Page 12 - Inspire Magazine

In her own words, Julie is not really built for running but, having lost
the woman she describes as ‘her world’, she took her fi rst steps to
fi tness in some very old training shoes. Julie is now encouraging
everyone to give running a go to help others save their ‘Lizzie’.

“I have never been a sporty person. At school, I would fake a letter from my mum
saying I had asthma and couldn’t possibly do cross country!

I dabbled with running in my mid-twenties but I never managed a full mile
without stopping and quickly gave it up. However, when I lost Liz, running gave
me something to focus on.

Liz was my world. She was my nearest, my dearest, my equilibrium in a world
where my own mum couldn’t take care of me.

She supported me, nurtured me and taught me right The following spring, I saw an advert for ‘Race for Life’.
from wrong. She rescued me from a life of social The thought of doing it to honour Liz and raise money
services. Without Liz, I would not be where I am was the motivation I needed.
today.
I knew nothing about running. I was overweight with a
In 2011, Liz developed a persistent cough. She had passion for all things sweet but I gathered the basics –
numerous tests, but nothing prepared me for the a pair of dog-chewed trainers that I’d had for at least
phone call I got in July. She had terminal lung cancer. ten years, a pair of old baggy joggers and a cap for
anonymity – and off I went.

I’d wait until it was dark and run up and down the street
where I lived. The fi rst week I couldn’t even get to the
end of the street. It was so hard. I felt as if my knees
would give way, my calves ached, my tummy hurt, and I
struggled to bend. It was like I was made of glass!

But determined to make Liz proud, I carried on and
started to run around my block, about a quarter of a
mile. I’d run one, walk one… again all in the dark!
Eventually, I managed to run the whole block ten times
without stopping. That’s when I started getting the
running bug. I started plotting my routes, monitoring
my pace and distance and my husband bought me some
proper trainers and sports bra!
Liz was resilient but the chemo took its toll. She
was on a roller coaster ride of sickness, fatigue, hair Race day was very emotional, but I ran the whole way.
loss and memory loss. It was a very sad time for all The feeling of accomplishment was overwhelming. I
of us and I think, deep down, we all knew that the knew then that this was just the start. I started to read
matriarch of our family was not going to beat this… running magazines, bought running gear and I joined
although we never discussed it openly. Park Run, the gym and my local Run England club.

On 31st October 2011, we lost our brave Lizzie. As someone who isn’t naturally built to run, I was

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