Fitter, healthier and happier with the MadRunners!

The MadRunners is a Merseyside run group in St Helens who England Athletics Merseyside Activator Nikki Holding links with on a regular basis. "The group is absolutely fantastic with several training sessions per week, any and all abilities at each one and every sessions is always different so it challenges each member of the group."

The group has grown  from a basic weekly run group into one that now has several LiRF and CiRF leaders delivering sessions that develop different aspects of fitness, not just running ability.

One of its success stories is 35-year-old Debbie Hurst - this is Debbie’s story:

I started running in February 2015 as a beginner. I had taken part in Race for Life events but completed these by walking or power walking.  I had been to classes like aerobics and zumba, and joined gyms in my twenties but never stuck at them or noticed much improvement to my health or weight.

At first I attended one session per week and now attend up to 4 times.  At this point I could only run for a few minutes and was very out of breath. 

I signed up for a 5k run in the Summer of 2015 to give me something to aim towards.The event took 49 minutes and I jogged the whole distance without stopping. This was a great achievement and gave me the running bug! 

I've since gone on to complete two half marathon this year which involved running non stop for 2 and a half hours. I'm really proud of this achievement and couldn't have done it without my running club - MadRunners. The support from the lovely people there, the expertise and patience of the coaches Mark and Steve, and the techniques I have learnt over the last 18 months mean I now have the confidence to run and enjoy it, something I never thought I would do at aged 35!

I'm also delighted to have lost over 2 stone along my journey meaning I am fitter, healthier and most of all happier!