“Running Helped Me Bond with My Daughter”

Runtastic success story Ninette

My name is Ninette, I am 42 years old, married to my cheerful husband and have 2 daughters. One is 15 years old and the other is 10 years old. I have been a licensed massage therapist for nearly 15 years.

Before I started running, I just wanted to get in “shape,” not necessarily lose weight. My weight was fine; I was just out of shape. I couldn’t even go up a flight of stairs without getting winded. I knew I was out of shape and in need of change. That’s when I found running. Running not only helped me cardiovascularly, it also helped me bond with my daughter since it was something we now had in common. That is priceless.

A woman runs through the finish line

So how did my daughter help me? She missed a cross country meet and, as a consequence, I made her run a local race. I signed her up for a 10K race and she was pretty angry with me. But, I told her this was to teach her the importance of being a part of a team and showing up to your meets. I even told her I would keep her company and run a 5K that same day – she didn’t believe me.

When we got to the downtown square to the race start, I could feel the positive and vibrant energy already at 7 o’clock in the morning! Well, I ran the entire 5K but my knees were killing me. I went to the chiropractor afterwards and told him that I ran a 5K off the couch (literally!) and I think I hurt my knees. He said that I didn’t have bad knees, but just weak legs that needed to be strengthened. After that, I started running again slowly by just running down my street. Later I ran down 2 streets. It was a very slow but steady pace until one day I reached 2 miles!

Turkey Trot 5K/Fun Run

My daughter told me about the Runtastic app and I started using it. It was very motivating to have someone tell me my distance and pace. After I got comfortable running, I realized how therapeutic running was for my soul. For the first time in my life, I had a hobby that was healthy, felt amazing, built my confidence, and I could do it alone. It was such a free and liberating feeling! I cannot even begin to explain how much running has helped my inner wellness and spiritual connection.

As I mentioned before, my goal was simply to get fit. And, I have actually put on 4 lb since running and I know it’s muscle – which I am very proud of. I feel very healthy and strong for the first time in my life. Years prior I “thought” I was strong and healthy, but just because I was slender did not equal being healthy, fit and strong.

I have only been running 15 months, but I have run a total of 11 races and have placed in 8 of them! I am currently running about 30 miles a week. Usually, I run 3-8 miles during the week and at least 10 on the weekend (if I am not training). Next to running, I cross train with barre classes to keep my body strong!

I ran my first marathon on November 12 in Nashville and placed 1st in my age group. Additionally, I qualified for the Boston Marathon. I ran a 3:41:45 thanks to training with Runtastic’s “How to run a marathon in 3.5 hours.” It works! I loved it! I am currently thinking about registering for the Chicago Marathon. Thank you for the opportunity to share my story with you!!

Do you have a story like Ninette’s that you would like to share with our community? It’s so motivating to have stories from you all – feel free to send yours to mysuccess@runtastic.com.

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