“Last bank holiday Monday I took the 4am train from Neath to Paddington to take part in the vitality 10k… in my underwear!”
Bev was one of 800 women to make the journey to London to run the Vitality 10K in her underwear for the campaign #celebrateyou which was set up by Bryony Gordon and Jade Sezer to promote body positivity and the benefits of running to women of all sizes.
“We ran through London, taking in all the sights like Buckingham palace and Trafalgar Square, being cheered on by epic crowds who had come out in force to cheer us on in the glorious sunshine. Running in our underwear hopefully shares the important message that all bodies are badass. As women we
are far too critical of themselves, seldom accept compliments without denial and are programmed to look for flaws in our appearance. THIS HAS TO STOP! As a mum to two wonderful girls I refuse to let them grow up thinking they are anything less than amazing. I hope I am able to teach them to embrace their bodies & love their individuality and not conform to what society & advertising tells us we should look like.”
Mum of two, Bev, started her running journey over 3 years ago when taking on the Couch to 5K challenge. This is the first time she has ever been part of a sports group and now she proudly hangs nine half marathon medals on her wall at her home in Skewen.
“When I got completely bitten by the running bug no one was more surprised than me! What I found was not only a very cool new hobby (that keeps me fit and helps my mental health) but also an incredible community of runners, both online & in real life.”
At the end of 2018 Bev decided to set up an online community, called ‘Badass Mother Runners,’ to give mums a safe place to encourage and support one another getting started on their running journey. Since then, the online community has grown to have over 5000 members, a sell out merchandise range and it is even still growing by the day.
If you want to get into running but need a bit of support and guidance, then join Bev and get involved in the Badass Mother Runners community on Facebook and Instagram. You can find the links to all their pages below.
www.instagram.com/badass_mother_runners_club
Www.facebook.com/BadassMotherRunner
If you are looking to start your running journey today then get involved and find your local running club here.