Running is one of the easiest things to flit in and out of. One minute you’re clocking the weekly miles, the next you’re only seen running late. It’s one of those funny hobbies that you still say you do when you aren’t doing it, a bit like that language you’re ‘learning on Duolingo’ despite not opening the app in six months. The issue is, once you’ve taken enough of a break from running to forget the endorphin high, you probably feel more enthusiastic about changing your bedsheets than lacing up your trainers. Life becomes a lot more couch, and a lot less 5K.
If you’re not part of a team, you just stop doing stuff”, Ceri – the founder of See Her Run – explained. “I’ve helped quite a lot of girls in Couch to 5K groups, and when the runners finish, unless they’ve got somewhere to go and run, within two weeks they’ll stop. If they don’t carry on, it’s just gone”. The issue Ceri saw was that aside from Spartans, there wasn’t a running club accessible to girls under 18. The only options were to train competitively, or to fall out of it.
See Her Run was born to ensure that girls who wanted to run just to run had a place to do it. “From GCSE to A Level, the PE provision drops away, and we needed to make a home where teen girls can go to maintain their physical and mental health”. Ceri and her small group of volunteers proposed the idea to Jersey Sport, who encouraged them to apply for a sporting grant. This money allows them to train young women to become run leaders, and also provides an inclusion fund. “We wanted to make the club as accessible as possible,” said Ceri, “so any girls that can’t get to us for whatever reason, such as issues with transport or kit, can still join in”.
The club is completely free to enter, and is open to anyone identifying as a girl between school years 10-13. All the running leaders are volunteers, so it doesn’t cost anything to keep up. “The main aim was to be able to train young girls from 18-30 to become run leaders,” Ceri explained. “Whilst we’re very capable of doing it, we felt that the natural progression was to create a group run by young girls, for young girls”. Three young women have already signed up to become run leaders through British Athletics, and the group is always looking for enthusiastic volunteers to join the team.
The club launched in September, on the same day as the final run for Kezia. Whilst See Her Run is not affiliated with the organising charity, both groups share an aim in prioritising the mental health of young people. Keeping active is an essential part of this – but when you’ve spent your entire day sitting down working out the velocity of rolling balls and staring at diagrams of mitosis, you’re more inclined to curl up on the sofa and watch TV than go running alone in the cold. Knowing that you’re meeting up with friends, and that you’re already where you need to be at the end of the school day, makes all the difference. “It’s just nicer to run with other people”, Ceri said, “it’s so much more motivating. You’re a lot more likely to get out there”.
Everyone knows that getting – or even fighting for – a breath of fresh air reduces stress levels, which is exactly what you need when you’re dragging yourself through exams and trying to memorise textbooks bigger than your head. If you love running, and you’re great at it, there isn’t really a mental barrier standing in between you and your healthy coping mechanism. For those of us who quickly hit a wall and go into survival mode, it’s a lot harder. Running isn’t for everyone, and if you literally disdain it, don’t feel like you need to join See Her Run. There’s always swimming, cycling or pogo sticking. But if you just need a little bit of motivation to get out there, why not make a few friends and channel your inner wholesome twice a week?
The club meets down at Freedom Tree every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, with bag drop at 4:15 to start at 4:30. Join up with someone who runs at the same pace, and jog around with them for half an hour. You don’t have to sign up before, so it’s completely noncommittal, meaning on those tired days when you’re on your period and all you want to do is rot and watch Greys Anatomy, you absolutely can do that too. Ceri and her girls will still be waiting for you next time.
seeherrun.org
