If the word “can’t” is in your vocabulary when it comes to running take a read of Sarah’s Story...
Sarah has been a part of our In it Together project women’s running sessions in partnership with “Run Like A Girl” since October 2016:
"I can’t run’ was my most used saying when it came to talking to anyone about running.
"I have always been into fitness, I was a fitness instructor and have always been a keen horse rider, having my own horses and also competing for other people but running had always been my nemesis.
"My dad was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in 2015 and I have done various bits to raise money for Cancer Research, Myton Hospice etc over 2015/2016, like the 5km Muddy Run, Glow in the City et.. although it was more of a Muddy Walk as ‘I can’t run’ at this point remember!
"A colleague at work approached me last year and decided to try and convince me that I should do the Wolf Run with him, my instant response? ‘No, thank you’ but then I started to think why no? Life’s too short for no, so, I decided to set myself a challenge and enter the Summer Wolf Run!
"At this point I panicked and wondered what to do next. I had heard of ‘Run Like a Girl’ but didn’t really know very much about it all so I looked into it further and signed up for the first beginners group in October 2016.
"I turned up on week one wondering what I had done, ‘I can’t run’ was still stuck firmly in my mind. As the weeks went on I started to change my mind-set and when we hit weeks 4 and the 5 I really started to believe that I could do this, I might actually be able to run for 30 minutes. Week 8 came and I did it!! I can run after all I thought.
"When the beginners course finished I asked one of the other running leaders whether I could become a running leader to help with the next beginners group. I was welcomed into the team with great enthusiasm and here I am now, still a running leader having now helped another group of ladies through the same emotions that I went through and now helping with the improvers group which I great.
"I sadly lost my dad the week before the Wolf Run this year but somehow kept my focus and determination and completed it in 1 hour 40 minutes, now in memory of my dad which kept me going. The course turned out to be 13.2km which for me is a huge achievement and I feel really rather proud! I
"have one more challenge left this year, a 10km road run in July. I currently have just over £1550 for Cancer Research and that figure is still rising.
"None of this would have been possible without the support and kick start that I have had from Run Like a Girl and Sky Blues in the Community so I am eternally grateful to everyone involved for making me believe that I could turn ‘I can’t’ into ‘I can’.
"If I can do it, you can do it. Don’t give up, set a goal and reach for it."
Sky Blues in the Community have partnered with ‘Run Like a Girl’ to provide beginners running courses in Coventry for local women as part of the ‘In It Together’ project.
Supported by funding from Sport England, ‘In It Together’ is focused on getting women and teenage girls in Coventry active through a variety of sporting activities. Run Like a Girl (RLAG) was set up in 2015, to give women the opportunity to get active through running, in a safe and supportive environment – an ethos that aligns perfectly with the In It Together project.
A typical course costs just £12 for 8 weeks and sees women take part in a structured programme at the War Memorial Park, following the ‘Couch to 5K’ programme. So far, hundreds of women have benefited from attending the course – inspiring many to run on a regular basis.
A new beginner’s running course will be starting this summer, so keep an eye out on our Facebook Page for more information to be released soon: http://ow.ly/SKGD30cE1Zq
Alternatively, if running really isn’t your thing, take a look at all of the other sessions that take place as part of the In it Together project via the Sky Blues in the Community website: http://ow.ly/DXHA30cE27U
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