Jane - Blogger, Runner, Motivator

Whilst training for my first half in Blackpool and looking for any advice out on the interwebs, I came across a blog written by a newbie (ish) runner who had taken part in the Blackpool half in possibly the worst weather conditions ever.  Her humour towards the situation and the task ahead gave me faith in the running community.  The post gave me real inspiration and self belief, so I had to contact the blogger.  Jane thankfully returned my message and we subsequently (sporadically) stayed in touch.  With Big Thinker, Bigger Doer, Jane reviews her events in a meticulous fashion, but rarely remembers names of her fellow runners and gives them great little nicknames.  I do intend to eventually meet Jane and even have a little run with her.  


With intentions of bringing more people to the world of running, Jane recently set up her #MileShyClub, but I will let Jane tell you more about that....

1) Every story has a beginning, what first inspired you to start running?

As is the case with most runners, other runners inspired me to run.  I remember moving to Manchester around ten years ago and one of the first things that struck me was just how many runners there were.  It went from there really…

2) What do you find most rewarding about running?

When I first started out it was about being healthy (quitting smoking) and looking good.  It’s still about being healthy, not just physically but mentally too.  But one reward I find that no one talks about is the freedom it gives you.  Getting your trainers on and going out the front door – it’s the easiest, quickest and cheapest way for “me” time.  I’ve seen the world in a completely different way – I’ve run the Las Vegas strip, round Central Park and through New York, along beaches in Spain, discovering castles along the way, passed Muslims praying by the sea at 7am in the morning in Turkey and seen someone catch a stingray on the beach at the Gold Coast in Australia! You get the privilege of seeing the world differently.

3) What tech/gear/apps do you use? Do you think it benefits you? 

I’m a tech-geek.  I owned a Garmin 405cx for around 7 years until it made the fatal error of crashing on me minutes before the start of my first marathon.  Despite it reviving itself in time, I don’t think I ever got over that, and now I have the Garmin Vivoactive HR which measures everything.  I have logged all my runs for the last 8 years using my running watches, it’s so easy to automatically upload the data and I love to see my progress.  Not just with speed, but over the years and the total amount of mileage I’ve covered. I use www.fetcheveryone.com which is a great website and worth a look.

4) What do you think about whilst you are out pounding the pavement?

It depends on what type of run I’m doing.  If I am training for a race, I’ll focus on the route, the success, my pace, the need to be the best I can be.  If I’m out for a long run then I’ll think about personal things that bother me, or business ideas for my running club.  I tend to think a lot about other people on my long runs. I have often said it’s my way of finding peace with the world, it’s my “Church” on a Sunday morning where I reflect on pretty much everything.

5) How do you balance family, work and training?

I’m a workaholic and trying to achieve that balance is a constant struggle, one I sometimes find myself feeling guilty over.  With the #MileShyClub doing so well at the moment, I’m working on maintaining that interest, but at the same time my eldest has a GCSE next week so we’re “dealing with that” (I’ve put that in speech marks because anyone who has a teenage daughter will know what I mean!).  I have a really amazing and supportive partner of 7 years who I recently got engaged to.  Training always has to come secondary to family and work, which I admittedly find hard.

6) What is your training regime? How many times a week do you train?

It depends on the time of year.  In winter from December time I can be training 4 to 5 times a week, getting out for a run most days, and also swimming with Trafford Masters once a week, preparing for the marathon season.  In Summer months, I love to open water swim, so I’ll swim at least twice a week, as well as run 3 times a week (1 long distance, 1 speed and 1 whatever I feel like).  Then on top of that, I’m currently in the gym twice a week strength training ready for marathon training to hopefully ensure I avoid injury.

7) What are your fastest 5k, 10k, Half and Full Marathon times?

I don’t race much, I find the whole experience really stressful, but I’m working on that! Most of my PB’s are from a while ago:

Stretford 5k ParkRun - January 2016 24:23
(New Update 24/07/2017: I got a 5k PB last Thursday at a Sale Sizzler race - 24:05)

Manchester Winter Run 10k - February 2016 49:11

Blackpool Half Marathon February 2015 - 1hr 50 mins

Manchester marathon - April 2017 (with little training) 4 hrs 36 mins 17 seconds (a 7 second PB on my 2015 time)

I’m not happy with the marathon times – I know I can do better so am working hard in the gym.  I’m doing the Manchester half marathon this year for a PB attempt.

9) I am a big fan or run bling and race t-shirts, do any medals or memorabilia bring back great memories for you?  What do you do with the medals and t-shirts?

I loved the medal from the Manchester Winter Run with the polar bear on the front.  And I still have the Manchester marathon foil blanket from 2015 because it was my first ever marathon.  I also own a pink hoody which brings back great memories from the Blackpool half marathon in 2015.  There were 2 runners from Blackburn Road Runners (Heidi and Suzanne) who had finished the half marathon but had lost their friend who had keys for the car with all their belongings in.  The conditions were atrocious, it was snowing/sleeting and they were just in running gear.  I ended up putting them in my car, sharing my coffee and giving them my pink hoody to keep them warm. The club were amazing and sent me goodies in the post to say thank you and Suzanne came to cheer me on at my first marathon!

But in terms of medals, I am not that fussed.  I even threw out my first ever medal from my first ever race, which to be honest, I now regret.  But then I never thought I’d run marathons at that time and thought it was just a passing phase but here we are now… all my latest medals are in a drawer and I occasionally come across them and like to feel the weight of them…

10) Any race or event which ones stand out above the rest and why?

I’d like to say the Manchester marathon stood out as the key one for me, but I think it was a case of being so focused and determined to complete my first marathon that the actual day wasn’t as good as I had imagined.  The Blackpool half marathon was awesome because of its horrificness (made up word I know!). The conditions were abysmal, it was snowing on the route, the sea was splashing up against us and the wind was a nightmare, yet I still couldn’t believe my finish time.  I completely exceeded my expectations in 1 hr 50 mins. I cried.  I also cried at the end of the Manchester Winter Run because of the amazing stories I had read on the backs of the people I had been running with.  I also met a friend for life, Karl Baxter, at the end of the Leeds Abbey Dash 10k in 2015 who picked me up at about mile 5 and got me through.  I thought I would have breezed through following the marathon earlier that year but it was not the case…

11) Where did you complete your first race? Do you remember how you felt when you crossed the finish line?

I completed the Leeds half marathon in 2010 as my first race. Yeah, how naïve was I? I did it in 2 hours 12 minutes though which again, exceeded expectations. I remember the last few miles of that race.  I completely legged it and just as I turned the bend on the road which leads straight into the city centre, some classical music kicked in on my mp3 and it became this whole cathartic, inspiring moment when nothing else mattered and it was just me running.  I grew up in Leeds you see, and moved to Manchester for a fresh start after a messy divorce, and going back to Leeds to do that race was my way of saying, “look how far I’ve come”.  I’d told my family to wait for me at the finish at around the 2 hours 30 minute mark and they just caught me flying through at the end!

12) You have recently set up #MileShyClub as a way of inspiring anyone to start running no matter their ability, tell us more about why you set this up and your goals.

I think it’s obvious from the last few years of blogging that I am really passionate about the sport in general.  It’s been transformative for me – cheesy as it sounds – it’s been life changing! A life lesson I have learned is that if you’re not happy with your life, then you need to change it.  Obvious as that sounds, most people stay living the same life because it’s easier than risking change.  I knew my day job, that I was due to be in for the next 40 years or so, wasn’t going to make my life fulfilling enough to, quite frankly, want to live it.  Something had to change. I can run. I can write. I know how to run a business.  I thought of something that could combine the two and here we are! I qualified as a fitness instructor and running coach in November last year, did my first aid training and on 8^th January 2017, the #MileShyClub started. I wasn’t a born runner, I had to drag myself physically and mentally into running, and I feel a lot of people don’t attempt running because they think it’s too hard. I want to change that.

13) Reading your blog, you push through so many aches and pains to reach the finish line.  In fact, reading your recent Manchester Marathon post I was filling up near the end.  What inspires you to keep going and still offer support, advice and frivolities to runners around you?

It’s a desire to be the best version of myself possible.  To be the best runner.  To be the kindest I can be to others.  Particularly with marathon running, you see real struggle.  People running for loved ones.  People crossing finishing lines and collapsing.  Then there’s the support on route which is always phenomenal (particularly for Manchester!) Life is difficult enough for most people so it’s my aim to be simply kinder to others.  Not so much to my toes of course, but that’s what motivates me!

14) Do you have any run superstitions, lucky clothing, routines that must be followed pre-race/run?

Maybe this is too much info but I put my sports bra on a tighter setting than normal for races.  I took a ‘Superman’ badge with me on my first marathon which was a gift from my eldest daughter, and I wrote my daughter’s names on the sport tape on my legs! I need to wear comfy shorts that come around half way down the thigh to prevent chafing! I get obsessive over shoe laces and how tight they are.  I take rolled up toast with me on the day to eat or discard, depending on how my stomach is feeling.

15) If you could choose with anyone famous (including fictional), who would you run with and why?

It would be my old school teachers – Mr Roberts, Mr Flanaghan and Mr Forster.  I used to laugh at them as a kid, but in reality, I completely couldn’t understand how they could run for miles and miles and actually enjoy it.  I get it now.  I want to tell them that. In terms of someone famous, I would love to take a gentle jog down the road with Usain Bolt.  He’s someone that is super talented, confident and outgoing, an ambassador for the sport, but hasn’t let fame get to his head.

16) If you could offer any advice to yourself before you started running, what would it be?

Don’t over train, take more rest days.  I had serious calf injuries when I first started because I overdid it.  I started running on treadmills and remember my calf just “popping” on the treadmill in the gym one day.  I stopped, got off, then hobbled out.  Thing is, the gym was on the first floor, so I had to hold onto the banister on the stairs and slide to the ground floor (hilarious thinking about it now!).  Luckily, at the time I drove an automatic car, so could get home using just one foot to operate the gears.  When I got home, I couldn’t get out the car and my boyfriend at the time had to help me. I was on crutches for a few days and couldn’t run for months and months. It hurt.

Quick Fire Questions

1) Listen to music or alone with your thoughts?

Depends – a fast run under 10 miles then no music.  A slow run over 10 miles will usually see me take headphones, but I won’t start to use them until after 15 miles should boredom set in. I’m always thinking on my runs, music or not!

2) Hills on purpose or stick to flats? 

On purpose, always. Every hill I pass has to be run.

3) If it is raining, do you brave it or wait till it stops? 

If it’s raining I go out like it’s Christmas and feel like Jason Bourne.

4) Energy Gel, Banana or other? 

Haribo. Great incentive to get me out for the longer runs and well received at 17 miles. Despite loving it, I avoid it like the plague any other time because it’s got to be one of the worst things for your body!

5) Fill in the blank, "Running is ______ "

Therapy.

6) What is next for you?

Personally, I want to run the London marathon, I’ve applied 6 or 7 times now.  The focus next year is to try and get a sub 4-hour marathon which is a big ask, and this year I want to get a half marathon PB under 1 hours 50 mins. The dream is to get a qualifying time for London in the Manchester marathon next year, but although the sub 4 is possible, I think a qualifying time might be the year after.  We’ll see.  I’m also looking to take on further training and qualifications myself to expand my knowledge and offering to my #MileShyClub runners.

#MileShyClub wise we are growing fast.  I’ve got helpers in the club who I want to train as Run Leaders.  I’m looking at 10k group options, self-defense training classes for the winter, and 10k races later in the year.  The goal is to expand outwards with the club and start it elsewhere, sort of franchise it like ParkRun, as a bridge between the non-runners and ParkRun. But I want to get the experience behind me first, get experience in the fitness industry, understand it more, and target more areas which are under-represented.


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