For the last few months my friend has had her sister stay with her as their father was recovering following his stay in hospital and their mother had to devote her time to him. My friends sister is in her 20's but has a condition that requires her to be supervised while out. She is very vulnerable and naive and has a tendency to get easily distracted. Being extremely attractive, and with a bubbly friendly nature she does get quite a lot of inappropriate attention as her condition is not always immediately apparent. I have known her since she was born and count myself privileged to be one of the few people outside of her immediate family that she remembers and recognises each time we meet. Others that she sees virtually every day are like strangers to her every time they meet.
When she lived with her parent, she had a family friend that she regularly went running with. Unfortunately, it was not practical due to their location for her to continue running with that friend. When she found out I had started running she wanted to come out running with me. At first, this terrified me. She is younger, fitter and faster than me and could definitely out run me.
As my running improved, we finally gave it a go. My boyfriend and I ran with her, my friend was in the car with her daughter and her husband on his bike. We had as many options covered as we could think of in case we could not keep up with her. We did not keep to a regular routine but fitted in a run with her when we all could. Gradually we got more confident and stood down our backup team (much to the delight of my friends husband who found returning to riding a bike more painful that he expected). Our last few runs have been very relaxed and enjoyable as while running she seems not to get distracted.
Originally the arrangement was for her to stay until she could return to live with her parents which was initially estimated to be for a month or two but their fathers recovery had complications and at one point it was thought she may stay permanently.
Unfortunately things have taken an unexpected turn. We are unsure what led to it, but various services have been notified of her change of address which has triggered a mountain of questions and red tape, one being the suitability of her current living arrangements. So, for the foreseeable future she has to return to live with her parents until all the various checks and approvals have been completed (which could take months). A social worker has said off the record that she could see no reason that they would be any issues but until all the paperwork it done she cant stay there.
Our last run was supposed to be the weekend of the storm but we decided against it for safety reasons. I did not realise just how much it would affect me and I feel quite down knowing we will not be going for our runs at least for a while. She is such a bubbly person that she can lift the mood of anyone when they meet her. We have had confirmation that her running partner back home will be able to run with her so hopefully she will be fine with that. My friend is going to arrange for us all to meet up in a few weeks once she is settled in again.
I know rules and regulations are there for a reason, but her family know her better than anyone. There is no way they would let her, or any of their family come to any harm and they are providing everything she needs.
I am definitely going to miss her and our runs and for look on my boyfriends face when she introduces herself to him for the first time, every time she meets him.
My realities of having my new friend called running.
Running tourism not going well
Going to try Chatty Running
Running with a Collie 
