KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – They call it “chasing the dream.”
Running at least one to two hours a day, logging miles on Knoxville’s greenways and reaping the benefits on many levels.
“We get clarity, peace, we feel like ourselves again, we feel healthy, we are healthy for our families, we’re healthy for ourselves,” says Whitney Heins, founder of the new website, The Mother Runners.
Running with her and part of the online group – Gina Rouse, the four-time Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon women’s champion; now ramping up her training after qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
“It’s been a lifelong dream to make it to the Olympics. I started running at a very young age,” says Gina.
Even though Whitney, Gina and runner Rebecca Weinand are elite athletes, they shared the struggles of every busy mom trying to find time for both fitness and family.
“My ultimate goal is to train to my optimum potential, maintaining balance in my life,” says Rebecca.
That’s why Whitney, well-known in the running world here, coming in second behind Gina with Rebecca placing third, decided to create the website just for running moms.
“They’ll find information about nutrition, motivation, training, survival tips, like how to deal with a baby who is cluster-feeding and you can’t have ten minutes to go out the door to go run a mile,’ Whitney explains.
“It offers information and inspiration for moms who run or want to run who are looking to get back into running.”
Moms sharing tips with other moms, with contributions from local experts in the fields of fitness and nutrition.
Bobby Holcombe is the owner of Knoxville Endurance and head coach; he’s optimistic about the website and all it has to offer.
“It’s going to connect people from around the United States, not just local,” he said. “I see this more of a global thing than I do a local thing.”
With including training advice on the website, he says everyone has a different story and he and Whitney want to know that story.
“I’m really big on hearing from the community,” Whitney says. “I want to know what they need to know to reach their goals or solve whatever problems they’re having.”
Another asset for the website is popular nutritionist Betsy Johnson, owner of Betsy’s Nutritional Consulting. She shared with us this tidbit: “For any runner, I think the biggest thing is sometimes people will do long-distance runs or train for a race and reach out to me and say, ‘I’m gaining weight but I’m running, what’s the deal?’ And a lot of it just goes back to the old saying of, ‘it is 80 percent nutrition and 20 percent exercise.'”
This is just a sample of what all “mother runners” can embrace, learning from and sharing their knowledge with each other in the quest to be their best at home and on the run.
More resources online for Mother Runners:
For more information on Bobby Holcombe and Knoxville Endurance personal training and running coaching, click here.
For details on Betsy Johnson and Betsy’s Nutritional Consulting, click here.
