RUNNING AND PREGNANCY
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Parkrun has been the cornerstone of Kirsty Hingston’s running before, during and after pregnancy. The 37-year-old from Suffolk ran three to four times a week before becoming pregnant with her daughter, who is now six months old.
At the time, she was training for her first marathon by mixing up events, social runs and a long Sunday run. ‘When I found out I was pregnant I was kind of gutted, as I knew my marathon training had to stop,’ says Hingston. But instead of abandoning running, she spoke to her GP and midwife, and did her own research. ‘They said carry on but don’t overdo it,’ she says. ‘So I knew I could keep running as long as I wasn’t pushing too hard.’
Hingston has Crohn’s disease, arthritis and fibromyalgia, so running was important for keeping her muscles strong and reducing pain. As her pregnancy progressed, she found it harder to run, so she adapted her style and frequency. ‘I was “jeffing” (run-walking) a lot and running less,’ she says. ‘It was no more than 5km once or twice a week. I wore a support belt the bigger my bump got and I didn't have any issues.’
Her final pregnant run was a parkrun at 39 weeks, the day before she w
