Women on the run and loving it!

Tricia – who set up over 50s running group The Goal-Den Girls to complete the marathon in the London Olympics year – has recently set up a Couch Potato to 5k running group.

The group is made up of women of all ages, who train with Tricia, with the aim of going from non-runners to being able to run 5k in six weeks.

Tricia, of Bispham, said: “They are all training extremely hard and getting great results from all their hard work.

“This group was formed to raise money for a grant for Blackpool Young Carers.

“These ladies are not only getting fit and bettering their lifestyle, they are raising awareness and money for Young Carers in Blackpool, based at Beaverbrooks House on Newton Drive.

“The group intends to continue running after the course has ended – which is wonderful news for me.”

Tricia has been organising and coaching women’s running in Blackpool for 12 years, including at her beginners’ groups held on the running track in Stanley Park.

In 2010, she asked The Gazette to print an article appealing for local women over the age of 50 to join a new running group.

The challenge was to get the group – some of whom had never run before – to complete a marathon in the Olympic year.

They got together regularly under Tricia’s guidance to train, running around Stanley Park.

All 25 of the ladies from the group, dubbed The Goal-den Girls, crossed the finish line of the Edinburgh Marathon in 2012.

They have since taken on more challenges, raising thousands of pounds for good causes, and holding an annual all-women 10k fun run along Blackpool Promenade.

Not only do the running groups allow women to improve their fitness and achieve personal goals, they have also led to many friendships developing too.

Tricia, a UK Athletics Running Coach, said: “I get great pleasure seeing women from my previous groups still running today”.