Lots of people have asked me why I need to learn to run and why would I pay to do it? It’s a good question really, I mean don’t you just go out and run?
Well for some people it is that simple, but not for me.
I used to run in high school and loved it, but it dropped away as priority. In the last couple of years I had a few attempts at the C25k program, but it always stalled after a few weeks due to illness, work commitments or just general lack of motivation. I really wanted to get back into running and I wanted this time to be different so I was excited when I saw the Learn To Run program come up with Operation Move. Kate and Zoey were promising support, coaching and a group to do it with, it seemed exactly what I needed.
So on the 1st June this year I joined the June Learn to Run group. I was pretty scared, not just about the running but about actually participating. I had been pretty happy hanging around the extremities of the Operation Move Community, watching everyone else, and absorbing it all but never joining in. I wasn’t really sure if I was ready to actually do anything.
What I found was amazing.
Kate and Zoey gave me a great running program but more importantly they were there whenever I had a question, they were there to give me a kick out the door if I needed it and they were there when things weren’t going so well with words of wisdom.
What I didn’t expect to get out of doing the LTR program was the amazing support from the other women in the group. We started off as strangers, but we shared the journey together, the ups and the downs. It was reassuring knowing that there were other women all at the same stage, all doing the same program. We shared our runs, supported each other during sickness and injury, checked in on each other when things weren’t going well and celebrated the achievements. These are women who I now call my friends. With the program finished we still pop into our private online group and check in. We are there to support each other through sickness, injury, crap runs and personal issues. Without them I would not still be running.
Now 5 months after starting I am running 5kms. That first 5km was awesome and there was a lot of happy dancing around the kitchen afterwards. I am feeling stronger both physically and mentally. I love what my body can do now and I love that running is part of who I am. You see the LTR program isn’t just a 10week program that ends, it’s a stepping stone. A chance to get your body moving, to teach your mind that it can achieve what you thought impossible and to making moving part of your life.
It is your turn!
If you’ve never believed you could run, if you haven’t known where to start, if you have started a C25K but never gotten past week 3, or if you just want the chance to learn and be supported in a safe, private online environment, then you might love the Operation Move Learn to Run program.
What are you waiting for?