We did it! Sore but happy. Thank you so much to everyone who supported us. It meant a lot.

We are all Barnet residents and are delighted that our efforts will support the great work of Age UK Barnet. We will do our best and hope, with your support, to raise a significant sum of money for this fabulous charity.

Our all-female running group began its journey in April 2019 when a few of us, as total strangers and novice runners, completed the Learn to Run programme, culminating in running for 30 minutes continuously at the end of eight weeks. That felt like a massive achievement at the time!

We enjoyed running together and wanted to continue. Luckily, the wonderful Ruth Owen was persuaded to coach us, our group swelled in numbers and Ruth’s Running Club was born!

So far we have only completed a couple of virtual 10km races due to lockdown restrictions so the Royal Parks Half Marathon will be a significant challenge! However, our group is supportive and inclusive and our collective determination will hopefully drag us all over the finishing line.

Meet the Team!!.......

Allie: After a 6-year lull from running due to starting our family, it was proving a challenge to overcome my fears of getting back out there. In need of some motivation, I regularly checked social media for any hint of a local running group and one day there it was! I signed up straight away and thanks to the support and camaraderie of all the lovely ladies I got to run alongside with, I not only found my running feet again but made some amazing new friends. I am very honoured to be able to train and run with this inspiring group to support such a great charity.

Belen:

Deirdre: From never having run until 2 years ago, this Half Marathon will be a very large step up for me. However, I couldn’t choose a better group of women to do it with and know their support will get me through!

Karin: Jogging/running has been my go to form of exercise most of my adult life, with varying commitment and frequency...

In December 2019 I met a group of local ladies for some organised weekly session with the awesome Ruth Owen where she introduced pace, strength and hill sprints into my routine. This together with weekly runs with the group helped me to really fall in love with running again. This amazing activity, which clears your head, helps you sleep better and deal with every day life easier. Running and this group of amazing women has improved my quality of life significantly. During the various lockdowns it's what kept me reasonably sane to be honest, with everyone being so supportive and encouraging via our Whatsapp group, and in person when we have been allowed to run together etc.

We have done a few virtual runs in and around Barnet over the last 18 months or so, but now we are ready for a real in person event and what better start than the Royal Parks Half Marathon and the honour of running in aid of Age UK, such an amazing and important charity!

Rachel: Lockdown had one benefit for me in that it inspired me to finally give couch to 5k a go, and to my surprise discover that I actually enjoyed running! Being relatively new to the sport completing a half-marathon is going to be challenging, but thankfully this amazing group continues to help keep me motivated through all the training, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to support such an important local charity.

Ruth: From being a regular race runner a few years ago, I took a break while my children were babies. I am very excited to be taking part in this half marathon, my first in over 5 years. I love running with this group of inspirational women who are so encouraging and work so hard to reach their goals.

Sarah: I have found my running family! After having children, the demands of everyday life and work restricted not just my time to exercise but also to connect with friends and socialise. My mental health was becoming affected and I felt the 'call to run'. Having never been a runner I started to google search for groups I might be able to join (I'm not the best self starter when it comes to exercise so I knew a group was a must!), I found Ruth's advert on social media to join a group of local ladies who had previously trained for a 5k and were looking for new members to train with them for a 10k. I jumped in feet first and trained from 0-10k. It is one of the best decisions I have ever made. I can now run 15k, am the fittest I have been in years both physically and mentally and have made friends for life. Being part of the group pushes me to succeed and exceed my own expectations, we support each other and genuinely care. I hope to keep running with my crew for many years to come. The opportunity to run The Royal Parks Half Marathon and raise money for Age UK Barnet is the icing on the cake. The team are training hard to achieve this goal and to raise funds for this vital charity.

Vivien: I saw an ad for a 0-5k running group on Nextdoor and joined immediately. Sudden decisions are very out of character for me! But, it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I couldn’t have met a nicer, more supportive group of girls and I’ve improved such a lot in confidence and fitness. I can now run 13k, which is a huge achievement for me! Running has become a pleasure, which has definitely helped me mentally and physically during this difficult year. It will be great to put my newly developed, modest abilities, towards helping such a worthwhile charity.