You Run Like a Girl

I started running in August 2008. On September 16 that year my daughter, Tierney, was born. I didn’t run for about three weeks after that but got back into it and haven’t stopped since.

Now the phrase ‘you run like a girl’ is supposedly a negative term. However, I know a girl who recently ran 240km from Eden to the top of Mount Kosiousko. I know girl who ran ten km in Canada today, temperature was minus 22 degrees. Eye lashes became ice lashes. I know a girl who ran 5357km in 2013. I wish I could run like a girl.

If it wasn’t for a girl in my year 6 class in 2007 I might not have started running at all. Ashley and I raced each other over 800m at Aths training one afternoon. I’m not sure who challenged who but the result was significant. I pulled out into lane 2 with 300m to go and made my move. Ashley’s move was more decisive and she beat me by a big, big margin. My reaction to this was scary. I could hardly breathe, heart was racing and my whole body was shaking. Admittedly I didn’t start running regularly until the next year but my eyes were opened on that day and things had to change.

Six years later, September 2013, just before Tierney turned 5 there was a Relay for Life event being held at school. For 24 hours teams of students and some staff doing laps around school to raise money. It was organised by upper school students with a bit of friendly House competition thrown in. I am attached to Forster House and when I arrived at 4am I saw all the different coloured batons/glow sticks being carried around by runners and walkers. I spotted the red glow stick which belonged to Forster but couldn’t make out who was carrying it. I got ready to run and was passed the baton by a girl in year 12. It was Ashley. The moment was not lost on me.

On this occasion I had a fair bit left in the tank after 800m. I passed the baton back to a Forster kid 45km later. Ashley didn’t know it but she passed a baton to me way back in 2007 and it continues to be passed on.

Yesterday my daughter Tierney asked Leah if she could join her on a run. She looked perfect and she ran like a girl.