MEET SARAH, CLAIRE AND PADRAIG – –– OUR OUROUR LEADERS LEADERSLEADERS
Hi I’m Sarah. I’m 26 and I’m from Wexford.
I’m doing this because I work in an office so I’m sedentary during the day. It’s very easy to become unfit and get used to sitting around even after work. When you get home after a long day it’s hard to find the energy or motivation to get up and go out again. I enjoy going to the gym and love being outside and I think the training for the 10km will combine both of these. I’ve never run a 10k before but I’ve always wanted to. I think being a leader is the real push I’ve needed because now I’m accountable to more than myself.
My plans for 2017 are to push myself out of my comfort zone and I think this is the perfect way to do it. I’d also like to think that I could help encourage other people who wanted to run, by looking at me coming from never having run distance at all to being able to do 10km should show others that if I can do it, anyone can. I’m always looking for a new challenge and this one is my biggest yet.
Hello, my name is Claire Molloy and I’m 36 years old. I am married to Brian and have four kids, Robbie, Alice, Samuel and Seán. For many years I put off doing anything for myself as I was always busy with the kids and their sports: football, Gaelic, gymnastics and boxing. It was a good excuse for me, to be honest.
Last September my friend Sinéad O’Connor asked me to come along with her to a couch to 5k group with Dee Boland. I was so nervous but I went and my enjoyment of running took off from there. Dee gave me the confidence week in week out to keep going and I really found it enjoyable.
The mornings are a good time for me as all the kids are in school so I have made sure I get my time to do this for myself.
This time last year I would have laughed at anyone who told me I would be going to the Johnstown park runs on Saturday mornings, but here I am now going for my first 10km run. This is my new challenge and I look forward to seeing what happens.
My name is Padraig Doran. I’m the manager of Pettitt’s Supervalu, St Aidans, Wexford town. I’m 40 years old, and this is my biggest challenge ever. I’m not a fit person so I must be totally mad to be taking this on. The way I look at this is that I don’t mind how long it takes me once I finish it and cross the line.
I’m not racing against a time or anyone else, I just know that I will be a fitter person because of this. This gives me a reason to go out running in the evening after a day’s work rather than open a bottle of red wine. I really don’t mind if I come last as long as I finish it. I have three months to train, so here’s to it.
I do know any improvements to my wellbeing will be worth it, so if I’m walking funny around work, don’t mind me – it is probably after a night’s running.
It’s never too late to take up this. It has been too easy over the last few years to say I’ll start training next week or next month but now I have to stop putting it off and get stuck into it.
So hopefully in the next few months I’ll be a few pounds lighter and a little bit fitter.