We love active families and this year the Cordingley family-of-four have all signed up to do the Townsville Running Festival. Mum Robyn and dad John are doing the 5km event with their daughter Holly, 18, while their son William, 16, is stepping it up to tackle his first 10km. Woot! Nice work team! We had a chat to Robyn to find out why they got involved and what training they are doing to prepare.
“Joining in is the best part. You never know what you can achieve” – Robyn Cordingley
Have any of you done the Townsville Running Festival before? I haven’t, but my son and daughter ran last year with their cousin, which inspired us to get involved this year. That meant we’ve had to do some training!
How do you usually stay active? The children both do sports — Holly is a dancer and William plays soccer. I have been walking for some years, but running was new to me. My husband doesn’t do any regular sport either, so the 5km event has been a good goal for us both.
What training are you doing in the lead-up? The children have continued their sport with no additional training. John and I have been attempting to run up to three times a week — thankfully, I have had a friend who has been very supportive and motivating to keep me training!
Where are your favourite training locations? We like to run around the river from between Aplins Weir and Bowen Road. Sometimes I like to run along The Strand. I have also joined parkrun [free 5km timed weekly run] to get some basic idea of my times and to be more competitive.
What are you most looking forward to about the event? Being able to get involved and finish the race, and know that we are running as a family.
The family got involved with Run Townsville in May this year.
What will be the most challenging aspect? Being able to beat my PB that I have set at parkrun and to keep running as a form of fitness after the event.
Are you looking forward to seeing other families out there? Yes. My sister and her family are also running. Plus I know some of my previous work colleagues like to run as a family in the festival as well.
So, do you think you’ll get competitive amongst yourselves? My son and husband are competitive with each other; and my daughter and I are just as competitive together, but I think I will just try to focus on being competitive with myself!
Any tips for others wanting to get involved? Be prepared to do some training and, if you can get support from family and friends, it makes it much more enjoyable and gives you heaps of motivation.
How important is it to have an active lifestyle? We have always encouraged our children to be involved in sport and also try to eat a balanced diet. Previously, we have played tennis or have tried to be regular bike riders and go walking a couple of times a week for fun and fitness. But a change of focus has certainly bought about new challenges!
Is the Townsville Running Festival accessible to people of all abilities? Yes, 5km is a good starting point and can be completed at a leisurely pace, or much faster. Joining in is the best part. You never know what you can achieve.
Get involved
Get your family and friends together and sign-up for the 5km event at the Townsville Running Festival on Sunday, August 2. You’ll feel awesome afterwards and can reward yourselves with a yummy brunch — sounds like a good morning to us! For more information and to sign-up, see here: townsvillerunningfestival.com.
