A regular at the Bramley Parkrun and a run-leader at the Bramley Breezers running club, Rachel spent much of her free time out on the streets of Leeds clocking up the miles. She even completed a couple of triathlons and gained a British Triathlon coaching qualification; such was her passion for endurance events. 

However, following the breakdown of her marriage in 2019 and given her disabled son, James, required round-the-clock care, Rachel’s priorities changed and the time shes had to spend running gradually dwindled. 

“It was really challenging with James, so I’d go running and I’d be crying whilst doing it,” Rachel said. “Nobody saw that I was crying, I would just run down the street, and it probably looked like I was quite sweaty, but I really would be physically crying. I had a lot of tension and I found it hard to manage, but by the time I got home from a run, that stress had lifted off my shoulders, so it was such a good thing for me and really helped with my mental health.” 

Without running, Rachel’s daily routine became a cycle of juggling her responsibilities of being a mum and carer from the moment she woke up at 4:00am until she went to bed – with only her full-time job at Leeds Trinity providing a distraction.

After four years of being James’s main caregiver, Rachel made the difficult decision to move James into assisted living in April 2023, four months before his 21st birthday. Although it was a move Rachel never wanted to make, she knew it was one that meant he would receive the high-quality of care needed to improve his quality of life. 

It also meant that Rachel suddenly had an abundance of free time. She regularly thought about running again but couldn’t convince herself to commit due to concerns over not being able to meet her own demands, which were dictated by her previous ability. 

That changed when Sheila King, Sports Development Officer at Leeds Trinity who Rachel knew from her time as a run leader, told her that the University was entering a team into the Corporate Challenge at the 2024 Run for All Leeds 10K, and encouraged her to lace up her trainers once again. 

Rachel joined Sheila and other members of the team on training runs as she eased herself back into it and is now deep into training for the event, taking place on Sunday 23 June. She has even made peace with the fact she won’t be recording a personal best effort and insists she is just delighted to be back running. 

“I’d lost my confidence with running. I thought if I ran with a group, I’d be slow and hold everybody up, but Sheila persuaded me to join her for a session and when I went for that first run, I loved it. I’m so glad she encouraged me to do it, I felt good afterwards and it’s empowered me to get back out there. 

“I’m running three times a week again now and I’m enjoying training at my own pace, increasing distances when I feel I can. My training has been going well and I think I’ll record a good time. I’m not setting any goals, but as long as I complete it with ease and get a medal around my neck, I’ll be happy.” 

As for James, Rachel says he is now “living his best life” in his new surroundings.  

“He’s been there for a whole year now and he’s settled. He’s living a good life, probably better than when he was at home. He’s socialising more, he goes out on day trips, he’s going on holiday with one of his friends soon and he’s living an independent life away from me. It’s allowed me to no longer be his carer, and now I can have ‘mum time’ with him. I see him about three times a week and when I do, we can do silly things and enjoy quality time together, which is fantastic and means a lot to us both.”