To help us celebrate International Women’s Day we wanted to share a couple of stories of two of our newer female members, Laura and Shona. So often women are reluctant to take part in sport because of a lack of belief in themselves and fear that they won’t be fit enough or fast enough and these stories reflect this but also show the power of not giving up.
Laura Ross…
Laura, in purple, at the Shail Trail race.
Laura took up walking not only to become more active and healthy but to get outside in nature. Her favourite place to walk is Polkemmet Park. But in 2019, she saw an advert about a meeting that was taking place at the park. It was encouraging the community to find out more about a potential new parkrun in the park. She remembers to this day the parkrun ambassador asking her a question: “what’s your running experience?”, she had no experience, she had never ran before. By that evening she had signed herself up to be a Run Director for Polkemmet parkrun. Thinking, ‘what on earth am I doing?’ Undeterred, the following week she went to Livingston for her first parkrun, afterwards she knew she was going to be hooked!
It wasn’t long after that Laura met with David Main Reade and Graham Chambers, that’s when her running career took off! Laura remembers: “I felt quite reluctant in joining a group of runners, I always thought I wouldn’t be able to keep up, I would frustrate the others as many of the runners were very experienced”. However, 5k runs turned into 7k, then 10k. She couldn’t believe her improvement. Some days she wanted to stay at home but with constant encouragement, motivation and sometimes being told(!) she ended up going along. After months of coach David persuading her to join the club, she signed-up… She’s convinced he was on commission!
By her own admission, Laura didn’t think she was fast enough for the weekly track sessions or experienced enough to attend the handicap or paced runs. She remembers: “I always thought I wouldn’t be able to keep up, I would frustrate the others as many of the runners were very experienced”. But everyone made her feel welcome at the sessions she attended and there is always a pace that she felt comfortable with. The group has not only made her achieve things she never thought she could, but many are now lifelong friends and that is something special.
Laura’s biggest running achievement was the Shail Trail in December 2021, she ran it with a great bunch of people and her longest run to date. Reflecting on the race, Laura said: “I am very grateful to have met two other inspirational women Adeline Armstrong and Gemma Holloway, we completed Vitality 10k together along Linlithgow canal back in June 2021. We definitely stick together!”
Volunteering at the Linlithgow 10k was another personal highlight in 2021. Giving something back to the community was so rewarding and she is looking forward to helping out again this year.
Lastly, “a big thank you to David Main Reade and Graham Chambers for inspiring me!”
Shona Banks
Shona Banks, 55 and running again - who’d have thought it?! Remarks Shona. She started running originally when her kids were wee (they’re 24 and 22 now). It was more of a social escape with a good friend, a couple of times a week, than any kind of attempt to run far or fast. She was never in any running club or had any coaching. She had always thought of herself as ‘dumpy’ and a ‘sport avoider’. ‘You’ll never be a ballet dancer!’ her Dad told her at a young age, being better at 3-legged or egg and spoon races at sports day, than anything else, so never aspired to try much.
Fast-forward a few years and she has ran a number of 10ks and even a handful of half marathons (A highlight being the Great North Run in 2011 - raising money for the Samaritans, for whom she has since volunteered). Her work for the Samaritans is very dear to Shona and has given her a full appreciation of the vital role they play.
As it tends to do, however, life then intercepted her brief drift towards fitness and about 10 years slipped past with virtually no running. Then came Covid-19. By this time the life stuff had resolved and she was very happy, newly settled in Linlithgow. Among some other new endeavors, Shona decided it was time to lose some weight and get out the house for some sanity seeking time.
Her running started with a ‘painful’ and ‘wobbly’ jog around Beecraigs. Shona also has 2 beautiful big dogs who need a lot of walking so sometimes they would join her. As time progressed, the jogging and a healthier lifestyle started to help each other. By the time she had lost 10kg the jogging was less wobbly and quite a lot less painful!
Shona’s husband is a hill runner and suggested that a good way to improve is to take on some speed work. Keen to try it out, she joined the Linlithgow AC in 2020 - she also found it a good way to meet people in Linlithgow. During the pandemic, it was also one of the very few available opportunities for gathering with others. Like many women, Shona doesn’t like running in the evening so the 6pm weekly track sessions was ideal. Now, for those who know Shona, she is a pretty bold individual but it was still pretty scary. However, ‘big girl pants’ went on …. and she still giving it her best shot. Things are definitely improving and by her own admission, still reliably at the back, her fitness is dramatically different.
Shona has set myself the challenge this year of re-running the Great North Run for the Samaritans in September, but in a better time than in 2011 (that was just over 2hrs). She has also signed-up for 4 x 10ks and the EMF Half to keep her working through the year towards that goal too. On her challenge, Shona said: “We’ll see what happens after that, but for now I’m finding it fascinating just to keep trying and see what this old woman’s body can do, and for how long”.
Lastly, on her fellow members: “All the lovely people who make up LAC have been phenomenally supportive and encouraging - without fail - and, in particular the presence of such incredibly inspiring other older women - such that I feel that I want to keep pushing onwards … After all, I’m fitter, faster and slimmer now than I ever have been - no ballet dancer it’s true, but certainly a little less of the shot putter material than of old.”
