I was recently interviewed for an article for the Jog Scotland Magazine.

[Fitfor60]

I wasn't quite sure how much would be edited out but am delighted they have printed it all as it includes mention of nhs C25k. The programme and all you amazing people are very special to me as not sure if I would have got past that first run without all your support. Article starts on page 13 if anyone wants to read. Rona

issuu.com/jogscotland/docs/...

[Hidden]

That is a really inspiring article Rona. I am ever so impressed. More power to you!

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Thanks king 9 Still have to pinch myself sometimes as can't believe how much I love running and made so many friends online and in the flesh

[no-excuse Graduate]

A fantastic article Fitfor, isn't it amazing where 'that promise' has lead you. I hope Brody continues to do well x

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to no-excuse]

Brody is doing fine thanks no -excuse. Never thought where that promise would take me

[Irishprincess Graduate]

Fantastic article Rona and what an amazing story. A real inspiration and a fab role model for Brody.

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to Irishprincess]

Thanks Irish Princess. Brody is my inspiration and although I would give anything for him not to have this dreadful disease in a funny sort of way he makes me just appreciate even more what's important in life

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Fit for Seventy too!! You had such a powerful personal reason to start running, Rona and you truly are inspirational. We are all so lucky to have our health and C25k has been the passport to a second youth for so many of us. Good luck with your HM.

Keep running, keep smiling.

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

You are so right Mr T . I feel so much younger than I did 2 years ago. Had thought of changing my HU name but decided its a good reminder of how far I have travelled - both in miles and attitude!

[Ullyrunner Graduate]

What a fantastic article Rona! We are of the same vintage both in age and in our running careers and I remember your determination so well.

All the very best to you and the family, and good luck with that HM. You're leaving me in the dust now!

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to Ullyrunner]

Thanks Ully runner. We both know age is just a number and proof that you are never to late to start running

[aliboo70]

What a great article I'm glad that Brody is doing so well, he sounds quite a character with loads of bravery and determination lovely photos of you all and an inspirational story, you should be really proud of how far you've come

* your jog group sounds like a lovely bunch!

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to aliboo70]

Brody is amazing Aliboo70 although the older he gets the more he questions things so that can be hard. It's a really friendly group and everyone is so encouraging. And a plus is that wilmacgh and lizziebeth57 and her husband have also joined the group .

[useitorloseit Graduate]

Hi Rona - what a lovely article, and so nice to see pics of you and the little man!

All very inspirational! I'll be turning 50 on Monday - I may celebrate with ... a run!

xxx

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to useitorloseit]

I hate getting my photo taken useitorloseit so was very nervous to see which ones they would pick. My birthday last month fell on a wed - running group night but husband took me out for lunch instead of dinner so I could go for a run! Happy birthday for mon and have a great run

[misswobble Graduate]

That was a brilliantly, inspirational read. You should be very proud of yourself, and Brody of course

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to misswobble]

Thanks miss wobble It was very emotional to write but if it inspires even one person to get off the couch I'll be happy

[Lovefood1984 Graduate]

Fab article Wishing you all the best for your HM, I know you'll do great!

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to Lovefood1984]

Thanks love food Hopefully arrange another whitley Bay park run with you and not bad soon

[Lovefood1984 Graduate in reply to Fitfor60]

Yay! I'm back to W5 after a month on the honeymoon couch (it's nicer than the IC but still fattening and no good for running stamina) so I thought I'd start slow. W5 followed by W6 then my own plan and I'll be back up to 5k before I know it. Then all I need to do is improve my time over 5.7 miles for the Blaydon race Hope to see you soon!

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to Lovefood1984]

You'll soon be back to pre wedding fitness lovefood. Good luck with Blaydon

[poppypug Graduate]

Oh Rona, what a brilliant article xxx

You and your family are so lovely and an inspiration to us all.

Wishing you all the very best and Good Luck in your HM !

Brody is a absolute treasure xxx

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to poppypug]

I' m really lucky poppy pug having 7 wonderful grandchildren aged 1-6 So far I have done junior parkruns with Brody and his sister Jessie and their cousin Alex. Sam has just turned 4 and desperate to run a real 'race' with grandma Rona. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine being able to do all that.

[poppypug Graduate in reply to Fitfor60]

Aw bless you Rona, what a lovely family you have xxx

[Zev1963 Graduate]

That is a wonderful article. Thankyou so much for posting it. It brought tears to my eyes, but not of sadness. As everyone else said, truly inspirational. It's wonderful that running has given you that positive outlook. Best wishes to you and your family, and thanks again for posting such an uplifting story.

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to Zev1963]

Thanks Zev Running has brought me so much joy and given me the tools to cope with some of the rubbish that life sometimes throws at us And allowed me to meet some fabulous friends online and in real life. I have a lot to be grateful for

[AncientMum Graduate]

Everyone else has said it, and I go along with all their comments. It's a fab article about an inspirational lady and a lovely family. Very very best wishes to you and yours, especially Brody xx

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to AncientMum]

Thank you Ancient mum. Never expected to be in a position to inspire anyone. Brody doing ok Few blips along the way but he bounces back.

[Fitfor60 Graduate]

That's really kind of you Kitty. Hope you and your family are well. It's the wee ones that keep us young

[CKC1 Graduate]

Such an inspiring story - and great that you're spreading the word about this forum too. I live in Scotland but never knew about jog Scotland, so thanks for that too!!

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to CKC1]

Hi ckc1 I only found out about jogscotland when I was looking for a running club . A lot of them appeared to be too serious / scary for me but to be fair only judging that from info online and I am sure some of them would have been absolutely fine . But it was talk of race results and agms that as a beginner I found daunting . Anyway jogscotland just happened to have a group only 10 mins away and luckily for me the leader was restarting a group on a night that suited me . If you have a group near you would def recommend them as an organisation .

[CKC1 Graduate in reply to Fitfor60]

Thanks - so far I've found all the clubs a bit intimidating (not that I've actually gone!). I signed up for Parkrun but I'm not yet doing 5k so am working up to that. My local Nike shop has a running club but on their facebook page they all look about 18 and mega-fit! I've been looking through the jogscotland pages - I discovered one only 5min away but unfortunately meets on at midnight-week mo

[CKC1 Graduate in reply to CKC1]

Oops, not sure what I did there.... Meant to say that the group meets mid-week mornings (not at midnight!!), so won't work, but I'll look at some other groups further away. 😄

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to CKC1]

That's a shame time doesn't suit you ckc1 as it's so close. I spent weeks online trying to find the right club . Not sure where you are but keep checking jogscotland website as new groups start up all the time It might also be worth e mailing leader of the group that's on in the morning and asking if she/ he knows of any other local beginners club or if she/he had any plans to start one at night. You can but ask Our leader had actually stopped his group because none of them were keen to run through the winter and it was only because a few people had contacted him to say they were interested that he started it up again Let me know how you get on .

[Runon Graduate]

What a wonderful article. It's amazing how a line 'from the mouths of babes' can change our whole life. Brilliant stuff - You and Brody and all your family should feel very proud of yourselves.

[Fitfor60 Graduate]

Thanks run on I am very proud of my daughter and her husband and how they have tried to give Brody and his sister and brother as normal a life as possible in pretty rubbish circumstances. He does sometimes struggle with walking when on certain meds but is a wee demon when swimming . Suppose that just counts as cross training!

[Hidden]

Hi Rona, what a lovely article about such an inspiring story. Thank you so much for sharing it. All best wishes for you, Brody and the rest of your lovely family. I'm struggling a bit with my running at the moment, and your comment about running being more emotional than physical really strikes a chord with me.

Thanks again.

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Hi Babs I have had couple of periods when struggled to run. I found timtabling runs into to my day - even juśt for a week at a time - really helped . Some days I dithered that much getting out the run was quite short but at least I went out . Another thing that helped was advise I got from someone on here - it's never a bad run but just a run that didn't quite go as planned. Also on iffy days I used to make mental lists .can be about anything - to do list, where I would like to go on holiday. It took my mind of run if I was struggling . But probably best help has been sharing thought concerns about how you are feeling with other runners on HU FB or at running club . Makes you realise you are not alone and others have felt or are feeling exactly the same .its kind of a circle isn't it If you do something physical then you feel better emotionally and if you feel better emotionálly you enjoy the physical stuff more. Oh and one more thing I think we can be our own worst enemies and often too hard on our selves..

[Hidden in reply to Fitfor60]

Thanks so much for sharing all that with me Rona. Lots of good tips and ideas for me there.

If and when I get myself back to bring able to run 5k I'll make a real effort to get myself out to a ParkRun somewhere.

Funnily enough I've just been giving the 'don't be to hard on yourself' talk to someone else about a non-running matter. I should take my own advice more personally ;-). x

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

I love parkruns but still get nervous beforehand Babs Totally agree it's sometimes much easier to give advice than to follow it yourself .

[Theziggy Graduate]

Way to go Rona - Kudos to you

[Fitfor60 Graduate in reply to Theziggy]

Thanks ziggy

[Realfoodieclub Graduate]

Great article. It has been such a pleasure to share your journey on here. You really have done us proud and on a side note. Thank you for introducing me to a new app that has loads of lovely running mags.

[Fitfor60 Graduate]

No thank you RFC Your quests have been amazing for keeping me focused when times were tough. Think very therapeutic to write down your aims for short blocks of times and realising if you don't achieve them that's ok at least we tried and there is always another day . Also you and all the other c25kers are so supportive - sometimes we need a hug and sometimes a shove and both can be had for the asking. Non running friends are great but they don't just get what we are talking about. So anyone out there reading this if you haven't joined in rfc quests you should give them a go

[mbardon Graduate]

Lovely article and so great that your grandson's simple request was one that has brought you so much enjoyment too. Keep running......

[Fitfor60 Graduate]

Thanks mbardon

[cathryn14 Graduate]

Rona, great to read your post and read the article. Wonderful photos of your family and you and ongoing good news! You are another C25k inspiration. I keep my eye peeled for you at Cramond on Saturdays!

[Fitfor60 Graduate]

Hi Cathryn I haven't done park run for few weeks now Those of us who are running edinburgh HM in May are doing our long run on Sats. I do miss the Parkrun though so hopefully get back after HM

[Buffy007 Graduate]

Fabulous achievement and what an inspiration from Brody - he probably saved your life.

[Fitfor60 Graduate]

Thanks Buffy He certainly gave me a new life. Just back from 2 hr 9 mile trail run in the pentland Hills edinburgh. Said to leader at the end that I found the 2 nd 5 miles much easier than the first. - certainly not words I would have uttered 2 years ago !