Born to Run – How running became part of my self-care toolkit - Jo Mallaber
We first came across Jo when she tagged us in her Instagram stories (@this_girl_called_jo_can). She was about to do her first night open water swim and her story was funny and authentic. We contacted Jo and heard tales of her sporting pursuits :we loved how she had found exercise and how it was and is such a big part of her life. We wanted to share her story to inspire others and to demonstrate how sport can help us all. Thanks Jo for sharing your story.
My sporting life begins at primary school. I took part in the netball team, but I couldn’t tell you what position I played and I approached sports days for the excitement of being out on the school playing fields in glorious sunshine, and not sat at our desks inside. I wasn’t really that bothered.
Events that changed that in me were when I came third in the 100m sprint and the obstacle course in Year 5 and my team got a podium place for the relay. I can still see myself sat by the track buzzing from my achievements and telling a teacher, ‘I knew it. I knew I could do it. I could feel it in my bones!’ I guess part of the reason that feeling felt so big in my nine-year-old self is because I had never considered myself as good as the ‘sporty’ girls at school.
How I started running
My running achievements were noticed that sports day by the loveliest, warmest teacher you could find in a primary school, Mrs Reardon. She asked me if I would like to join the cross-country team! Why she thought I would be good at cross country after coming third in the 100m sprint, I do not know but perhaps she saw something in me that I hadn’t recognised. (I was only nine after all!)
From then on, most Saturday mornings were taken up with running round the muddy paths of a park near where I lived. I was always near the back of the pack, but I never stopped running and I always gave the awaiting crowd at the finish something to get excited about with a sprint finish. Mrs Reardon insisted upon sportsmanship and valued effort: the team waited until the last runner came in and she told me that no matter what position I came in, I always gained the team an extra point.
Mrs Reardon’s belief in me made me start to believe in myself. At secondary school, PE lessons excited me and being picked for school teams was important to me; however, frustratingly, it was also an age when being into sports was very uncool and I was picked on for being a swot. Fabulous! However, the buzz of winning games and being given the PE award in Year 10, (much to the annoyance of those that had actually chosen PE as a GCSE!) far outweighed the sarcastic remarks and shoves along the corridors.
From then on, I sought out sporting opportunities - it was apparent to me that physical activity had become a core part of my identity. I missed it when it wasn’t there. I tried and succeeded at kickboxing, joined a gym but it was a colleague at the BBC who needed a running buddy that first got me into pounding the local pavements. I remember that first lunchbreak run vividly: I couldn’t get my breath into a comfortable pattern and I couldn’t understand how anyone found this a fun pastime! That swiftly changed when I started putting races into my calendar. I love a bit of bling!
In amongst all those miles I got married (husband Richard was into running as much as I was. He proposed to me in Horse Guards Parade after completing the London Marathon in 2009!) and I also became a mum. That’s when running became more than just running.
Running and post-natal depression
The traumatic birth of my first child began a journey with post-natal depression (PND). I entered a relentlessly dark, confusing, and isolating place, which took me a number of years to recover from. I took medication, attended counselling, talked to a lot of people, and did a lot of running. Running was part of my self-care toolkit. I’m glad it was there waiting for me and I’m glad it’s still in my toolkit now. It was, and is ,my therapy.
When the children were babies, it gave me time out of the house and out of my scrambled, tired, and wired head. The fresh air blew away the unkind dialogue I was telling myself; my rhythmic breath slowed down my racing mind; the Manchester rain gave me an opportunity to cry and I felt lifted just enough to go back home and be mummy again or to explain to my husband why I was feeling this way. Richard could see the difference in me after a run: I was brighter, chattier and was able to think more logically. Even if the side effects of a run were short lived, it was certainly worth doing and running slowly but surely allowed me to walk away from the dark cloud hanging over me.
Trying new sporting pursuits
In the last few years, I decided to shake up my gym training with the help of a personal trainer and found a love of weightlifting. I’ve loved learning the different lifts, enjoyed the feeling of strength and being confident in the free weights section of the gym. My PT introduced me to OCR’s - obstacle course racing – and when he stopped training me, I moved onto Crossfit. I love exercising with others and now understand the difference between a WOD, an AMWRAP and DU!
Running is the common thread throughout my exercise journey, and I’ve been fortunate to find a group of women who meet for weekly runs. They form part of a community of women called Solemother who support each other to keep active. It is a fabulous example of women building other women up and has helped towards building me back up after PND and helped me make friends in a new area with likeminded goals.
I have race medals hanging in my dining room which I look at with pride on a daily basis and which my children marvel at. They stand for 5 and 10kms, trail runs, half marathons and three marathons as well as OCR medals - Spartan and OCR World Championship medals to add to my stash of bling.
The 2021 London Marathon, my third, will hopefully yield my fourth marathon medal. It should have taken place this year, of course, and been part of my 40th birthday celebrations but, now, I just see it as an opportunity to do more of what I love for my health both mental and physical – run.
Thank you Jo for being so candid about your experiences.
Look out for blogs in the future from Jo on different sports she’s tried!