Meet the Leader - Hilary
Hilary had never been much of a one for exercise except, that before having children, she enjoyed hill walking when the weather was nice and the odd skiing holiday. Team sports did nothing for her and she was incapable of catching, throwing or hitting a ball. That said, She has always been aware of the need to keep active to stay healthy – even when all she did about it was think up excuses about how she didn’t have the time.
About 5 years ago she retired and suddenly became a lot less active than she had been. Action was needed and she manifestly did now have the time to exercise! She signed up at the gym and tried out a few classes. Spin cycling showed that she had exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (asthma) and was given an inhaler by her GP. Now that she could breathe freely, and for the first time since she left school, she thought she would give jogging a go. Her daughter recommended Couch to 5k so she downloaded the app and made a start. By week 4 her knee was hurting. She went to the doctor and expected to be told to ‘act her age’ and give up running but he was very supportive and sent her off to the physio.
After completing C25k, a friend suggested parkrun. What an amazing charity that is! She mostly goes on her own but has never felt alone – the atmosphere is always so positive. One thing leads to another and she started to run with Jog Belper about a year before Covid hit. A bit of informal running in-between lockdowns with Sarah Baker amongst others led to her coming along to Rogues in 2021.
Hilary says she loves Rogues. No-one cares that she doesn’t run very fast. “Since joining I have met so many lovely people, had fun, discovered new places and learned about Jeffing. Thanks to Tessa Clements, I am now a total convert to Jeffing and am using it to extend the distances I can cover.” I hope to complete my first half marathon later this year. If you’re interested in trying it for yourself, book onto a Jeffing Squad session and give it a go.
