Former nurse helps people quit smoking with a pair of running shoes
Gwen Eccleston, a former nurse, was a pack-a-day smoker for 20 years, but now she is helping others kick the habit by hosting the Walk or Run to Quit program.
Eccleston started smoking when most people did, in high school. She was a cheerleader and smoking was the “cool” thing to do, she said. She remembers going outside the gym doors with the other cheerleaders and smoking the cigarettes they had stolen from their parents.
She had tried to quit many times before but she kept coming back. It wasn't until she had thought “what kind of example am I setting for my children?” that she found the drive to quit for good.
Using a nicotine patch, she was able to get away from smoking initially, but in order to stay away from it for good she took up running. This got her involved with the Walk or Run to Quit program, which is partially funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and combines the knowledge of the Canadian Cancer Society and walking/ running expertise of the Running Room at 210 Hunter St. W.
“I’m very competitive, so every time I started I did it with a goal in mind. That’s how I got to the Achilles 5k in Toronto, the Angus Glenn Series and eventually to my first half-marathon in Nashville,” she said.
This will be Eccleston’s first time hosting the program, which started back in 2017.
According to Eccleston, 50 per cent of participants stayed smoke free six months after the program. According to a press release by Walk or Run to Quit, those who participated continued to run on average three times a week.
She says she may not look like a runner but she very much is and the program takes in people of all different skill levels. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t run since high school or you have asthma and can’t run for extended periods of time -- they take on everyone as long as they are willing to try.
Health Canada offers some advice on quitting smoking: Quit smoking and you'll start feeling better within 24 hours.
The minute you stop smoking, your body will begin cleansing itself of tobacco toxins. Two days after you quit, your risk of heart attack will start decreasing.
One of the hurdles many people face is doubt before they’ve even begun, Eccleston said, but that’s why they set realistic goals for time and distance so that when they meet those goals it encourages them to keep going.
The main things, Eccleston says, to help quit smoking are motivation and support.
“When people come to the program they will get plenty of support from me and others trying to quit and the motivation must be there if they have gone this far,” she said.
The 10-week program kicks off on April 9 at the Running Room at 6:30 p.m. There will also be virtual training across the country which starts April 16.