Did you know that there is a Run Mummy Run book? The book is aimed at all women who run or want to run, with advice, tips, inspiration and more. In this article, we speak to Run Mummy Run Founder, Leanne Davies about the book and what it was like to write it.
What made you want to write a book?
Since the community launched, I’ve seen what a great support the Run Mummy Run community is for running women. It’s a real hive of knowledge and information and this is something I wanted to share with other women who are just at the beginning of their running journey and perhaps haven’t found Run Mummy Run yet.
Reading the conversations between the women in our Facebook Group, I have learnt what inspires them, keeps them interested and the common running questions females have. I really want running to be accessible to all women and our book captures all the wonderful first hand knowledge from our community. Reading it will help women to push themselves onto greater things and learn how much happiness running can bring.
What will I find in the book?
What would you like to know about running? What are your burning running questions? Well you will probably find the answers you need in our book. It is a comprehensive beginners guide to running but is also a great source of information if you are an intermediate runner too.
There are plenty of tips, tricks and ideas to keep you running happy. You can read about which races our community voted for as the best and we have included training plans for all distances and different abilities. I have been a runner for over a decade now, but I still learnt so much writing the book with Lucy (our co-writer).
I really want this book to help ladies who are nervous about running to have the confidence to get started. There are real-life stories from our Run Mummy Run community members throughout the book that are really easy to relate to. These are probably my favourite parts of the book.
What are your hopes for the book?
I really want the book to inspire more women to try running and to motivate those who are already running to keep improving and enjoying. I’d love it to encourage women to join our community too so that they can feel the positive impact it will have on them and their running. People regularly tell me how the Run Mummy Run community has changed their lives for the better and I want more women to experience this.
What did you enjoy writing about most?
I loved putting into words the real-life stories of our members. They encapsulate what Run Mummy Run is about and I felt it was important that they were part of the book. Our women’s stories are funny, inspirational, exciting and sometimes emotional. I was in stitches receiving some of our women’s more embarrassing running stories. I love that our ladies feel able to share them with us.
Run Mummy Run members are so lovely and supportive and I am honoured that they came forward and donated their honest experiences and stories to this book to help other women on their running journeys.
Did you learn anything while writing the book?
I thought that I knew quite a lot about running but I still picked up loads of great tips while we were writing this book. I learnt new things about running, re-fuelling and nutrition which I am now putting into practise in my own training. I’m looking forward to using the half marathon plan from the book to train for the Limassol Half Marathon in March.
I also learnt lots about writing and editing books. There’s a lot more to it than I’d anticipated. Thank goodness I had the help of my brilliant co-writer, Lucy Waterlow. I think the process would have driven me mad if I hadn’t had her expert help!
I am so excited that the book is available and I love seeing pictures of women reading it and letting me know what they think of it. I still can’t believe we have a published Run Mummy Run book! I am so proud. I’m also extremely excited that amazing women like Nell McAndrew and Jo Pavey have endorsed the book too. Picking up the phone one day and hearing Jo Pavey at the other end saying she wanted to congratulate me on the book was a moment I will never forget!
“As a busy mum myself, I know how difficult it can be to fit running in around your family and commitments. The Run Mummy Run book is an informative and supportive guide, it has the perfect combination of practical advice, tips and real-life stories. A really enjoyable read and highly recommended. Run Mummy Run will get you started on your journey to becoming a runner which will hopefully become a life-long passion for you.” – Jo Pavey
