Happy International Womens Day

Happy International Women’s Day!

A recent study from Sport England has shown that 39% of women are not active enough to get the full benefits of physical activity, compared to 35% of men. Initiatives that help women to feel confident to take part in sport and running are so important in increasing participation, which is why we are proud to partner with Leeds Girls Can on their 10k Your Way programme – a series of free in person sessions designed to help women and girls feel more confident in running, whatever your ability.

We caught up with Leeds Girls Can Ambassador, Kirsty Midgley to find out all about her role within the group and the ways in which the initiative aims to empower women through the power of running.  

Check out our Q&A with Kirsty below. 

Can you tell us a little bit more about Leeds Girls Can and the significance it plays for women living within the Leeds community?

Leeds Girls Can is a non-competitive, non-judgemental safe place to come and have fun and get active. We support all women of all ages to find and event or activity that they love to do - whether it’s dancing in your kitchen, Zumba in the local church hall, riding your bike on the trails, or roller skating in the park, Leeds Girls Can aim to run local, low cost activities to help every women and girl in Leeds get active and have fun doing it. 

A recent study from Sport England showed that a worrying number of women fall in to the inactive category - meaning they do less than the recommended 30 minutes of activity per week. Leeds Girls Can aim is to provide fun local, low cost activities and ways for women and girls to increase their activity levels. 

Are you able to tell us a little bit more about your involvement with Leeds Girls Can and why you felt it was important to get involved?

I became a Leeds Girls Can ambassador seven years ago. I’d just completed a year of crazy challenges - I went from barely being able to run around the block to running my first parkrun, then onto the Leeds 10k, then a half marathon. I also cycled from London to Paris, rowed across Lake Windermere, and completed the Leeds Triathlon and much more. 

At a time when I was struggling with menopause symptoms and depression, running, and being physically active, taught me that I was stronger and capable than so much more than I thought I was.

I learnt to love being active and all the benefits, not only physically but for my mental health, but most importantly I learnt that I didn’t have to be the best or have the best equipment to get out there and do what I loved doing. Everyone was super friendly and welcoming when I tried a new activity, no one ever really cared what I looked like or how slow I was or how bad my downward dog looked - I stopped being self-conscious and started to let go and enjoy myself. There’s something really empowering about that feeling! 

I became a Leeds Girls Can ambassador because I wanted to help other women who felt and looked like me to find joy in being active. 

In what ways can women get involved with Leeds Girls Can?

Leeds Girls Can support various projects throughout the city as well as running our own events and taster sessions - keep your eye on our social media pages for announcements of events and activities.

Why do you feel it’s important to inspire women to get active and enjoy running/sport?

For me, I know firsthand the difference being active and especially running, has helped my mental health. Even just the shortest of runs has the power to change your mood and give you a boost. In a time when there is just so much noise from social media, the news, and the world around us it’s hard not to feel completely overwhelmed - getting out for a 30 minute run by myself is so uplifting and really helps reset my anxiety levels. 

I feel it’s important to inspire other women because I know I’m not the only person feeling this way - and if seeing someone who looks and feels like them inspires them to go for a walk or a run or a bike ride or any activity for that matter they will feel the benefits of being active and hopefully it will change their lives in the same way being active has changed mine.

Are you able to share a little more about Leeds Girls Can Couch to 5k and how women can get involved?

We launched the Leeds Girls Can Couch to 5k at Kirkstall Abbey 6 years ago and over the years hundreds of women have completed the programme and gone on to run regularly and complete in events from 5k to full marathons. 

We follow the NHS Couch to 5k app and we run in person sessions every Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Kirkstall Abbey from 6:30pm (you can choose to come to one or both sessions) We have three or four leaders at every session and there is always someone to run with no matter what your speed. Noone is ever left to run alone and no one is ever left behind.  

This year we’re partnering with Run For All for our 10k Your Way programme. This will follow our 9 week couch to 5k and will keep us training towards the big 10k goal. 

All our sessions are free to join - sign up through our Run Together page - https://buff.ly/2plr7Zn

The Leeds 10K aims to inspire all genders and ages to get involved and take part, in what ways has the event inspired women to get running?

For me the Leeds 10k is one of my favorite races. Not only is it an amazing atmosphere but there is something so very empowering about running down the local roads that you drive down every day surrounded by people cheering you on. The memory of running that road or that section of the course is relived every single time I drive down it for months and years to come. 

Crossing the finish line in the center of the city is a moment I will never forget. 

There really is something so magical about the day - watching the wheelchair racers, seeing the elites line up, meeting new people, the signs and the cheers from the people lining the streets, children handing out high fives and Haribo, the amazing charity runners in fancy dress - and then crossing the finish line and wearing your medal with pride hours after the race has finished. It’s an experience I would recommend to everyone! 

How can women get involved in the Leeds 10K this year with Leeds Girls Can?

This year Leeds Girls Can are back at the Leeds 10k to run, walk, jog, hop and shimmy our way around the new course and we want to invite everyone who has ever thought about entering but didn’t quite believe in themselves to shake off the self-doubt and come and take on the challenge with us. We will meet together and head to the start line as a team, no one will be left behind, no one will run alone - we will celebrate our amazing bodies and what they can achieve together. 

To sign up to the Leeds 10k Your Way programme, go to: https://buff.ly/2plr7Zn