Jade's story
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| Jade on the South Bank |
I
was once, many moons ago, a really driven runner and would run a few times a
week, 8 to 10 km. I didn’t like to go out alone at night, so I turned my
attention to my local gym, fell in love with boxing and running fell to the
wayside.
I tried
starting a local women’s running group in my area, so women who worked full
time or had children to look after could come out, either at night or early
mornings and feel safe in the darker winter season. It was with the app, Meet
Up.com and I built up a group of about 40 members online... but no-one came. As
a woman it’s frightening to go out alone to meet a stranger for a run, so I understood.
I was nervous too, who would be coming to meet me? No one it seemed.
Three
years ago I got married, and I began to choose hearty dinners and a glass of
wine in with my husband over forcing myself to go out and exercise. In my defence, he was a newly qualified doctor and his shift patterns made time
together a luxury, so I felt the need to make the most of time we did have.
These
days that excuse doesn’t seem so great anymore. Health is important to both of
us. We want to live long healthy lives, so I have been trying to change but
with no avail. It seems laziness is a hard habit to break.
I
have tried and failed at getting back into running countless times to no avail.
Embarking on the 100 days of running challenge somehow seemed like a good way to
kick start my enthusiasm.
Starting
from scratch and 10 kilos heavier than my former running self will be hard, but
I’m feeling uncharacteristically positive thanks to the support of Lou, Lydia
and Zoe, (the perkiest people I know) and the knowledge that this is a great
cause. Who needs a group of 40 strangers to run with?!
The
charity we are supporting is important to me. FGM came on my radar after
listening to ‘the Guilty Feminist’ podcast one morning and there was an episode
that highlighted how prevalent FGM is and discussed the lack of psychological
support there is for victims. The more I learnt, the more I wanted to do
something to help and empower women. When I arrived at work I ranted solidly at
Lou until she came up with the idea of doing the challenge for an FGM charity…
and here we are, running for FORWARD.
Please
donate to the cause through our Just Giving page here.
Follow
Jade’s challenge here:
Instagram: @jdlacey182
#100daysofrunningforward
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