Lucy's Rainbow Running Club

Happy New Year! As many of us will be thinking of how to be healthier as we start 2021, today Zoe speaks to Lucy Slimmon, founder of the rainbow running club!   Whilst battling through difficult times in her life, including baby loss, Lucy found that running gave her back a sense of control, joy and purpose. She realised that if running could to this for her then it could help so many other women too.   KEY TAKEAWAYS   Lucy and her husband met when they were quite young, just 19! They bought a house but it was when Lucy turned 30 she wanted to start trying for a baby. Lucy fell pregnant quite quickly but sadly she miscarried at 7 weeks. After dealing with this sad news Lucy and her partner decided to try again but they didn’t fall pregnant. They had many tests and two years after her miscarriage they got a diagnosis of unexplained fertility. Lucy and her partner had counselling together and they found this had an incredible impact on their relationship and made them feel closer to one another. It meant by the time they started IVF they could talk about absolutely anything together. After a difficult start to the IVF and pregnancy at 10 weeks everything ended up being ‘normal’ for Lucy and they had a beautiful daughter born on her due date. After the birth of her daughter Lucy managed to fall pregnant naturally but sadly this ended in a miscarriage. It did make her and her partner realise they wanted another baby so they tried again. She got pregnant again but traumatically she miscarried again, they were heartbroken. Lucy knew she had to keep going for her daughter, no matter how she felt. She was reading the booking 21 Miles and this is what made her start running. It made her feel so happy and she realised if it helped her, it could help other women too. This lead to her setting up a running club for women who had suffered miscarriages and baby loss and the Rainbow Running Club was born. Rainbow Running Club was an overnight success and is a lifeline for so many women. Lucy finds it incredibly uplifting to see everyone running, talking to each other and supporting one another. COVID has meant that they haven’t been able to meet in the traditional way for a lot of this year but this has meant that Lucy has been able to reach even more women via zoom!   BEST MOMENTS   “I just became lost in this desire to have a baby”   “I don’t think I fully allowed myself to believe that I would be coming home with a baby until she was actually here”   “I can’t be the only person that has gone through all of these experiences and I can’t be the only person who would benefit from running”   “It’s really uplifting seeing everyone talk to each other and supporting each other”   VALUABLE RESOURCES Rainbow Running Club 21 Miles: Swimming in Search of the Meaning of Motherhood Book Stop Pleasing Start Living Book   www.petalscharity.org www.tommys.org www.arc-uk.org www.sands.org.uk     ABOUT THE GUEST Lucy Slimmon @_mother_of_one_ @rainbowrunningclub @rainbowyogaclub     ABOUT THE HOST Zoe Cresswell Devoted mother of two (and a big hairy dog), UK trained midwife, doula and personal trainer, specialising in pre and postnatal fitness. Zoe was born in the UK and before moving to Dubai in 2013 and worked as a midwife in central London, both in a birth centre and a very busy NHS hospital. Although late to the scene, Zoe is an aspiring athlete having won numerous triathlons and representing Great Britain where she placed within the top 10 on the world stage. With her husband James, the couple will soon be launching their cloth nappy company, Bop & Bee, where they hope to inspire families to swap a few disposable nappies a day for the more planet friendly option of cloth. Zoe’s goal is to share her knowledge and experience, tell real life stories, manage expectations and open up those often difficult conversations. Zoe’s own motherhood journey has been full of twists and turns as she put everything on hold and went through numerous miscarriages and rounds of IVF.   CONTACT DETAILS Instagram : @zoecresswell_me Facebook: Zoe Cresswell LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-cresswell