but I’ve also been mad enough to sign up for the London Marathon, and “lucky” enough to get a place.
So my motivation to continue will be the looming 26.2 mile course, a feat that still seems impossible but one thing the last year has taught me, is that nothing is impossible if you try hard enough.
