Thursday, 25 July 2013

Community

Since I started running just over 2 years ago I have grown to love the community we live in.  As a runner you learn so much about your community.  What it looks, and sounds, and feels like in the darkness of morning, and then how it slowly begins to wake up with the sun. How the streets rise and fall under your feet, and where the trails are hiding and inviting you to explore.  

It doesn't take long to become part of the running community.  Hello's are exchanged between passing runners, or maybe just a smile, or wave, or perhaps a grunt when that is all that can be mustered. When running my hill repeats a couple of weeks ago, a kind runner on her way by shouted, "Doing hills...Great job!"  She certainly buoyed me up on repeat 10 of 14!   

This running community is vast.  It is not limited only by the borders of our city.  Whenever we run a race we see this community of runners out in full force.  The sea of runners, the race organizers, the amazing volunteers...These are the people that make running great.  At The Around The Bay 30K when we stopped so I could stretch my very cranky, and very tired of running on a slanted road hip, another runner stopped thinking I was having electrolyte related cramping, to offer me a salt tablet.  The running community is big hearted, it's inclusive, it's empowering.

A month or so after I started running I read the book Run Like A Mother: How to Get Moving-and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity, and then immediately after finishing it I turned back to the beginning and read it again.  
source

Authors Sarah Bowen Shea and Dimity McDowell have created an amazing community of "Mother Runners" on their website and Facebook page.  This community is a rich source of information, there is so much wisdom and experience to be shared by runners of all skill levels and stages of experience.  Even more important then the informative aspect is the camaraderie.  Though we come from many situations and walks of life we share the common bond of being mothers and being runners.  I can find people there who understand what it's like to orchestrate and then run a double stroller run.  Getting out the door is usually the hardest part!  I can find women who are juggling families, and homes, and jobs, and running, who get sheer, bone aching, tear inducing exhaustion.  And if you hang out for just long enough you'll see all sorts of chatter about bodily functions and fluids, injuries, PR's, struggles, and goals.  It is a place of acceptance and encouragement.  I can say one thing for certain, without that community I would not have accomplished the things I have in running, and I would not have the inner sense of confidence and empowerment that it has created.
source  "Train Like a Mother"-The companion to "Run Like a Mother"

Today I am the featured runner on the Another Mother Runner Website!  I am so honoured to have had this opportunity.  I am so grateful to Sarah and Dimity for all they have created, for the inspiration they are to Mother Runners around the world!  You can check out my profile here.



You can find their books on amazon.com and amazon.ca

7 comments:

  1. Hi, so nice to see a Runner Mother from Canada featured on Follow this Mother! I had the same story as you with being a part of this community, but I've struggled to connect with the more northern tribe. I look forward to following your journey. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Same here! I was featured on a why I run last year and I've loved connecting with a few other Canadians through their site and through dailymile! Look forward to reading more of your back story. My son has a heart condition too and had open heart surgery at 7 days old. We had the same experience of total care for us, though we were still living in Australia then.
    Happy to have found you through them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Annet, What a small world. I connected with another Canadian running cardiac mama through AMR a few weeks ago! Had a peek at your blog. Glad to see your son is doing so well!

      Delete
  3. Hi Annet,
    I just read your post on AMR. My daughter, Emery, is 8 months old today. On February 27 (5 months ago tomorrow) she had surgery to repair an ASD and VSD that was causing her to not gain weight and go into heart failure. Today I'm happy to report that she is a happy, healthy, thriving girl who brings our family such joy. The morning after her surgery I ran 5 miles around the hospital grounds to keep from dissolving into a puddle of tears. The nurses and even my husband thought this was a little crazy. Thanks for putting into words why I needed to do it. I'm glad your son is doing well. Best of luck in your races :) Ellen Frazier

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So many running mamas of cardiac babies! I hear you about running to keep from dissolving into a puddle of tears. Leading up to Cooper's surgery I ran so SO much, I was running high mileage almost every day just trying to keep it together. So glad to hear the Emery is doing well! They are so amazingly resilient.

      Delete
    2. Also, I adore the name Emery!

      Delete