Welcome to our Mum Runner Spotlight where we feature one of our Mum Runner’s from our running community.

To begin with we selected Rachael, who is an active community member and keen participant in our challenges.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself

My name is Rachael, I’m a mum of 2 teens (Alicia, aged 15yrs and Blake, nearly 13 years). I live in area that I personally consider to be the best place in the world, on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. It is relatively flat there, but has an abundance of great walking trails along the foreshore and marina. Only a few k’s away, I have access to hills and trails of Arthurs Seat and Red Hill. No shortage of variation within a small area!

I have spent many years working within the office environment, but since starting my family I have fallen away from that trend and much prefer to have several smaller casual/part-time jobs that allow a greater degree of flexibility. These include delivering a monthly local publication to businesses (delivered by car), delivering real estate flyers (being paid to exercise), making dog biscuits one day a week, and helping with folding clothes and linen in a laundrette.

I love to get out in the fresh air for walks, and I’m always on the hunt for anything “arty”, seeking out street art in random city and suburban lanes. I also like capturing photos of random “stuff” that doesn’t necessarily have a meaning for anyone but myself.

How long have you been running and how did you begin?

I have only been running for a couple of years. Always paranoid that I would embarrass myself with my running style, I avoided it at all cost.

I began running early in 2021 when a friend created a small Facebook group to encourage friends to keep active during Covid. She would set a small weekly challenge, and one of those was to try something new. It took me a little while to consider an activity that would challenge me but not take me too far out of my comfort zone. My choice was to give Parkrun a go, and I managed to rope another friend in to join me at the same time. I am now a Parkrunner addict, and don’t think twice about getting out first thing on a Saturday morning for my weekly run.

Do you currently have any running goals?

I would love to complete a trail run, long term goal is Two Bays Trail Run, 28km. This is held each year in January and is run between Dromana and Cape Schanck on the Mornington Peninsula. I’ve got no excuse not to run the course and attempt a qualifying time as it’s right on my doorstep!

What is your best running memory?

This would have to be my very first Parkrun, 23rd January 2021, never having “run” in public before. I manage to keep the momentum up without stopping, and my time for this was exactly 30 minutes. Since then, I’ve managed to bring my time down with an average between 26-28 minutes, depending on how I’m feeling on the day.

What is your greatest running achievement?

Last year I completed a 10km fun-run, mentally I allowed myself a time of 70 minutes to complete the run, my actual time was 58mins 22sec. I was over the moon with my time and happy that I only stopped briefly at the drink stations.

What has been your favourite Mum Runner challenge?

I’ve enjoyed participating in ALL of the Mum Runner challenges as they each offer a different set of goals to work through, but my favourite challenge to date would have to be last April’s LET’S GO scavenger hunt challenge. I signed up my kids to this challenge, but they soon dropped out and I pick up where they left off. Soooo, I was on the hunt to complete 3 sets of each of the Creative, Friends, City and Technic sheets. And I finish the challenge with minutes to spare 🤣

What advice would you give to other Mum Runners?

Always run your own race, there are no right or wrongs. Approach each run (or walk) with how you’re feeling at that particular moment. You may be in the mood for flat terrains, elevation, road, trail, or a beach walk. Just keep moving and move in a way that is right for YOU 💜

5 Quick questions.. what do you prefer?

Road or Trail? Trail
Running solo or with a friend? Solo
Do you run with music or no music? No music
Do you have one pair of running shoes or lots of running shoes? Lots of running shoes
Do you prefer to focus on distance or speed? Both, depends on time and mood