Parent Time

The house is quiet as I slip out the door. I sit on the front step while I lace up my runners and fiddle with my iPod to find my favourite playlist. For the next 30 minutes, it’s just me, Fergie and The Killers — my a.m. A-team.

I’m a runner. It took giving birth to three kids to get me here, but I finally found an exercise that transforms my body and my mind. I’m not alone in my passion: Moms across the country run to stay fit and chill out.

“Running is my escape from the demands and stresses of every day,” explains Alexandra O’Brien from Victoria. “It can be many things. An easy run along the waterfront is a great time to think and reflect, while a hard track workout or hill repetitions keep me focused only on the workout.”

O’Brien ran a bit before having her son Nicholas, now eight, but she didn’t really get into it until he was six months old. Her first race was 10 kilometres when Nicholas was one, and she’s been in many other races since then, including four 42.2 kilometre marathons.

But you don’t have to be a marathon mama to reap the rewards of a runner’s lifestyle. Not only is running a low-cost form of exercise, it can be done just about anywhere, anytime, and can be worked into even the most packed schedule. Read on for how you can become a runner too.

Originally published in Today's Parent, April 2010