FOR THESE TWO WOMEN, RUNNING IS SO MUCH MORE THAN A WAY TO KEEP FIT. THE RUNNING COMMUNITIES THEY’VE BECOME A PART OF HELPED THEM OVERCOME SOME INCREDIBLY CHALLENGING LIFE EXPERIENCES

WORDS: LISA JACKSON

RUNNING COMMUNITY

Julie (third from left) and the Riot Squad dressed up for her wedding run

“MY RUNNING GROUP HELPED ME MANAGE MY DIABETES”

I t’s hard to believe that just two years ago I couldn’t even run for a minute. But since joining Riot Squad I’ve done numerous races including a half marathon, come off my type 2 diabetes medication, lost 2st and have never felt better”, says Julie Cole, 53, from Sandhurst. “Riot Squad came to the rescue at just the right time: I was 51, hadn’t exercised since I was 28, was taking diabetes medication three times a day and had gained 4st before getting divorced. When I started dating a new boyfriend, Dave, he was very into fitness as he’s a keen rugby player and an ex-paratrooper. At that time I’d just started going through the menopause and felt depressed and unhappy about the way I looked. I mentioned this to my nurse at my routine diabetes appointment and she suggested trying hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which I did. I started to feel better in myself which made me want to start looking better too. When I spotted a Facebook advert for Riot Squad running club I asked Dave if he’d come along to support me and we joined the Couch to 5K programme run by Vicky Tzanetis, a coach and 100 Marathon Club member.