From sick notes to tears of joy
Sam Laybourne, 37, from Coulsdon, Surrey
‘On the days we did cross-country at secondary school, I would try to be off sick to avoid it as I hated it that much. It was only one mile, but being a teenage girl, running around the fields in a flimsy PE kit was the last thing I wanted to do. My mates and I would just walk because we all hated it. There were a few sporty girls and fast lads who enjoyed it, but most of us found them the worst PE lessons ever.
Although I started going to the gym after I left school, I never considered going out for a run. But when I was in my early twenties, I met my future husband, Gary, who was a keen runner and triathlete. I barely knew what a triathlon was before meeting him. In those days, I would be up at the crack of dawn to watch him compete, but had no desire to run myself.
Things changed in 2016, when Gary and I were involved in a car crash while our baby girls, Mollie and Annabelle, were strapped in the back. Then, four months later, my dad passed away. I also suffered postnatal depression, so it wasn’t a good time. It made me think about wanting to do something different, so I signed up for the Race for Life; at 5K, it was the furthest I’d run since school. About a year later, I did the Couch to 5K plan for a bit of ‘me’ time and was surprised by how much I liked it, so signed up for the London 10,000 in 2018. I took this more seriously by joining a social running club and doing parkrun.
As I got more into running, I joined a different training group where I learned about pacing, tempo runs and hill sessions. Suddenly I was out training and Gary was at home with our daughters, asking when I would be back – a total role reversal. I met lots of new running friends and also entered more races, including the Great South Run.
I found that I was enjoying my running so much. It was amazing that I was now paying money to run races, when while I was at school, I would do everything possible to avoid running. When Gary had to pull out of the London Marathon last October, I suggested that we find a marathon we could run together. As a schoolgirl, running a mile was way too far and here I was suggesting 26.2 miles. Once Gary got over the shock, we chose to do the Manchester Marathon.
Gary, who coaches and competes, worked out a training plan for me and we ran for his charity, Coach Core. I stuck to the plan and did everything he said, from regular stretching to trying gels to help get me round on the day. It worked and I finished in 3:57, which I was delighted with. Gary, who finished in 2:22, was waiting for me at the finish and he was in tears when I came over the line because he was so proud of me. The enormity of what I’d achieved hit me the following day and I cried, too.
I tell my daughters, who both run, that it’s all about having fun – and that’s something I would never have said about my own running experience when I was at school. I used to absolutely dread running, but now it’s something that truly makes me happy.’
‘I used to dread running, but now it truly makes me happy’