Jo's story

Joanne Nicholas caught the running bug whilst at university when she was encouraged to take it up by her friends. Little did they know that a few years later she would be entering competitions and setting herself ambitious goals. Jo explains:

"When I first started I couldn't even run 200m to the post box before having to stop for a rest!

The turning point was joining a local running club (Dinas and Penarth Runners). They have runners of all abilities, and sessions to cater for this. When I started I was one of the slower runners but some good training guidance and people to run with meant I was soon progressing.

I have really caught the bug now and have even started entering races.

I started with the 5K race for life (which at the time seemed a long way) but now run 10K and half marathons. I've improved significantly over the years and have set my sights on running a 10K in under 40mins and a half marathon in 1hr30. I'm nearly there!

But the desire to achieve this keeps me going. My biggest running achievement so far is being the first female in the Bradley Stoke 10K - I won a trophy and a basket of fruit - my first ever running prize!

And why does Jo do it?

It's the 'feel good' buzz - a short burst of exercise is great to forget the days stresses and get you back feeling on top of the World"

If you feel inspired by Jo's story, why not sign up to MySportWales today where you can create your own activity profile, log your weekly activity participation and even create your own running routes.