Dianne Kennedy

I am a 41 year old mother of 4, i smoked and did no exercise, and i wanted to get fitter and healthier, Ive had some illness in the past and didn’t want to carry on feeling unfit . i joined a slimming group in the beginning of the year and lost a couple of stone which made me feel healthier but not fitter, I’ve never been one for the gym etc and have never joined one i always made some excuse if exercise was mentioned ! then a good friend of my family Mr Frank Murphy said he was going start running from Hanley forest park on a Monday and Wednesday evening to try and encourage people to get fit and invited people to come along to join in , either walking / running which ever you felt like you could do.

I went along for the first run on the 14th june 2012 feeling quiet nervous and embarassed to be honest, as i hadnt done any exercise since id left schhol at 15 years old….so a long time! i can remember telling my husband “i think ive forgot how to run “! my husband and 2 youngest children came with me for support and when we arrived there was a few people who had turned up a couple were runners but mostly people exactly like me ,, we jogged around the lake and some of the park in total it was 1.4 miles . Whilst we were running the atmosphere was great everybody was encouraging everyone else and the support was brilliant i had to stop for a few little breaks and so did a few other people, when we got to the end of the run we all stood talking and it was a brilliant feeling , i couldn’t wait to go back the week after, and that’s exactly what i did and have done since ,i developed a bad chest infection which resulted in me not been able to run for few weeks and it was awful , i couldn’t wait to get back out there , but it did make me realise how much it ment to me , whilst i was poorly i gave up smoking and when i returned to running i couldn’t believe the difference in how i could run because id stopped !…its been just over 3 months since Ive stopped and I’m now able to run 5 miles with no break apposed to 1 mile to have to get my breath back !! a few weeks into meeting up Mr Greg Boughy started running with us and then it wasn’t long before Greg and frank were having talks about taking the group futher and naming us :), STOKE F.I.T. is a great friendly team of people of all ages,shapes and sizes and ability, not only have i made some good friends ive progressed more than id have thought possible, ive already ran 2 10k road runs and 1 cross country run with stoke fit ,with frank and Greg we get continuous support advice and motivation , they look after us very proffesionally whilst were running , they give us motivational tips every day via our face book page, they always have the advice if we have any aches or pains, nothing is too much trouble for these two guys. The group has gone from strength to strength its attracting more people and now its dark nights we road run instead of park run and were been noticed more , we all look out for each other no one is left alone and no body is left at the back .. greg leads us and frank runs with the last person( or vise versa) and we all muster inbetween, its not only great exercise its great fun and when you can see your own improvements its even better :). So for me stoke fit means.. ive got healthier and may be able drop an inhailer in a couple of months,,, ive stopped smoking so i can run better !! and because i run i wont want to start again so its a brilliant incentive,,,,

Ive changed my life style for the better and my children are now running and cycling,,,,i am part of a team which is what stoke fit is .. its one brilliant team of people all helping each other to get fit and have fun along the way.. i can not imagine not been part of them ,its now become a way of life for me. We are all very excited to see what our next challenge is and to find out our own capabilities which frank and Greg encourage and support.

A massive thank you to them both and a big pat on the back for doing so well and working so hard with us all .

Leave a Reply