Happy Birthday to us, would you like a present?

 

In just a few more days it will be my favourite day of the entire year.

Spring day.

It marks the end of my most personally challenging part of the year as a sufferer of seasonal affective disorder. August itself is a very difficult month for my family, as some months are for some families, and Spring day which has always been about celebrating for me has taken on a whole extra layer of sheen as we leave behind the memories and sadnesses for another year.

But we have something that makes it even more awesome these days.

It is our birthday!!

On Monday, Operation Move will celebrate two years of motivating, inspiring and community building. When I first wrote this blog post, never in a million years would I have imagined that we would be doing what we are now. From a little thing on a personal blog to a rapidly growing business that gives us so much joy we don’t even have big enough words for it.

That was way back near the start, a few months in to Operation Move. I barely recognise that person now, but I know she worked SO HARD to run that far at that pace. It felt like one of the hardest things I had ever done.

In the two years between, aside from mastering the art of the smug post run selfie and utilising that skill many times a week (sorry, not sorry), I’ve gotten a little bit faster and started running a little bit further. I’ve dropped a total of nearly 14kgs. Oh, and I’m going to run a marathon quite soon. As you do, right? Tell that to the woman up there, and she will laugh in your face. But here we are.

And what about Zoey? She’s been by my side from the start, but things have changed a bit for her too.

Way back in November 2012 she shared her month with Operation Move. She’s changed just a little bit too. She’s marathon training, has run a sub 1:50 half marathon (which is a BIG DEAL!) and is half the woman she used to be. But that’s just window dressing. It is the posture of the shoulders that tells you the real story. There is POWER in discovering you are strong and determined.

We’ve had so many wonderful women join us over the past couple of years, and the greatest gift for us has been watching other people grow in confidence and strength. Some have been with us from the start, others we have gathered along the way. All are valued and loved.

When we moved from a blog based community to a business entity it marked a shift that has given us the ability to reach out to more and more women who are looking for the kind of life changing experiences that we have had. I think what makes Operation Move so appealing to so many people is that we get it because WE DID IT too.

I could rave on forever about how proud I am every time one of our Learn to Run women say something like this:

I don’t know if you’ve ever been part of something that helps people rediscover parts of themselves that they thought they had lost forever, but if you have you know how it fills your heart and soul to overflowing with a joy that can’t be described. I wake up every morning and I LOVE what we do.

It is our birthday, and two years ago I couldn’t have imagined where Operation Move would be now. I cannot WAIT to see what the coming years hold for us.

Because it is our birthday, we would like to give someone a very special present.

We are very close to closing registrations for our Spring Learn to Run program, with only a few spaces left.

When we close, be it August 31st or sooner than that, we are going to pay someone back their registration fee.

Yep. $220 straight to the Paypal account of our winner so they can enjoy learning to run on us, and maybe go on a little shopping spree for some gorgeous new gear to celebrate.

The competition applies to those people who have joined our Spring Far & Fast course as well. There will be one winner across both courses, but as you know we like to keep our groups small and cosy.

The winner will be notified by email on Monday September 1st, and must be a fully registered participant in either Learn to Run or Far & Fast for September. This is open to those paying in full OR by payment plan, you just need to be signed up and have accessed your private coaching group to be in with a chance. You are so welcome!

 

Thankyou for being part of the Operation Move story so far. Now that we are toddlers you can probably expect the odd tantrum, but also some great new experiences as we really find our feet and our voices in the world. We hope you’ll continue to grow with us.

xx Kate