RUNNING PARENTS
FINDING A WAY TO WEAVE IN THEIR MILES AROUND THE DEMANDS OF SOLO PARENTING HAS ENRICHED THE LIVES OF THESE FOUR RUNNERS – AND THEIR KIDS
Making time in a busy day to run is a challenge for any parent, but when you’re parenting solo, the logistics can sometimes seem impossible. Yet finding a way can benefit the whole family. There’s a growing body of evidence that shows children are far more likely to exercise if their parents do. One recent study in The Journal Of Paediatrics found that children of active parents were 5.8 times more likely to take part in physical activity than children of parents who did no exercise.
But being a role model for activity can often mean leaning on your partner for childcare support, whether you’re running for fun or training for a particular race. So what can parents do when there’s no other adult in the household to share the caring responsibilities? These single and lone parents share their tips on juggling childcare and running while parenting on your own.
JUST PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, I took guardianship of my grandson from birth. A few months later I found myself in lockdown doing couch-to-5K running on the spot in my living room while he napped. That kept me sane because going through child-protection procedures was really stressful.
Then, a year later, I took kinship of my granddaughter as soon as she was born. They now live in solo kinship care with me in Stockton-on-Tees because my eldest son was unable to care for children.
Having that time to myself to run is just liquid gold. It’s so important to have that space, even if it’s just 10 minutes a day. I’m 50 and I’m menopausal, and I’ve decided not to take HRT, but I think running has helped me massively to deal with changes in my body, mood swings and hot f lushes. I’ve set myself the target of running 12 races in my 50th year. I’m not a natural runner, but I’ve served in the navy and the army, so I do have a background where there was a requirement to stay reasonably fit. I now work in the civil service, supporting operational training within the Royal Air Force, and I also have a reserve role in the RAF. In the past, I basically only ever used to run when I had a fitness test coming up; I’d start training about six weeks beforehand.
Before I had the children, I ran on and off. I did the Great South Run in 2009 and thought I was going to be last. I didn’t really start running regularly again until I took guardianship of my grandchildren. Being more active definitely helps me look after the children because I’m able to run about after them, and running is the one thing I do for myself. But it’s difficult to fit it in, so I have to be creative. When my granddaughter came along I had two people’s needs to meet
