Women's Running March 2022

ISSUE 147 || MARCH 2022 “I won’t run until I’ve lost a bit of weight.” “I can’t run a 10K until I can run a faster 5K.” “Running isn’t for people like me.” These are genuine comments made to me by women over the past two months. They’re shocking, aren’t they? I believe that the running community is welcoming and I count myself as part of it, so what is that we’re doing wrong here? How is it that we have allowed these lovely women to believe these wholly wrong things? But while we think about that, I have a confession to make. Because it was while I was trying to digest the disparity between what women think, and what we’re trying to tell them, that I was reminded of my own inner…

…signed up Now we know how to enter every race from 5K to 50K on page 44 …dug deep And stuck that 10K PB training plan on page 50 up on the wall. This is our year! …reframed food Because we found out on page 84 that what we thought was ‘bad’ is actually good for us JOIN US! womensrunning.co.uk @womensrunninguk womensrunningmagazineuk @Womensrunninguk bit.ly/WRpod READ ANYWHERE AT ANY TIME! Download the Women’s Running app and buy a single issue for just £3.99. Or subscribe from just £2.99. Search Women’s Running in the app store. WITH YOU EVERY STEP Women’s Running is your community: a supportive place for all people who identify as women who love to run. Each issue is packed with advice on training, nutrition and kit, alongside inspirational real-life runners’ stories. Whether you’re considering your first ever run or you regularly take part…

Lucy Waterlow Lucy is an author and journalist who started running aged 10, inspired by her marathon-mad dad and elite athlete sister. She’s the ghostwriter of books Run Mummy Run, Nell McAndrew’s Guide to Running, and Mimi Anderson’s Beyond Impossible and Limitless. She’s recently qualified as a British Athletics coach to help others love running as much as she does. This issue she discovered how we can all banish imposter syndrome on page 32. Louise Pyne Louise is a qualified nutritionist. With a special interest in women’s wellbeing, Louise works with clients to get to the root of health issues to help restore optimum wellness. She is also a freelance health journalist and writes for a range of national publications about health and wellbeing. This issue she looked at everything we need to…

Our thoughts go to the family of Ashling Murphy, a 23-year-old primary school teacher living in Tullamore, County Off aly, who was murdered while she was out for a run on 12 January 2022. Ashling was running along a popular stretch of the Grand Canal in Cappincur in daylight when she was attacked. A man has subsequently been charged with her murder. The running community has come together in her memory to raise awareness of violence against women, with many holding group or virtual runs in honour of Ashling. In 2021, research from St Mary’s University, Twickenham, revealed that 84 per cent of women have been harassed while running. If you experience harassment, you can report the incident to your local police service (police.uk) to establish a record. If you are…

Congratulations to British ultra-runner and Montane athlete Debbie Martin-Consani for winning the Montane Spine Race, 2022. One of the world’s toughest endurance races, runners tackle the Pennine Way, the UK’s first national trail, in a gruelling, non-stop, seven-day race that pits participants against extreme weather conditions Debbie finished in 104 hours 8 minutes, coming in just under three hours ahead of second-placed Elaine Bisson. “I did the race in 2020 [2021 was cancelled] and I can’t articulate why I wanted to do it again, but I knew in my heart that I wanted to give it my best shot one more time,” Debbie told Women’s Running. “There are so many elements that individually would make any race tough. The 268 miles, the unpredictable British winter, the excessive kit list, lots of…

The mental health charity Mind has called for greater awareness of ‘rest days’ to reduce people’s risk of over-exercise and exercise addiction. New research from the charity suggests that some people who take part in physical activity or exercise may be unaware of the importance of taking rest days. The findings of their poll suggest that, while two thirds of people agree that physical activity should be in everyone’s ‘toolkit’ to support mental health, fewer than three in five active people build rest days into their activity routine and 18 per cent of people exercise when injured or unwell. | | Fewer than three in five active people build rest days into their activity routine | | The charity wants to highlight the importance of rest days to allow both the body and…