MANY OF US ALLOW SMALL THINGS TO GET IN THE WAY OF RUNNING, BUT THESE THREE REMARKABLE WOMEN ARE SO DETERMINED TO RUN, THEY SIMPLY WON’T ALLOW THEIR WEIGHT, DISABILITY OR CULTURAL BARRIERS TO HOLD THEM BACK

WORDS: LISA JACKSON

© RICHARD PRIOR

Claire has lost 3.5st

“I WAS TOLD I WOULD DIE IF I DIDN’T LOSE WEIGHT”

When I started running, I was 14-plus stone and suffering from several different health conditions, including high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes,” says mumof- four Claire Jones, 38, from Kenilworth. “I was also weaning myself off antidepressants, having suffered with severe postnatal depression for many years.

“My wake-up call came in December 2016, when I went to see my GP because I’d been having a lot of kidney infections as a result of not taking my insulin regularly. My doctor sat me down and said that if I didn’t immediately change what I was doing, I’d end up dying.

“That shocked me into action and I decided to join Slimming World, where I learned to be happy eating fruit, veg and meat instead of large amounts of bread and fried food. I also joined a gym, where I started walking on the treadmill. That soon wasn’t enough of a challenge, so I thought I’d see whether I could run a mile in sections, which I did. I was utterly shocked that I’d managed it and, within a couple of weeks, I was running a mile-and-a-half on the treadmill. Going outdoors for my first run was a huge milestone, as I felt really self-conscious but, after I’d done it, I decided it wasn’t actually that bad – once I got the hang of ignoring people!