Kylie Field, 41, hadn't run even 100 metres
in a decade when she met Can Too running leader Jenny Biggin. But their
training program has led to a deep friendship and a commitment to keep raising
money for research into cancer. Jenny, 45, became a Team Captain, leading one
of Can Too's pods and has also been a mentor for a group training for a half
marathon. She has completed six Can Too training programs and raised $6,500.
Kylie has completed two programs and raised $2,000.
Jenny
I had never dreamed of running 10km. I just
didn't think I could do it but after two difficult pregnancies I decided I
wanted to get fit and healthy.
Once my boys were three and five I went in
the Blackmores 10km run. I had spent time bringing up a young family and I
needed to do something for myself. I had no fitness at all before I started
training. I thought I would never be fit again and the Blackmores run in 2009
nearly killed me. I walked and ran it in 66 minutes. It gave me the bug.
Kylie
Field with daughter Amela and Jenny Biggin
I knew of people who had got fit through
Can Too and I saw that they were no different to me so I figured, if they could
do it, so could I. I decided to do something for myself and enrolled in Can Too
to learn to run properly. My husband, Phill, is into cycling and now it was my
turn. The good thing about Can Too is that it is a regular twice a week commitment
and that is in our diaries.
I was called Stomp because when I started
learning to run I used to run very heavily. But the next year I did the same
Blackmores run in 54 minutes. That felt really great. I started running because
I wanted to keep my fitness up and my weight off. I still do - they are my two
goals. I like running because it's so effortless. You don't need any equipment
apart from good running shoes, and you can do it anywhere. Plus it's free.
The first time I saw Kylie I remember she
turned up and she was looking very timid. She looked daunted as we gathered to
start our first workout. That first run showed me what a strong person she is.
Can
Too Run (BRIS)
One good thing about Can Too is you don't
run distances at first but times which can make it easier for slower runners.
For example in our first training session everyone ran out for 20 minutes and
then turned around and came back.
Kylie found it challenging a lot of the
time. Her weight made running a lot more challenging. Sometimes we ran together
and I kept reassuring her I would be there. Now she is a fitness machine.
We have developed a bond as we were both
mums. Kylie's child was a lot younger than mine so it was a lot more
challenging for her - some days she turned up without much sleep the night
before. But she is one determined lady.
We ended up doing the swim program together
which was terrific although it was pretty confronting at times with bad weather
and big waves. It was daunting at first because I am from Melbourne so swimming
in open surf really scared me. Now I get out in the surf with boogie boards
with my children at weekends - my husband and friends can't believe it. I told
Kylie, I'm going to swim alongside you so that when we both look up from our
stroke we will see each other.
That trust really helped both of us. I have
a family relative who was diagnosed with lung cancer at 42 and died within 18
months, leaving teenage children. She had never smoked or lived with anyone who
smoked. No one could understand where it came from and the doctors couldn't put
it down to anything. It was so sad and scary to think that it could easily have
been me - or anyone I know.
Giving something back by raising money for
cancer is a terrific feeling. It's a positive environment, too, at Can Too.
Everyone is supportive no matter what shape or size or fitness level you are.
It has changed my life. My fitness is so
much better. I can run to the train without any worries. The biggest change has
been emotionally - it does give me a sense of self and time alone which is hard
when you work and are a parent. It's also terrific for stress relief.
Seriously, I never thought it could happen
but you get to a point when you forget you are running. I told another girl in
our Can Too group that one day and she didn't believe me. However, she proudly
told me the other day that it happened to her.
Kylie
I was the girl at school who used to bring
in a note to get out of PE. Eventually I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian
syndrome and insulin resistance. It makes you tired and lazy and, so, I have
always been overweight. I had convinced myself I wasn't designed physically to
run.
But after the birth of my first baby I
wanted to set myself a challenge - to lose weight and get fit. I had also just
turned 40 and thought it was the perfect time to start. I knew about Can Too
because my husband had completed a half marathon the year before with them and
he hadn't run in 20 years but did it in under two hours.
Kylie
The first training day I arrived with a
head cold and they wouldn't let me run. I had to walk and we covered 20 minutes
out and 20 minutes back. Can Too doesn't measure things in kilometres which was
great for me because it meant I wouldn't be holding people up.
The next week I walked and ran for 25
minutes out and 25 minutes back. By week six it was 30 or 40 minutes each way.
I was still walking part of it, but the difference in my fitness was
overwhelming. I was the slowest, the fattest and one of the oldest but I felt
on top of the world.
The key message my husband Mike had for me
is that if you can run 1km you can run 9km.
The thing with Can Too is that just as you
are struggling there's always someone who runs up past you or swims up to you.
With running you have to learn to start slow, find your own pace, keep your
arms relaxed but use them to pull you up a hill.
The gift from Can Too is teaching the
technique but also the ability to believe that you can do anything. Two weeks
before the race they said we will do the first 5km of the race and run back. I
ran non-stop. My legs were shaking, I felt like jelly but I kept going.
As I came back across the harbour bridge
the coach ran up to me and said I've come to run in with you. I thought, this
is incredible and as we came off the bridge I was bawling my eyes out, everyone
from my group was clapping me in. It was incredible, 9km in one hour and 27 minutes.
It doesn't sound like much but for me it was incredible. I think the running
gives you a sense of clarity about your life.
Kylie
and Jenny (bottom right) with their Can Too training group
The stuff that you would normally blow up
as a big thing and really dramatise, becomes nothing after a run. It is a great
stress reliever and it does wonders for your mental state. The way it makes you
feel for the first time in my life it made me realise I can do anything. I
signed up for the swimming program and learned to swim 1km in the ocean. It was
the scariest thing I have ever done in my life. They say it's like running 6km
but there are a lot of emotional hurdles to overcome as well.
After the program I kept running three or
four kilometres three times a week. I signed up to do a half marathon but in a
happy accident I conceived a child at 41. My doctor said I would never have had
a second child unless I had got fit. I found out I was pregnant two days before
the swimming race. Once I have the baby I am going to get straight back into
it.
Can too
Can Too has raised more than $9 million for
cancer research since it was launched in 2005 by Sydneysider Anne Crawford.
Anne's father died of cancer at age 51 and she decided to combine her passion
for running and fitness to do something to make a difference in the world. Can
Too is supported by the Macquarie Group Foundation and Cure Cancer Australia.
Volunteer trainers and mentors help people
learn how to be fit. You can either sign up to train for a marathon, a half
marathon or a 10km run or to swim 1-2.5km.
All you need to do is raise between $800
and $2000 as a donation for the training program.
Then you get two training sessions a week
for the length of the fitness program plus the support of a mentor. For more
details, visit cantoo.org.au
