Jo is wheely fast at VLM 2018!

Back in August last year I was lining up for the Kimbolton Half marathon when I noticed a lady in one of my non slip Sweatybands.  So I headed over to say hi and then met Jo properly for the first time.  Once we got going and she flew past me (while nursing an injury) I had a flash back to seeing her Strava updates which were rather speedy.  (They caught my eye because she lives near to where I grew up.)  Roll on a few months and Jo was a regular contributor in my Facebook community, The Original Buggy Runners, customer and she also supported us buying a Buggy Squad hoodie.   So when I heard she was going to be running London I was excited to see her again at the expo.  Like many runners Jo had worked super hard all winter and was a little concerned by the freak weather that week.  She wanted to break the 3 hour mark, clearly no mean feat!  After the race I heard so many stories about people not hitting their goals that I was delighted to see Jo had smashed hers.  So I wanted to share an interview with her so you could all be as inspired as I am.  

 Jo came 21st female overall and the 9th outside of the elite field and she smashed her PB at the same time! Just wow!

My name is Jo O’Regan, I live in St Neots, Cambridgeshire and am mum to 3 small people; Wills is 6, Everly is 4 and Ella is 2, and wife to Daddy Dan who is an occasional runner.

Tell us about your running background. Have you always been a runner? What distances, how many marathons?

I started running after I graduated from university and started working full time in Cambridge, when I had no parental responsibilities. I made some amazing and lifelong friends and quickly found that I enjoyed long distance running most of all. At this time I would also swim every morning before work. We travelled as a group to many European marathons and I completed 9 marathons from 2008-2011. My first was Robin Hood Marathon in Nottingham in the summer of 2008 which I ran with a good friend in 3hrs 31minutes. My favourite was Paris Marathon in 2009 where I ran a personal best of 3hrs 11minutes gaining me championship entry for London Marathon in 2010 and 2011.

Tell us how you managed to fit in the training required to run sub 3?

Lots of juggling was required to fit in the training required. My peak weeks had me running circa 10hrs per week. I have some very kind neighbours who helped watch my young girls on double run days, a supportive husband who would look after the children nearly every Sunday morning for 12 weeks and thankfully my youngest daughter turned 2 in January allowing her to attend preschool for some 3hr sessions during the week.

Tell us about your buggy running? When did you start, what buggy do you have and how often do you go?
After 5 1/2 years off from running whilst I was working and busy having 3 children I knew we would not be having any more children and wanted to return to running for a variety of reasons. Ella was 6 months old and I wasn’t returning to work with a baby, 2 year old and a 4 year old so we bought a running buggy so she could just come with me when I went running while the others were in preschool.  I started with a baby jogger summit x3 but then upgraded to the Thule Glide. I used to buggy run3/4 times a week upto 10 miles while I was regaining my fitness. I now only buggy run perhaps once a week as the girls both go to preschool so I have a little free time without them.

How did you feel on race day and what were the ups and downs?
VLM 2018 was amazing, if a little toasty, but I had trained hard and knew I was as fit as I was ever going to be. I was determined to not let the weather ruin my current life goal of running a sub 3 hr marathon.  I went through the first half in 1hr 23 and was on for 2hrs 50 but I by mile 17 the heat was getting to me and I had a small wobble and had to slow my pace down a little. I picked back up again by mile 21 and then knew I was on track for the 2.54 my training plan had prescribed. I had loads of support on route from family and friends, the crowd (lots of go riverside lady or lady 924). The crowds were epic and really help when your a little low.

Who supports you to achieve these amazing results?
My family, neighbours, awesome local running community and I was very lucky to get a prescribed coaching plan for this marathon, using training peaks so I met each target on the plan without actually having to think about the plan and the work that went into it. My running coach/training buddy helped immensely with the change in training and adapting the plan to allow me to achieve the goal.

What sacrifices do you make?
Time is obviously sacrificed but when your giving up time to do something you really enjoy it’s immensely rewarding. The main sacrifices were giving up Saturday nights as Sundays were pretty heavy for a number of weeks. I would always run early on a weekend with 3 small people I’m very accustomed to early starts and little recovery.  I pretty much gave up alcohol for the last 5 months and didn’t really miss it.  I also gave up a number of evenings out as running 80-90 miles per week is exhausting with a young family.

How do you fuel during long runs including the breakfast choices?

In training even for long runs up to 25hrs I run fasted an without fuel or drink.   It helps that training throughout the very cold winter means I didn’t get particularly thirsty.  For races I like a bagel with raspberry jam, a bowl of cereal and an almond croissant. On marathon day as we were staying away from home I had an almond croissant, a protein bar and a gel before the start. I then carried 5 gels and took them from mile 7, with lots of water as it was so warm. I also had a little of the lucozade sport on offer while running in London.

What advice would you give to people on how to get quicker?
Mix up your training sessions, I now run hill sets, tempo runs, intervals ranging from: Yassos (800 repeats), fartleck, 400 repeats, hard efforts within a long run, some steady miles and a long run.

What’s next for you?!
Milton Keynes half marathon next week then I want to run a quicker marathon as I believe I can run 2.50.  Perhaps just some speed sharpening over the summer to further build upon my base then I’m likely to enter Chester marathon in October before London 2019.  Oh and St Neots parkrun is set to launch in June so maybe a few more parkruns for fun!

If you are interested you can follow Jo’s progress on Strava!  

Lowri Morgan - the Ultra marathon mum

Which parents are at the top of their game (athletically speaking) and juggle life with the help of a running buggy?  When former interviewee, Ironman Sophie Bubb mentioned Ultra Marathon runner Lowri Morgan when I was interviewing her back in April I had to find out more about this glamourous TV presenter who also happens to be an adventurer an Ultra marathon runner.

Fast forward 6 months and through the power of welsh friends I was delighted to be able to have a chat with Lowri and find out a bit more about her buggy running.  But first let me tell you a bit about Lowri’s amazing life to date (she is currently writing an a book about her running so watch this space for more details about that in 2018!)

Born near Swansea and now living nearer Cardiff, Lowri is a BAFTA and multi award winning television presenter, a World Class Ultra endurance marathon runner, having raced in some of the most extreme races in the world and an Adventurer. Lowri is one of only six to ever complete one of the notoriously difficult 350 mile non-stop footrace - 6633 Ultra in the Arctic.

A self-confessed adrenaline junkie she has represented Wales on the rugby field, in athletics, cross country and despite a serious knee operation and being told she would not be able to run competitively again, has competed in numerous marathons worldwide and completed the illustrious Ironman Challenge. 

In 2009 Lowri completed the Jungle Marathon in the Amazon. In the heat and humidity of the jungle, out of the 150 top runners only 50 finished. She managed to finish the race in the top ten in her first ever ultra-marathon. 

Having a baby clearly wasn’t going to stop a lady with this level of activity but maybe there was a team of people on hand to help this welsh supermum? I wanted to know more about how buggy running formed part of her new life.

“Getting a running buggy was my lifesaver.  I was kindly given the Baby Jogger Summit X3 soon after I had my son, and it was immediately including in filming of the program I was doing at the time.  It’s a great all-round buggy and goes everywhere with us.  When I was pregnant I was worried about losing that momentum having run a lot previously, but I think being able to exercise during pregnancy helped me to bounce back quicker. Obviously, I would advise that mums follow the advice of a medical professional but having a buggy that was suitable for being outdoors really helped me both physically and mentally on my journey back to running.  Working in the media I do not work traditional hours and I went back to work after 6 weeks.  I have a funny memory of shooting an adventure program and having to rock climb up a cliff, then once I was at the top I need to express so I had to do that in an empty field full of sheep before abseiling back down to where my parents were looking after my son and we did a bottle pass over!  I could never in a million years have imagined I would be doing that at some point!

I cannot emphasis enough how important having a buggy that enabled me to go out and run, was for my mental health.  We would regularly go out, even in the rain, me, my dog and my son.  Our running buggy is still our main buggy several years on.  We would stop start to look at things like the ducks which became an interval session.  I would sprint the 800m to the ducks.  Rest for a bit and then jog on.

In terms of when we went, there was no specific routine.  My son wasn’t a great sleeper at home and would only fall asleep in the car or buggy.  So I would time the runs for when he was getting sleepy, maybe after lunch."

I felt very uneasy about returning to fitness knowing how horrid it is to feel unfit, so I asked Lowri what advice would you give mums who feel daunted about returning to running? 

“It's always going to be hard, for everyone.  Lower your expectations then work on it consistently.  Before I was pregnant I completed many races of 100 miles plus, but I remember my first run vividly when I expected to go out for a gentle five or six miles but in the end I only did two miles and it felt incredibly hard.  But it does come back, and I found I was able to be competitively racing a year after.  Sometimes you have a bad day.  But now I’m back racing even stronger and many mums have the same experience.  (Paula Radcliffe and Sophie Bubb are just a few great examples.) 

One of the things that has changed is that I’m not so governed by the GPS.  Often, I just go out with my buddies (dog and son!) and enjoy it.  Fitting in the training around my son was my priority.  Sometimes it turns into an interval session. I will stop to see the ducks, 800m sprint, rest and then go again.  Or maybe if he fell asleep I’d keep going as long as I could.  Buggy running is difficult, but it is the best all over body workout; arms, core and legs!  Mentally it was so good for me to get out, I could run and be a good mother.  Not feeling guilty because I’m not away or not feeling guilty for not running.  The nature of my schedule is that now I will often get up at 5am for a two hour run before my husband leaves for work is I want to run solo and get some miles in.  My son was with me on shoots in the early days before nursery which he attends now.”

As a time pressed mum who has had a fair amount of injuries this year, I’m intrigued how she stays injury free?  “I listen to my body.  I know when to push or not, but I can only know this now based on my experience.  Recently I started to get shin pain and before I sought treatment for shin splints I tried some new trainers which sorted it out.  I don’t have a coach, it doesn’t really work for my schedule, I’m a bit of a nightmare for them when I say I’m off to film in Africa and won’t run for 3 weeks!”

And finally, I’m keen to know out of all these amazing adventures which was the best race?  “The best race over all was the Artic race, completely humbling race, broke me and happened to leave me with shattered metatarsals.  But when it comes to a buggy run I love my local parkrun, (Cardiff along the Taff trail).  Obviously, I stood in the back with the buggy and when we got started my mind suggests that I get the pace up but rather than that I know it’s not about racing everyone but enjoying the camaraderie which made me enjoy it so much more.  I loved it.”

So, like most of us Lowri loves parkrun!  Isn’t that refreshing for a famous Ultra runner!  I must confess I was a little nervous interviewing/talking to such an amazing (and rather famous) lady with my zero lack of interviewing/journalism skills but I can honestly say I don’t think I have ever spoken to a lovelier stranger!  She was extremely generous with her time and is a huge advocate for running buggies in order to help more parents find the freedom they need after they have a baby.  After one chat with her I was ready to set my alarm for 5am.  I just wish she was around the corner so I could join her (keeping up might be an issue) she officially has a new #fangirl! 

You can follow Lowri on Instagram @_lowrimorgan

Dr Jess looks to smash another buggy running Guinness World Record!

Not long after I started up my business I heard about an incredible mum (Jessica Bruce) who broke the Guinness world record marathon time running with a single buggy. Well she is at it again now she has another bundle of joy and I couldn't wait to hear all about it! Here is our interview! 

1) Tell us about yourself! 

My name is Jessica Bruce and I’m the Founder and Director of Run3D. Run3D is an Oxford spin-out bioengineering company that develops running gait analysis software. I live in Bristol with my husband David, an Orthopaedic Surgeon, and my two children Daniel (2.5 yrs) and Emilia (4 months). 

2) How did you get into buggy running.  Were you always a runner?

I have always been a keen runner and met my husband through the running club when we were both at Oxford University. We both competed at a relatively high level, I represented Wales in cross country on a couple of occasions and both my husband and I were awarded multiple Blues during our time at Oxford.

Running was such an important part of our lives together that when we decided to have children it wasn’t so much a question of stopping running but rather how we would fit it into our new life with a baby. The running buggy was the perfect solution. It enabled us to continue running together and also allowed me to run whilst my husband was at work.

3) What buggy do you run with?  What do you like and not like about that buggy?

I’m very fortunate in that we actually have three running buggies! We originally bought the Bob Sports Utility Stroller for running with Daniel. We were then given a Bugaboo Runner for our World Record Marathon attempt and when Emilia was born, we were given an OutnAbout Nipper Sport Double for our double-buggy marathon attempt in October. This might seem excessive, but we do actually use them all! When I run on my own I take the double with both children and when David and I run together, we take one each!

Having run hundreds of miles with each one, they each have different features we like and don’t like. The Bugaboo Runner has a rear-facing seat, which is perfect for younger babies as they like to be able to see you. It corners well because the back wheels are positioned at a slight angle and it’s also very stylish. On the downside, it’sexpensive to buy and very wide for a single buggy.

The Bob Sports Utility Stroller is fantastic value for money and great for off-road running. It’s smaller than the Bugaboo Runner and also collapses easily so is good for taking in and out of the car. It doesn’t have the rear-facing seat however and the seat doesn’t lie completely flat, so is best used with slightly older babies.

When it came to finding a double running buggy, there aren’t many on the market and my two options were the Bob Sports Utility Stroller Double and the OutnAbout Nipper Sport Double. I opted for the Nipper Sport as it was significantly lighter and also could be used with a very young baby as the seats can lie completely flat. We’re really happy with it, it isn’t that much wider than the Bugaboo Runner and drives (runs!) smoothly.

4) Where is your favourite place to buggy run? And best buggy run route you have ever done?

Buggy-running is quite restrictive but we’ve been very fortunate in both Oxford and Bristol. When Daniel was young we lived in Oxford and used to drive to Blenheim Palace each Sunday for our long run.There is a 4-mile traffic-free route around the grounds and we used to do 4 or 5 laps of this and then have a picnic in the grounds afterwards. It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday!

In Bristol my favourite route is running on the Bristol-Bath cycle track. This is a 16-mile traffic-free cycle route which is perfect for buggy running. Daniel loves it because we see the old steam trains at the Avon Valley Railway.

5) Tell us about the experience of your Guinness world record Buggy run! How was it and what was it like being in the media so much afterwards!

I decided to attempt the marathon buggy-running record as a personal challenge and to motivate myself after having Daniel. I trained really hard for it, building up the longer runs and doing speed work and tempo sessions as I would have done for a normal marathon except this time with the buggy!

My marathon PB is 2:58 and so I knew I would be able to complete it in a fairly respectable time but I had no idea exactly how fast. As I have already mentioned, all my long training runs at that time were done around Blenheim Palace, which is really hilly. As any buggy-runner will know, running hills pushing a buggy is incredibly hard work and so I didn’t know how the pace that I was running my long runs at Blenheim would translate to the flat course at Abingdon.

On race day itself I was excited but also incredibly nervous, there was so much that could go wrong that was out of my control – a screaming baby, a puncture, a nappy change! I was also still breast-feeding Daniel at the time but he wouldn’t eat anything just before the race as there were too many distractions. We had a bottle of milk prepared that we used at about Mile 20.

The plan was for my husband to run in front of me to find the best route, block some of the wind and warn other people that we were around them - although I had also fitted a bike bell to the buggy! I say ‘find the best route’ because a complication that non-buggy runners don’t even think about is the difficulty of curbs! Slowing down to mount or dismount a curb and then having to regain your speed is both tiring and can cost you as much as 30 seconds per mile so Dave had to find places where the curb dropped for us to mount and dismount without changing pace.He was also in charge of looking after Daniel, which included feeding him a bottle of milk at Mile 20 and singing nursey rhymes between miles 21 – 23, much to the amusement of the runners surrounding us! 

We set off running at 7:30 mins/mile, which felt comfortable. This was faster than we had planned and as many a marathoner can attest to, was a risky move that could have ended in disaster. As it was, our hours spent struggling up the hills at Blenheim Palace were rewarded and we managed to maintain this kind of pace throughout the race.

I don’t have many memories of the race itself as I was concentrating on my running, but I do remember that everyone, both runners and spectators, were incredibly supportive, which certainly helped along the way! Daniel also slept until the last 6-miles, which certainly helped!  I was delighted with the final time of 3 hours, 17 mins and 52 seconds. 

The media attention afterwards was completely unexpected. I knew that BBC Oxford and the local paper were covering the story but I certainly didn’t anticipate the amount of attention we received! I still believe it was because we presented a feel-good story that appealed to a wide audience!

6) What races do you have coming up…?! 

My next race is another World Record Marathon attempt at the Abingdon Marathon, but this time with the double-buggy! With less than 8-weeks to go, training is going well and we’re excited about the new challenge. Guinness says that I need to break 4 hrs and 30 minutes for the record. Whilst it’s very hard to predict what time I am going to run as there are even more things that could go wrong this time around, I’m pretty confident that I can achieve 4:30. My husband will run alongside me as before, I joke that his job of entertaining Daniel and Emilia will be harder than mine of merely pushing them for 26.2 miles!

7) What are your top tips when preparing for a buggy run?

Be prepared for everything and accept that you’ll probably have to stop several times during a run! I take snacks, nappy changing kit, a drink, a phone, some cash and my feeding cover in case I have to stop and breastfeed Emilia. Gone are the days of running out the backdoor with my keys! I also make my runs fun for the children. Emilia is easy as she just likes to watch everything but for Daniel we’ll feed the ducks or run to see the diggers and trains.

8) Finally what advice would you give to parents starting out buggy running? 

Buy a proper running buggy!!

Whilst you might consider it expensive, especially if you have a ‘normal’ buggy as well, it’s cheap compared to the cost of gym membership and far more fulfilling. Both my children love running and it’s something we do together as a family.

Expect lots of strange looks

Whilst buggy-running is increasing in popularity, it’s still not a common sight and people will give you some strange looks. I also receive lots of comments as I’m running and whilst these are 99% positive, I don’t ever let the 1% of people who disapprove put me off. When I first started buggy-running I was very self-conscious but now I don’t care!

Hills are really hard work

If you thought hills were hard work without a buggy, think again! Don’t feel bad about walking if you have to – I still do on the really steep ones as I grind to a halt trying to run up them sometimes!

Run however is comfortable

When I first started buggy running someone said that the best way to do it was to push with one-hand only. I soon realised that this didn’t work for me and I now push with both hands at all times. Go with whatever works best for you. 

Run wild and take your little ones too - Interview with Jen & Sim Benson

We are always inspired to hear about active families so here is a Q&A with Jen and Sim Benson.   

 Q1: so tell us a bit yourselves!

We’re Jen and Sim. We’re the proud parents of two lovely kids, aged 3 and 5, and we’re writers, adventurers and guidebook authors.

Q2: tell us about your running and buggy running, when do you do it and why?

We have both always been very active – running, climbing, swimming, triathlons – and we used to do a lot of that together. When our daughter arrived we had to find different ways of doing things – early mornings before Sim left forwork, weekends, tag-team training! We both found it incredibly helpful to keep running as part of dealing with that huge adjustment to parenthood, and it’s such a simple and time-efficient way to stay fit. When our son was born in 2014 we made the decision to stop working for other people and put everything into working for ourselves. Since then it’s been fantastic – it’s hard work and we never stop, but the balance between parenting, working and training is just right.

Amusingly, we hadn’t ever used a buggy before this year – we had always carried the kids – but then we discovered Thule’s new Chariot Cross and it seemed to fit perfectly into our lifestyle. It’s sometimes hard to get to the more remote places we need to visit for our job, and we often struggle with spending the time apart from each other and the kids when we’re training hard. Now we can talk about work projects or chat with the kids as we run, and take them to lots of amazing places, often just under our own steam.

Q3: how did you choose your running buggies?

Our buggy requirements were very specific, and before this year we hadn’t found one that worked for us. At the ages of 5 and 2 it was the first time the kids had been in a buggy, but we’re converts now! We love the Thule Chariot Cross because it’s really tough and rugged and deals easily with fast running along bumpy tracks. The suspension and comfort inside’s great and we rarely get any complaints from the occupants. We also love our bikes and the Chariot also works as a bike trailer, so we’re looking forward to some bigger adventures over the summer.

Q4: tell us about your books and why you do what you do

We love writing books that celebrate wild places and – hopefully – inspire people to go out and enjoy them. Our first book, Wild Running, was published in 2014 and details 150 running routes around Britain. We will have to do a buggy-friendly version… Our brand new book, Amazing Family Adventures, was published by the National Trust in April 2017 and has 50 great ideas for adventuring together, plus suggestions for where to go. We absolutely loved writing this book – National Trust places are brilliantly set up for families, with baby changing, cafes, playgrounds and nature trails, and lots have buggy and balance bike-friendly trails too. So the research was a joy to do. We have two more books coming out over the next year, and more in the pipeline, so things are busy but good.

We also edit the routes section for Trail Running magazine and we’re looking for buggy-friendly routes. If you have one you’d like to share with other runners and see published in the magazine email us at hello@wildrunning.net and we’ll send you details of how to submit a route.

Q5: do you have any advice for parents looking to exercise again after having a baby? 

Jen says: I found it really helpful to keep running through early pregnancy, and then walking a lot after about 6-7 months. It was much harder to do with my second one, already having a toddler in tow, and I definitely noticed I lost a lot more fitness that time around. As long as you’re healthy and your pregnancy is complication-free it’s a great thing to keep exercising as long as you feel comfortable. Post birth,start gently and build up slowly. Even if you’re an experienced runner it’s important to allow your body to heal and get used to running again. I started with a two-mile loop around our local lanes, taking regular walking breaks at first, and built up from there. Doing loops meant I could easily pop home if I wasn’t feeling great or was required for milk duties!

The buggy has been fantastic for letting us both train together, and taking the kids out too. We’re lucky enough to live near a towpath so have buggy-friendly running almost from our doorstep. Timing’s important, especially with younger kids, and it always works best to put them in the buggy when they’ve had a good run around themselves and are ready for a nap. We’re getting better at in-flight entertainment too, including I-Spy, singing, plenty of snacks and audiobooks. When we go on longer runs we also make sure we run to a café or a park so they (and we) can have a break at half way.

Q6: How can people follow you?!

We’d love to connect with some more buggy runners, so follow us and we’ll follow you back. Facebook: jenandsimbenson. Instagram/Twitter: @jenandsim

For more info about our books go to wildrunning.net or jenandsimbenson.co.uk