SETTING AN EXAMPLE

I have three children (Lily, 21; Maxim, 19; and Hugh, 14). With each of my pregnancies, I ran until around the sixth month and I also swam the day before each of them was born. Running absolutely saw me through my pregnancies and through those early weeks of being a new mother to each of them. It is difficult to express the considerable difference it made in my ability to manage my new life as a mother and with each new, wonderful child. Running gave me headspace, energy, strength and a sense of control when everything else often seemed out of control. I was not foolish; I did listen to my body but I also had to block away negative comments about what I was doing.