20th Anniversary Blog – Grace

I can’t remember what year it was… (definitely pre-covid)…but I remember after a year or two of regularly coming to Tues nights at HPH and the club regularly struggling for leaders (when combined groups 1&2 was common!).

Kay contacted me and another member to ask us to have a go at leading. In advance, we met at the Edge before the run to have a chat about how to lead and go through questions we had (what to do if something goes wrong etc). At the time, I was so nervous to lead! I even wrote down each road name and turns of the pre-plotted route on the back of my hand. I had contingency plans at the ready and (in the days before spond!) I did my first lead with 24 in my group (if my memory serves correctly!).

After this initial lead, I then really got into regular leading and genuinely loved it (and still do!). I remember someone saying to me that they really noticed how it had helped grow my confidence, and I naively did not see this at the time. But now I look back and compare myself now to who I was in my early club & run leading days… I’m now more than happy to give clear instructions to my group, can adapt routes with ease and I can even make routes up on the fly. My most recent lead of G2 had a vague plan, but I hadn’t had time to plan a precise route -I took the 4 of us on a route that I built as I went along, aiming for ~7km and we hit 7km on the dot as we turned into the little car park for stretches! Something I wouldn’t dreamed of being capable of and confidently taking other runners on in my early days of leading!

I often wonder if I would ever have given leading a go if Kay hadn’t had sought me out specifically that day. And if I hadn’t led, would I have got so involved in the club over the years…? Either way, I am so glad that Kay tapped me on the shoulder many years ago. It’s made me a more confident person. It led to me joining the committee for 4 years and volunteering to pace at many races. So thank you to Kay and the wider club for putting your trust in me, and having a profound affect on my personal development. It is truly appreciated ❤️🤍❤️