Run Like A Girl
If you live in South Warwickshire, chances are you’ve heard of Run Like A Girl!
Run like A Girl is a ladies only running club which was founded in Warwick two years ago by Lauren Gregory & Rebecca Chumun, with 23 ladies joining for a beginners running course. Two years later and over 1,200 ladies have been through the beginners running programme locally!

Here we talk to Lauren Gregory, one of the co-founders of RLAG. Hear what Lauren has to say about life, work & family living in Warwickshire & what the future holds for Run Like A Girl!

Hi Lauren, thanks for talking to us! Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m a wife to Richard and mum of two very active children. By day I’m a Personal Trainer and in between client sessions and running a busy household I spend my time either trail running or working on Run Like a Girl. I’m a keen endurance athlete and enjoy running ultra marathons as well as yoga and cooking.
How long have you lived in Warwickshire & what do you love about it?
I’ve lived in Warwickshire for 25 years, mostly in and around the Leamington Spa area. What’s not to love…? The rolling green countryside on our doorstep, historic towns, cosmopolitan shops and quirky little cafes. I’ve travelled and spent time in other places but I always love coming back to home turf.

How long has Run Like A Girl been running & what led you to set it up?
RLAG was set up in July 2015, we’ve just seen in our second birthday. I wanted to set up a women’s only running group for a long time before but wasn’t sure how to go about doing it. After posting in a local parenting forum called Mum Knows Best Warwickshire, I had a hugely positive response from ladies wanting to get together to learn to run, so I finally took the plunge, set the date and that was it, RLAG was born with 23 attending on the first night.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction doing what you do?
This is a hard one to answer as there’s not one specific thing as such. However I do find a great sense of reward when I see our ladies finally start to believe in themselves and their potential to be something greater than they ever imagined. Also to see and be part of such a strong sisterhood is indescribable… it gives me a real sense of belonging and acceptance.

So what’s next for RLAG?
I’m really excited to launch RLAG in Stratford and I truly believe that it will be a success. It’s really important to me that the group ethos is maintained and so with that in mind I don’t want to go too big, too fast. The development of the group and the brand needs to be a slow and steady process which also fits around my family, work life and my own training. Merchandise is another focus at the moment — I’m about to expand on the existing range and eventually offer technical ‘premium’ running gear.
What would be your top tip for helping busy families lead a healthy active lifestyle?
With two active little ones, a busy work schedule and a household to keep I know all too well how hard it can be to find a balance, particularly during the school holidays. I would suggest that you find activities that you can all do together such as a family walk, swim or bike ride. It’s also important that you schedule time to yourself so that you can pursue your personal fitness goals — my husband and I have a good system whereby Saturday mornings are my time to train while he spends time with our children and Sunday mornings are his (he’s a keen cyclist) and then the afternoons are spent as a family or doing the household chores, it works well most of the time and we all benefit.
Thanks Lauren for talking to us! Good luck with the launch of Run Like A Girl Stratford!
If you are interested in joining or finding out more information on Run Like A Girl you can find them on their website here http://www.runlikeagirl.org.uk/
You can register for the new Run Like A Girl Stratford beginners course (starting Thursday 27th July) here http://www.runlikeagirl.org.uk/new-location-stratford-upon-avon/
Other useful links:
http://www.laurengregorypt.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/734647603324546/ RLAG Leamington Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/692025917650837/ RLAG Stratford Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/141420109647324/ RLAG Coventry Facebook group
https://twitter.com/RunLikeAGirl_LS
https://twitter.com/RunLikeAGirlSUA
https://www.instagram.com/runlikeagirl_leamington/
https://www.instagram.com/runlikeagirl_stratford/
Photographs courtesy of Ben Knight, Lauren Gregory & Run Like A Girl
