New Balance Canadian runner of the week: Penney Simms

Penney Simms always wanted to be a runner but was scared she’d never become one. When she committed to training in spring, she kept it a secret from her friends, her kids, her fitness guru of a sister and even her husband. 

As told to Sinead Mulhern. 

My sister is a fitness guru. She has run marathons for the past 20 years, teaches spin classes and has just always had that passion for the active lifestyle. I’ve always found it intimidating. I secretly always wanted to be a runner like her– I envied everyone who was able to cruise along with such ease. In fact, I wanted to be a runner for most of my adult life. My sister even encouraged I start but I felt stupid asking for the help. I was scared I’d fail.

Just this past May, I went to a spin class at a local gym. The class, no doubt, was headed by my sister. As I worked through the workout, I silently committed to running. It just came to me all of a sudden: “I’m going to run the Downtown Dash 5K.” I wanted to do it but I didn’t tell anyone. If I committed and then failed in my training, everyone would know. This way, if things weren’t going as planned, I could pull out. The race was in just over two months.

So I didn’t tell people— not my sister, not my kids, not even my husband. I did seek out three acquaintances who I knew would give could advice. Failing or quitting was always in the back of my mind likely because I had already failed with running before. Four years ago, a friend was telling me all about a “Couch to 5K” program. It would have beginners fit enough to run that 5K race. We said we’d do it together. Then, her schedule got too busy at work and she quit. When she quit, I quit too. I didn’t run again until June 2015, after that pivotal moment in spin class.

My first step was to print off an online program to follow. I got the advice of those three friends and started running. I ran for the first time on June 5. The schedule started with running for two minutes and walking for one, eventually working up to 30 minutes of running over an eight week period. I still remember the first time I really felt I had reached a milestone. One of my running mentors was my daughter’s friend’s dad. He had been a runner for a year and he challenged me to run for distance as opposed to time and to try running until I honestly felt I couldn’t run one more step. That evening I ran for 12 minutes. I couldn’t believe it.

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I stuck to my schedule for almost two months and was quite proud of myself for keeping to it. I was still not proud enough to tell anyone … including my husband. I ran three times a week, then four. My family had no idea I was doing it until within a week of the race.

Eventually I told them. I went on a trip with some acquaintances who I now consider friends and when I told them what I was working towards, they were so encouraging. It was after this trip that I told my husband that I hadn’t been going for evening walks but rather evening runs and that I needed him to request the day off so he could support me while I ran my first race.

The morning of the race I was so nervous. Four years ago I had made the goal to run and on that morning, I was realizing that I was now going to accomplish it. Finally. My goal was to finish– time was not important. Negative thoughts did run through my mind: what if I didn’t finish? My legs might get sore. I might trip and fall or maybe I would stop being able to breathe and die. I replaced everything negative with “But what if I do finish?” I moved forward with that mindset.

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The race went just fine. I finished the 5.4 kilometres run in 33 minutes. My friend and her husband ran beside me the whole time. At the finish, there was moment where I knew running would become a lifestyle of mine and that this was not just this one-time event. It was a moment as prominent as that one in spin class when I made the decision to become a runner. Of course, through the race, my husband and my two children were there cheering me on. He was, and is my greatest supporter for every aspect of my life, including my running.

Now, I run five or six times a week. I run four to six kilometres on a shorter run and eight to ten on a longer route. I run everywhere and anywhere.

Oh, and at the end of August, I went to Halifax with my mom and my sister. For the first time ever, I went for a run with my sister. It was an amazing feeling.

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