#CommunityStories - Inspiring the Next Generation of Runners

At TMR we run for headspace and friendship. We see this in the thousands of posts that flood our groups year in and year out. We know that when we share these stories of friendship and headspace, that we inspire more women in our communities to get out for a run and feel the difference that running can bring to your health and happiness. As women, we know that empowering ourselves this way, empowers other women in our communities too.

This can have an even bigger impact on the world around us. It reaches even further than what goes on in our groups. For many of our members who are mothers, they have also seen the change it has made to their families and in the lives of their children.

We not only inspire the community, but the next generation or runners too, inspiring our children and setting them on an earlier path of knowing that running can help you lead a life that makes you feel happier and healthier.  

A community story that captures just that is one from our Bristol community members, Liz Hooper where she shared this story.

“I love these girls! They’re playing mummies and have just called each other for a “mum run”. They park their babies then stretch and run round the house chatting and giggling to each other. I’m so proud that this is behaviour they choose to copy of mine (yes, I have been known to giggle and run) and that this is what they see as an important part of being a mum. They end by shouting “bye other mum, see you next week” at the end of their run. Bless them.”

More about Liz’s run story and inspiring her lovely girls, here: 

Hi, I’m Liz and I’m a runner. I wouldn’t have thought I’d say that as I used to dally with running pre-children as something I could do a little bit of but wasn’t really for me.

 I joined This Mum Runs Facebook page in August 2015 and got stuck into the community as a place for support, information and somewhere to meet other local running mums. We’d just lost our little Meredith, she was stillborn at term in June 2015 and I needed a focus so my husband and I signed up to run the bristol 10k for 2016 and raise funds for SANDS (stillbirth and neonatal death society). I started my training in earnest then found out I was pregnant again with our third little girl. My husband and a team of my friends went on to run the 10k in May 2016 and I cheered from the sidelines while they raised an incredible £3k for SANDS. I gave birth to Tilly in June 2016, a little early but all was well.

 Running has continued to be an important part of my life and as soon as I was able to, I started running again to give myself a little bit of time for me. I did manage to run the Bristol 10k in 2018 thanks to winning a place through a TMR competition and it was a fantastic race! I loved every minute of it, even the dodgy portaloo experience along the way. I’m not fast and I don’t really go very far either but then that’s not what running means to me. It’s about getting some fresh air, moving my body in a way that feels good to me and having a good old natter.

My girls (9 and 5) often like to play mummies and they enjoy parking their babies then stretching and setting off on a run around the house. They loop to stay at the same pace and chatter away the whole time. They love pretending to be different people each time and make up names for themselves and stories about how many babies they each have (sometimes there are twins and triplets). They always make sure to say goodbye to the other mummy and promise to see them next week. I know that they are copying my behaviour of running with other mums and enjoying some time not having to worry about tiny humans and enjoying the headspace that brings. I love that this is one of the things they see as an important part of being a mum and it makes me so proud to be part of the TMR community and share a love of running with them.