I was never a runner and only really ever did it to keep in shape for other sports. I always used to joke that a sport needed a ball involved (soccer, tennis, squash, etc) for me to want to participate in it! After having kids, I didn’t really have the time or confidence anymore to do all those same sports and a friend invited me to the Let’s Run Girls Couch to 5k group that had just started in the village. I was skeptical at first and worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle it amongst all the “real” runners, but the group was so incredibly welcoming and I surprised myself by being able to run a 5k by the end of the program.
Fast forward a little to the covid lockdowns, the group was my reprieve from life at home and some of the only people I saw in person outside of my immediate family for awhile. Words cannot express how incredibly important that was for my mental and physical health.
After another break due to baby number two, LRG welcomed me back for another round of Couch to 5k in 2023. Some of the group members had changed during the time away, but it continued to practice the same ethos of being a welcoming and encouraging group. That summer, in July 2023, I did my first parkrun, completing it in 35:42, something I truly never thought I’d be able to do because like I said before, I was not a runner!
When you graduate from Couch to 5k with LRG, you can join a steady group that goes at the same time. After a year with the steady group, I was able to run the village parkrun in under 30 minutes! I also managed to do a local 10k in under an hour that same month, which is when the running bug truly got me and I started thinking maybe I could actually manage to finish a half marathon.
I set a goal for myself of running a half marathon before turning 40 and thought that this next Cambridge Half would be that first one. The plan changed when a friend from running group convinced me to sign up for a trail half marathon in November 2024 with a week's notice (so I did not manage to properly train for it). Perhaps not one of my finest ideas, but I’m also amazed at what my body can do, completing it in 2 hours 20 minutes! I have more notice for this next one, and the terrain will be much easier, so I’m aiming to hopefully beat that time.
I really never thought any of this would be possible: running a sub-30 minute 5k, a sub-hour 10k, or completing a half marathon. And none of it would have happened without the support and accountability that Let’s Run Girls provided and continues to give to me.
Now a bit about Let’s Run Girls. The most important parts (at least in my opinion) - the group is FREE to join and it’s a women's group. I think these aspects of the group help with some of the barriers that women experience when it comes to sports, especially as adults. When I joined, I didn’t face the barrier of a joining fee at a gym or an expensive monthly payment. And with the group being all women, I felt much more comfortable going to it when I was new to the sport.
Let's Run Girls started in Chesterton (Cambridge) in 2016, and now offers free running groups in 18 locations. Each group is run by volunteer run leaders, and simply put LRG would not exist without them!
With this being my sixth year in the group, I would like to help contribute by participating in this fundraiser for them. Please help if you can, every few £ can do essential work for them such as training up new running group leaders while keeping the group free for all their participants.
Finally, if you are a local woman over the age of 16 and interested in joining, please do! https://www.letsrungirls.com/run-with-us
As a thank you for donating:
- £5+: a link to my 5k playlist (don't judge, my taste in music is eclectic to say the least!)
- £10+: a link to my 10k playlist (it gets worse)
- £25+: I'm happy to do some Couch to 5k runs with you if you're local
I'll try and post share training updates when I remember to on social media, or you can follow along on Strava if you search for me: K Bradley https://strava.app.link/pPAAzrAZ7Pb
Thank you!