From the view of my office window, is Hannington road, it’s not a very busy road and therefore a favorite for young women and men that want love working-out. It’s common to see two or more people running up and down hill in the evenings. So many thoughts go through your mind as you watch these runners; we tend to think they are frivolous, lack ambition and some cyclists even throw mean comments at them to imply that they are gluttons and corrupt thus reason for the weight. All these negative thoughts and words don’t move them much, instead they quietly progress as they focus on reaching the finish line.

About three years ago, after grappling with overweight and criticism from friends and family, my husband – Nathan started running, his young brother introduced him to it. This was in a bid to reduce weight and increase fitness, never did he think it would get more serious than that. However, with every kilometer run, his zeal for the sport increased. What started as a weekend ‘exercise’ gradually turned out to be more fun than he had imagined!! He made running friends and together they formed a running club. Over time he stopped being your regular runner to an elite runner, going for nothing below 21kms every Saturday. These were huge strides in so short a time, the results were astounding, Nathan was beaming with good health and so were the victories accompanied with medals.

Lured into running

Then came the unexpected! Nathan convinced to join running, something I was not sure I would be interested in as I felt I needed more time with the kids – just like any concerned mother. He shared stories of couples that were part of their running club and how it would be fun to have me join him in this new hobby. I took the big decision after several months of encouragement and I have never looked back. There’s been a lot of progress on my side since 2018. I recall my first run was only 500metres and my legs pained badly; I detested Nathan for happily advising that only another run would cure the pain. I also hated to find out from other runners that was true. I then pushed my body to run more, what begun was walking revolved into walk-run and finally into running.  

Determination sets in

This success did not come easy, I had to succumb to negative comments from friends, strangers and cyclists. I didn’t let their cruel insults and comments discourage me, instead I ignored and moved on slowly but persistently. Today I feel extremely happy about myself. I am happy because my health is in check, am re-energized, full of joy, full of life and I get to do all this with my husband (couple goals). Last year, I took my determination to another level by making a shift from the regular 10kms to 21kms which is a half marathon. I was amazed at how easily I completed the race without any problem.

In this year 2020, my eyes are set on completing a full marathon of 42kms. This may seem extremely difficult and impossible to the ordinary person, however, with me dressed in this garment of determination, hardwork, persistence and faith, only the sky is the limit. I already feel unstoppable.

And who says running is only for adults…………….? Watch the space as I unveil how our children joined this running course