As the week of Mother’s Day races around again this year I feel so blessed to be given the opportunity to be a Mummy to my 3 small children. Last night while tucking them into bed, I thought about what Mother’s Day meant to me and immediately I linked my experience of motherhood with RMA. There are so many incredible stories in this community but there is one that has stayed with me since the early days of RMA. Emma’s story encapsulates to me the very essence of motherhood: it’s real, it’s raw, it’s hard work but it’s so very worth it.

 

emma

As it is Mother’s Day, tell me the significance of this special day to you?

Mother’s Day is a day of happiness AND sadness for me. I of course celebrate my four amazing children here with me on Earth but also grieve for my precious little baby girl Evie who would have been 7 this year.

Evie was stillborn at full-term 7 years ago and although I feel so incredible honoured to be her Mum, as she gave me an incredible gift of strength, there is always still a part of me on Mother’s Day that is sad and aches that one of my precious children only lives on in my heart.

To me though, Mother’s Day is not all just about celebrating being a Mother and having wonderful kids, it’s also about recognizing in ourselves the strength and love we display on a DAILY basis to ALL of those around us that shape the lives of our future generations.

Why did you start running?

I started running for many different reasons, for sanity, for mental health, for weight loss, for self-confidence and to find myself. But my entire life I had a dream that one day I wanted to run a Marathon. I didn’t quite know ‘how’ or ‘when’, all I really knew is that ‘one day’ I wanted to do it!

Three and a half years ago I found myself a single Mum of four kids. In the years after Evie died I’d turned to comfort eating to cope with her death as well as the choices in life that the Father of my children was making. I was depressed and I was obese. I knew that something had to change as I had lost sight of who I was.

At the beginning of 2013 I finally decided to bite the bullet and began a diet and exercise program in which time I managed to lose 15kgs and get a taste of running. I fell off the wagon with the program but was determined to keep running as it helped me in ways I struggle to put into words… It grounded me. It made things feel real. I was finally starting to experience life again… To see who I really was and understand myself in a way that I never had before! I was sick of saying ‘one day’… ‘One day’ when I’d lost the weight… ‘One day’ when I had time… I wanted to show people that I was strong and I COULD do this! I didn’t NEED to wait so I told my eldest daughter that I was going to take the plunge and sign up for a Half Marathon!

People looked at me in disbelief when I told them my plans and doubted me finishing at all but that just made me even more determined to do it! I wanted to show the Father of my kids that I was stronger than he told me I was. I wanted to run for Evie. I wanted to show everyone that my life meant something and that HER life meant something. I wanted to show the world (and probably more importantly myself!) that I was STRONG!

I ran that Half Marathon in August of 2013 and I haven’t looked back since!

What has RMA brought to your life?

RMA has brought that much into my life that I’m finding myself choking up just thinking about it. I still remember the day that I received an invite to join the group when Nicole first started RMA and it was just a handful of us! Never in a million years would I have imagined how that click of a mouse to join a Facebook group would impact my life forever!

The outpouring of love and support from the women of RMA over these last few years has been what has held me together! Living (at the time) in a rural town I had a limited support network and RMA provided me with such a hugely important outlet as I struggled with life as a single, working and running Mum of four. The friends I’ve made through RMA are friends I’ve made for life. I could now travel anywhere in Australia and have friends to run with! It continues to blow my mind! SO amazing!!

If it wasn’t for RMA I wouldn’t have had the chance to share my running journey with others in the way I have. If it wasn’t for RMA I wouldn’t have felt inspired to save up and travel to the other side of the country on my own with my kids to run GCAM and give my kids their first ever proper holiday! If it wasn’t for RMA I wouldn’t be ME!

RMA is part of who I am now. Being an ambassador has been the biggest honour and most amazing experience of my life… Not only has it given me the opportunity to share my own story but it’s also given me the honour of listening to and witnessing how running has changed the lives of other strong, beautiful women! You simply cannot put a value on that type of thing!

How do you fit training in?

This is a question I’m asked a lot! The answer is ‘With great difficulty!’ I’m no super Mum! I struggle every day and much of the time I fail… Dramatically! But… I keep trying and I guess that’s the important thing, don’t give up, keep trying! I think motivating myself to go and do it has been a lot harder than actually fitting it in to be honest! There’s ALWAYS a way to fit it in, it’s not always incredibly fun, it’s just a matter of motivating yourself enough to get it done no matter what!

When we lived in Bremer Bay I had a 700m stretch of secluded beach (with nice compact sand!) that I would run up and down while the kids played… I even took the tent down once for the kids to shelter in while I ran a half marathon up and down that beach – Fun times!!

Quite a lot of my runs were done at night when I could fit them in and I was lucky that my eldest daughter was old enough (and responsible enough!) to look after my younger kids while I ran.

Training has been VERY sporadic over the last few years and I look back now and wonder how on earth I actually managed to achieve my ’12 marathons (or further) in 12 months’ goal with how little training I was doing! ‘Time on feet’ when I was working full-time helped a lot I think and even just being used to having to ‘push-on’ when I was exhausted also probably helped!

In the last month I’ve started being coached again so I’m currently training 6 days a week in preparation for my next big goal and that in itself is incredibly challenging even though I now have an extremely supportive man in my life to help me out! I’m mainly working nights at the moment so my runs get scheduled in during the day whenever I can fit them! Lately I’ve run while the kids have been at soccer training, in between their soccer games on a Saturday morning, early in the morning before they get up for school, on the oval while they play at the park, with them while they ride their bikes, with one of my daughter’s running with me and even late at night around the neighbourhood once I finish work!

It’s never easy and it can be very crazy trying to cram it all in especially as my work hours and commitments change week to week and it’s exhausting BUT it’s extremely rewarding not only seeing progress in my own running and health but also the positive influence it’s having on my children’s lives!

What has been your most memorable run?

Oh geez… This is a hard one! Every single run I’ve completed (and even the one’s I haven’t!) have been memorable for me… Some in good ways, some in not so good ways!! Gold Coast Marathon where I finally got to meet so many AMAZING RMA’s who I’d never met in person before , Australia Day Ultra in 2015 where I had my first attempt at 100km but only got to 75kms and had the best RMA support EVER Australia-wide!!, the WA 24 hour Track Ultra in 2015 where I finally made it not only to my first 100kms but to 128kms in total… The list goes on and on!

My favourite though would have to be the Perth City to Surf Marathon last year (2015)! Two weeks before this run I had completed the WA 24hour Track Ultra and managed 128kms. Any ‘sensible’ person would have given themselves a decent amount of time to recover after such an event but because the Perth City to Surf is a special event to me (First Half Marathon in 2013 and First Full Marathon in 2014) and was now going to be the ‘new man in my life’s’ first ever Marathon (that I’d talked him into doing!) there was no way I was going to miss it!!

I’d only run twice since the Ultra as I had a persistent niggle on the side of my shin which I stupidly chose to ignore. I set out at a pace a lot faster than my usual Marathon pace as I was trying to make up time to stop and go to the loo at the 5km point and I also wanted to get a good start to try and ‘beat’ Sean!

I ran a PB Half Marathon time and as I ran through the crowds in the city centre (who were waiting to start their own Half Marathons) I was given a ‘Rock-Star’ reception by fellow AWESOME RMA’s which was SUCH an amazing highlight!!

By the time I got to about the 30km mark my shins were screaming in agony. I knew then that I had done myself a serious injury as I could no longer even slowly jog through the pain. I limped along almost in tears and as Sean passed I told him it was over for me. I had some painkillers in my Flipbelt so I took them and decided to walk (limp) for the next km and see how I felt.

A km passed and I realized I was pain-free enough to run again! I managed to run that last 10 or so kms and overtake Sean to finish Marathon number 10 for the year and secure a new Marathon PB!! I couldn’t believe it!! I saw my awesome RMA friends Harmony, Nhung and Dale-Lyn waiting at the finish line for me and together we decided to wait for Sean to finish.

Soon enough he came into sight and we all cheered him over the line and congratulated him on completing his first ever Marathon! After he caught his breath Harmony said she’d take a photo of Sean and I together but Sean kept turning me to face him much to my confusion! Next thing I knew he got down on one knee, presented me with a ring and said he was ‘Setting a new goal for me!!’ I was in complete and utter shock!! My reply was ‘Are you serious??!!’ After lots of hugging and kissing and crying Sean finally managed to pry the ring out of my tightly clenched fist and put it on my finger. Harmony asked what my answer was and… Of course I said YES! It was all captured on video by Harmony and Dale-Lyn who Sean had earlier let in on his secret plan so they would keep me at the finish line!

The shock and elation were IMMENSE!! Here was a man who was not only offering to commit himself to me and my four kids with all of our years of baggage but he also ran 42.2kms with a diamond ring in his back pocket!! He could not have proposed to me in ANY better way than what he did! I felt (and continue to feel) like the luckiest girl in the world!!

I never ever thought I’d find someone but here, thanks to running, I found myself my future husband! It doesn’t get much better than that and the Tibial Stress Fracture I got in the process was TOTALLY worth it!!

What’s your next goal race?

After my Tibial Stress Fracture at the end of last year and almost 4 months off running to heal, my goal for this year is a bit more focused. I decided to only concentrate on one goal event. I plan to run some other events in the lead up as training but my priority this year will always be my goal race.

I’m currently training for my 2nd crack at the WA 24hr Track Ultra in August. I have a big goal… To complete 100miles there! I am focused and I am determined! I have an amazing coach who not only writes me an excellent training plan but also motivates and inspires me every step of the way! I have a wonderful family… A partner who supports me every step of the way, kids who cheer me on and think I’m the best no matter what I do and the REALLY awesome bit? I have all of you, my AMAZING RMA family cheering me on too! I have every reason to run this 100miles and with support of RMA and the strength that you ladies give me… Well I can’t go wrong! 100miles? Watch this space ladies! And you know what? It I can do it, anyone can!!

Happy Mother’s Day beautiful Mumma’s of RMA… You are ALL amazing! Remember, even on the not-so-good days, believe in yourselves because I certainly do!! xx

Emma Luscombe celebrates mothers day as single mum of her beautiful children. She resides in Western Australia and is an ambassador for Running Mums Australia.

Intro by Anna Croger.