Rabbit, Rabbit! September 2025

The summer I started a run club...

One lazy day in June I was scrolling my Instagram stories, as one does, and something caught my eye. It was

a challenge to run a 5k race with a poll underneath reading, "Who's joining me?"

I had been clicking through my stories with so much efficiency (LOL) that I didn't realize it had gone from one friend to the next. I TOTALLY thought the person who posted the poll was another mom friend - in a similar life stage. We had bonded over our pre-kids love of exercise, and she had recently landed an influencer promotion with Healthquest, so all the signs supported the idea that she was jumping in to train for a 5k! I clicked "I'M IN" with excitement and inspiration!!

The next thing I knew, I got a DM -not from that friend though 🤔 - from Nancy Britt, who is, in addition to being a star prenatal/postpartum yoga teacher at Life in Bloom, is also a lululemon ambassador, a high school track coach and a SPEED DEMON. Her DM said she was SO excited I wanted to run the Chase with her! The race is designed to help fast runners get their PRs, she said. It's a flat, in and out track, with few curves, she added. Cue immediate anxiety.

Now, it's true - I HAD been a runner in a pre-kid lifetime. I actually ran 3 half-marathons and a 10k, and loved the excitement of an organized run experience. But the last time I ran for pleasure was probably a decade ago, and I had shifted the majority of my workouts to yoga, barre, pilates, and the occasional Peloton strength training class (and by strength training, I mean 10 min arms and light weights with Tunde #IYKYK).

So, here I was, faced with a challenge - should I bow out and tell Nancy that I was scrolling too quickly and actually thought she was somebody else and I couldn't possibly run this race with her because I'd be too slow and embarrassed? Or should I put my fears aside step up to the challenge?

If you know me well, one thing about me is that when it comes to a fitness challenge - I GO ALL IN.

Then I had a thought, what if I could solicit some friends, put a plan together and make this race work for us also! So I turned to my favorite local moms group - the HC Mamas - and shot out a message in our exercise focused WhatsApp group chat asking if anyone would be interested in starting a Run Club! Within a day we had about 20 people in our group - and we are now up to almost 50!

I asked the group if anyone wanted to train together for this 5k and the response was positive. We picked out a Couch to 5K training guide, and selected a day for our first run together. A group of us following the training guide got together for our first run the last Sunday in June, and have been meeting up on Sundays to run together since. We also run another 2x throughout the week, and cross train/rest on in between days. We use the group chat to stay accountable, share wins, inspire one another, swap shoe recs, and most importantly support each other in community.

For me, having this movement outlet has gone from an overwhelming idea to a mental health life saver. I'd be lying if I told you that running #campmom for the boys all summer was rainbows and butterflies. But I did start to see a shift in my own mental health as the weeks went on. I realized that the days I started with running were some of my best mental health days. I started to feel better physically, emotionally and spiritually. August is a hard month for me, and I used running to help me through that grief. Running brought back a piece of myself that I didn't know was missing.

Movement is medicine and there's no doubt about that. I posted on my Instagram about "The summer I started a run club", and here is an excerpt of what I said.

"Mari Llewellyn (the founder of Bloom products), talks about choosing consistency over motivation because motivation can come and go, but consistency is a commitment to yourself.

When the alarm goes off and you don't feel like doing it today, always think of the after workout high. Strap on your shoes and get out there for some steps. It will quickly change your brain chemistry and you'll be reminded why moving your body is always a good idea."

Give me a shout if you are interested in joining the HC Mamas run club, and click here to join us at Race the Chase on 9/27 in Hillsborough! Race is at 5pm followed by a beer garden celebration!