Race for life!
>> Posted by Jo on Thursday, 23 September 2010 | Comments: (1)
This weekend Sat and I are going up to my hometown, Wigan, for a very special occasion. My dad is competing in his first ever 5km race. A great achievement in itself since he's 68 years of age and only started running around 18 months ago.
My parents haven't always been the athletic type, in fact my dad hadn't done any form of exercise at all since a broken leg ended his hopes of becoming a professional footballer at the age of 18 and my mum was never a big sports fan at all, even watching it never mind doing it! So what changed? Well, that's an interesting question.
Sat and I must accept some responsibility since we got the running bug in 2006 when we ran the London Marathon and then 2 years later completed the TransRockies Run (check out the CanDoSandhu blog for full details). At this point, my parents just thought we were a couple of nutters who liked nothing more than jumping out of bed at 5am and running a half marathon before work - it'd never be something they'd consider doing. But as time drew closer for dad to retire, he started to wonder how he was going to spend his days without going to the office - he decided running might just be the answer.
Within a few weeks both mum and dad had started jogging. Sometimes separately, sometimes together. We even got them kitted out with proper running shoes on a visit to London courtesy of Runners Need where they do full gait analysis on a treadmill. I still tease them about that first time on a treadmill - Dad lifting his knees way too high, mum worrying that it'd be too fast!
Over the weeks and months they got into different routines but each of them became very focused on improving their own health and vitality. Mum was walking to work every day and dad was jogging twice a week. Both of them started having a much more well balanced diet with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. That combination of exercise and good diet meant they had much more energy and they wanted to do something positive with it. At a Wigan Athletic home game dad heard that the Rotary Club of Wigan was holding a Run 4 A Life race to raise money for the Everyman Campaign which specialises in research into male cancers. If Roberto Martinez thought it was a good idea, then dad didn't need much persuading to enter! He's been training ever since and regularly texts me when he's achieved a new personal best time. I think he's about to become a bit of a celebrity since the local paper has interviewed him and are coming round to take a photo too!
Mum on the other hand, has lost around 20kgs with her new regime and is looking fantastic. A renewed zest for life, enhanced confidence and self-belief has done wonders for her. She's taking cardio and toning classes and also has her first race scheduled for next month - something which even a few months ago she would never had thought possible.
I can tell you just how far they've come on this journey because when I spoke to them last weekend they had been watching coverage of the Great North Run on the TV. Mum had an instant affection for Haile Gebrselassie in his post-race interview saying wasn't he "a nice man" and "didn't he make it look easy!" There's even a rumour that she's beginning to consider running it herself next year. - WOW!
The secret to success is in the little steps we make on a consistent basis - these make the biggest difference. This is a perfect example and my parents' determination and dedication to consistently set and achieve bigger and better goals. It also demonstrates that age is no barrier to anything if you want it enough. It's rewarding for them and gives me a great sense of pride. A pride I know we'll all share on Sunday when we cheer my dad over the finishing line.
My parents haven't always been the athletic type, in fact my dad hadn't done any form of exercise at all since a broken leg ended his hopes of becoming a professional footballer at the age of 18 and my mum was never a big sports fan at all, even watching it never mind doing it! So what changed? Well, that's an interesting question.
Sat and I must accept some responsibility since we got the running bug in 2006 when we ran the London Marathon and then 2 years later completed the TransRockies Run (check out the CanDoSandhu blog for full details). At this point, my parents just thought we were a couple of nutters who liked nothing more than jumping out of bed at 5am and running a half marathon before work - it'd never be something they'd consider doing. But as time drew closer for dad to retire, he started to wonder how he was going to spend his days without going to the office - he decided running might just be the answer.
Within a few weeks both mum and dad had started jogging. Sometimes separately, sometimes together. We even got them kitted out with proper running shoes on a visit to London courtesy of Runners Need where they do full gait analysis on a treadmill. I still tease them about that first time on a treadmill - Dad lifting his knees way too high, mum worrying that it'd be too fast!
Over the weeks and months they got into different routines but each of them became very focused on improving their own health and vitality. Mum was walking to work every day and dad was jogging twice a week. Both of them started having a much more well balanced diet with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. That combination of exercise and good diet meant they had much more energy and they wanted to do something positive with it. At a Wigan Athletic home game dad heard that the Rotary Club of Wigan was holding a Run 4 A Life race to raise money for the Everyman Campaign which specialises in research into male cancers. If Roberto Martinez thought it was a good idea, then dad didn't need much persuading to enter! He's been training ever since and regularly texts me when he's achieved a new personal best time. I think he's about to become a bit of a celebrity since the local paper has interviewed him and are coming round to take a photo too!
Mum on the other hand, has lost around 20kgs with her new regime and is looking fantastic. A renewed zest for life, enhanced confidence and self-belief has done wonders for her. She's taking cardio and toning classes and also has her first race scheduled for next month - something which even a few months ago she would never had thought possible.
I can tell you just how far they've come on this journey because when I spoke to them last weekend they had been watching coverage of the Great North Run on the TV. Mum had an instant affection for Haile Gebrselassie in his post-race interview saying wasn't he "a nice man" and "didn't he make it look easy!" There's even a rumour that she's beginning to consider running it herself next year. - WOW!
The secret to success is in the little steps we make on a consistent basis - these make the biggest difference. This is a perfect example and my parents' determination and dedication to consistently set and achieve bigger and better goals. It also demonstrates that age is no barrier to anything if you want it enough. It's rewarding for them and gives me a great sense of pride. A pride I know we'll all share on Sunday when we cheer my dad over the finishing line.
1 comments:
That's so cool.. I knew that your parents had taken up running but I didn't realise how much progress they had made. Good luck to your Dad for Sunday!
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