Super mum Jo Pavey third in BBC SPOTY

Super mum Jo Pavey made it onto another podium, coming third in BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday 14 December, behind golfer Rory McIlroy and the winner, Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton.

Jo's success in 2014 came less than a year after giving birth to her second child, in a summer that saw her clinch bronze in a strong Commonwealth Games 5,000m and then become the oldest person ever to win the European Athletics Championships, with a stunning 10,000m gold just ten days later.

Jo has been an inspiration to mums everywhere looking to chase their own health and fitness dreams - whether it's to do a regular walk-jog-run or to complete a local parkrun. With the help and support of her husband and coach Gavin, Jo has shown just what is possible.

She said on stage: "At the start of the year, it was all about seeing if there was any outside possibility of scraping a place in team. I was breastfeeding until the start of April. I wanted to appreciated having a baby. Getting back to training, my times were horrendous. I thought 'let's give it one last go', and to get a medal was surreal.

"I used to stress about training but now there are too many other things to think about. I train hard but I don't dwell on things. I'm in a happy place.

"My team-mates call me granny. Maybe I'm a slow learner, but it was worth waiting for, and I've enjoyed it a lot more. It's taught me not to stress about things. When I was younger, I used to train on Christmas Day, but I'll take it off this year."

If you're inspired by Jo to start running, or you know someone else who may be inspired to get fit, why not find a local beginners running group. All are led by qualified, insured leaders who are trained in supporting absolute beginners, whatever your fitness level, and you'll meet like-minded people of a similar ability to motivate you to keep running. There are even many groups that are specifically for running mums!

Click here to find a running group near you!