Run Mummy Run supports all runners, wherever you are in your running journey. Earlier this year, we hosted our second virtual Couch 2 5K support group, where new runners or those returning from illness or injury can work through the NHS C25K programme alongside others. Having a group to hold you accountable can make a huge difference to the outcome of the plan.
Jill Joslin was part of our most-recent January 2023 starting cohort. At the end of the programme, in March 2023, Jill was recognised as one of our Stars of the course. In this blog, she tells us little more about her running progress.
Jill’s Story
I fractured my knee cap and snapped my ligaments in my left knee when I was 10 years old. I had absolutely no interest in running and always thought it was a no no! And then came Covid. They shut my beloved swimming pool and gym. My very good friend had always been a runner and we used to chat about running when we went to pick up our girls from school… and more to the point how much running was not for me, but she was welcome to keep doing her half marathons!
I told her I was going to start C25K in Lockdown. So I downloaded the app and set off for my very first run on 21st March 2020. There was nothing easy about it and I can’t say I enjoyed the run, but the sense of achievement after I had finished was fab! Two months later I ran 10K – I couldn’t believe that I was actually running and I found that I loved being out in the fresh air!
When the shops reopened on 5th July, I was waiting outside my local running shop to get a gait analysis, as I had been running in a pair of old trainers! I proudly walked out of the running shop with a pair of Brooks GTS. I didn’t do homeschooling very well at all, and I found that I was looking forward to my running days even more. I loved being in the fresh air – just me and my music. Fast forward to September 2021 and as I was out running, I felt my Achilles go. The pain was unreal so I hobbled home – thankfully I was near! So that was me done, running and walking and pretty much any activity stopped for a year. I got quite down and also had lots of other stuff going on in my life, Mum has dementia and lives 350 miles away, so I was trying to sort care out for her and look after her from a distance.
I found I really missed the running, Somewhere along the line I had joined RMR and saw Marie [Mason] promoting the virtual C25K in September 2022. I spoke to my physio who said give it a try, but stop it if gets too much. So, the running journey started again. I loved the support and the accountability, but this time I was really nervous as I wasn’t sure if the Achilles would hold. Well I completed up to week 7 and then the dreaded Covid struck. I was gutted; I felt like I was just getting back on my feet and I was knocked back again. Covid left me with an inflamed liver, so I was told to completely rest and ditch the booze.
I was delighted when Marie said she was running another Virtual C25K in Jan 2023 and happily signed up. The group is supportive and encouraging. I’m not fast and I’m not a natural runner, but I don’t really care. I love the fact that I know there are other ladies, like me, just desperately trying to run 3 mins [in week 3]! It was hard work as I had lost a lot of my fitness, but I know it will get easier and I love that people offer tips and advice. 41 years on from my knee surgery and I am a runner!
Since completing the virtual C25K with RMR, Jill has carried on running 2-3 times a week, enjoying the headspace that running gives her. Well done Jill!
Virtual C25K support groups are announced within the main Run Mummy Run community; join our free group now: https://www.facebook.com/groups/runmummyrun/
Featured image by Daniel Reche from Pixabay