WHEN THE government put the country into
lockdown life changed for all of us. Old
routines ceased and we had to start making new positive ones. Not just in terms of how we are living temporarily
but how we want life to be after the pandemic.
A positive outcome from COVID is an increase in the number
of people who have started running. People
run for different reasons whether it’s to compete, improve their fitness or
maintain good mental health. Behind
each person is a journey and a story of how running has had a positive impact
on their lives.
It isn’t all about running. It’s finding an exercise that you enjoy
doing and will return to giving consistency.
Running isn’t for everybody but for those who enjoy it there are huge
advantages to opening a doorway to fresh air, forgotten footpaths and the local
Sussex countryside on your doorstep.
Four years ago, I suffered from work related stress and
didn’t know how to deal with it. I knew
that exercise was good for stress so I joined the Dolphin Leisure Centre Gym. This was my first steps towards fitness and good
mental health.
Starting with running machines I moved to outdoor running by
downloading the C25K app. (Couch to 5km).
There are many of these available, including an NHS one, which all have
the same aim of getting you off the sofa and outside running in the fresh air. The app. works in digestible
chunks, slowly building up your endurance.
Later I discovered “Run Together” groups. They are affiliated to England Athletics and
train/coach/support runners to learn and develop to their own potential. As a
new runner you can take a beginners course to 5km or, if you are more
experienced develop to your own potential.
They are held regularly and cost about £2 per run. You can search online to find the nearest one
to you and join in.
It was whilst doing this that I was introduced to Park Run. A timed 5km event held at 09:00 every
Saturday in parks all over Sussex. Park
Run isn’t a race, it’s about the community from the runners to the volunteers
who marshal it. You can walk, walk/run
or run the distance, it doesn’t matter and there is no judgement attached to
it. Park run was founded by Paul Sinton-Hewitt on 2 October 2004 at Bushy Park in London,
after he put out an advert asking people who were suffering with poor mental
health to run with him. It is now an
international event recently adding new countries such as Northern Ireland and
Japan.
Park Run is quick simple and easy to
join. Sign up online and print off your
barcode, go to your nearest venue, listen to the new runners briefing and off
you go. At the end you get a token
which is scanned with your barcode and you get a text or email with your time
on it.
There were so many health benefits for me just running 5km. It’s a wonderful workout, burning 700
calories an hour, I started to lose weight, lowered my resting heart rate and
improved my aerobic capacity, lowered my blood pressure and relieved my
feelings of stress and anxiety.
I started to look at local village days in my area and
found they ran events from 5 miles to 10km.
The favourites for me were Lindfield and Ardingly, whose fully
marshalled runs through the countryside are amazing. Making a shift from 5km into 10km reinforced
the benefits and started to impact other areas that are really important for my
good mental health. Particularly with
my self-esteem, sleep, energy levels, resilience and it also has a positive impact
on depression releasing feelgood hormones into your system such as Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphins (D.O.S.E).
I found the running community really
supportive and finally went to Haywards Heath Harriers and after a trial period
joined and registered as an athlete with England Athletics. This opened up so many opportunities being
able to run any event as a member and I discovered the West Sussex Fun Run
League (it also covers East Sussex).
Eighteen running clubs hold and marshal one run per year, which are all
very different ranging from cross country underneath the Sussex Downs to a 5-mile
beach run at Littlehampton. You can
enter these as a non-affiliated runner anytime at a cost of £3. Once you turn up it’s your run, do it your
way and ensure it has the “fun” element.
If you want to find more in terms of
support networks, motivation and information there is a Sussex and Surrey
running community on Face Book called “Sussex Plodders” or if you are into
Twitter there is also “Blue Light Runners” which is a national group. Blue Light Runners did meet up at the
Cardiff University Half Marathon.
I never started running to lose weight,
but I have now lost 3 stone, my stress and anxiety is under control without the
use of medication and I had covered the five pillars of good mental
health. I was exercising on a regular
basis, I had looked at my diet and improved it, my sleep was much better, I had
my self-esteem and was feeling much better and I was giving something back. Being involved in the running community
improved my support network which works in more than one direction.
Mindfulness has played an important part
of my running journey. Endurance
running (anything over 2 miles) tends to focus your mind on the moment, looking
at the here and now. Whilst your mind
is pre-occupied with the state your body is in it breaks the bigger problems
down and allows to you work through them in a logical way, with all of the
D.O.S.E chemicals being released into your body you can maintain the good
mental health to come up with solutions.
Two years ago, I became a mental health
champion for England Athletics. As part
of that I started to organise runs under their #runandtalk campaign with Mind
the mental health charity encouraging people to run a short distance have a
coffee and a chat about good mental health and running.
This year with lockdown I qualified with
England Athletics as a Leader in Run Fitness which allows me to organise, risk
assess and take groups out running with the ability to coach them to their own
potential.
If you are interested in running then
think about your own health and seek the advice of your GP first. Start slowly and allow your body to build up
your endurance in terms of getting your muscles working and increasing your
aerobic capacity. I hope I have given
you some ideas on what is out there and you can check out the following links
for more information. If you want some
advice then please let me know.
Please be aware that none of the groups are
currently running at the moment but they will be back! Check the websites for when they will all
restart and good luck with your journey.
Contact list
www.parkrun.org.uk
www.runtogether.co.uk/
www.westsussexfunrunleague.org.uk/
www.englandathletics.org
https://twitter.com/runners_blue
Article is now being used in a school in Ireland and in Haywards Heath Harriers newsletter.
