A women-only running club is celebrating a successful first six months after creating what its founder describes as a ‘safe place’ where women can build confidence, make friends and support one another.
‘On Her Mark’ was launched in Ramsey by 26-year-old mum-of-three Yasmin Bell with the aim of providing a welcoming and pressure-free environment for women who may feel nervous, unfit or intimidated by traditional running clubs.
What began as a simple idea to encourage women to get moving has grown into a supportive community, welcoming women of different ages, abilities, shapes and sizes.
The group held its first run earlier this year, with Yasmin admitting at the time that she had been overwhelmed by the turnout and the support shown by those taking part.
‘I never expected such an amazing turnout,’ she said following the launch.
‘Seeing how everyone supported one another from the second they walked through the door made me a little emotional.’
Messages soon followed from women who had arrived feeling anxious but left feeling proud, with some already looking forward to the next session.
The club was inspired by Yasmin’s own journey into running and the positive impact it had on her life.
Reflecting on the group’s first six months, she said: ‘I remember having the idea for “On Her Mark” one evening.
‘It didn’t come from a place of wanting to create a fast, competitive run club. It came from being a mum of three who never really felt like I fitted in.
‘More often than not, I felt like everyone else already had their people… except me. Anxiety and self-doubt can be funny little things, can’t they?’
Yasmin began running around a year before establishing the club, not because she wanted to compete but because of the difference it made to her wellbeing.
‘It made me happier, more confident, more patient, and my children got a better version of me because of it,’ she said.
‘I knew there had to be other women who needed that too.’
The group focuses on relaxed sessions, with participants encouraged to run at their own pace and walk when needed.
Yasmin said she had once believed that being slow, taking walking breaks or being unable to cover long distances meant she was not a ‘proper runner’.
‘Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong,’ she said.
‘You don’t have to be fast to be a runner. You just have to run. That’s exactly why On Her Mark was born.’
Over the past six months, On Her Mark has also raised more than £1,600 for island charities.
Yasmin said messages from members had demonstrated the impact the group was having, with some women saying they rarely left the house apart from attending the club, while others had found new friends and achieved distances they had never believed possible.
‘When I look through these group photos, I don’t see miles run or distances completed,’ she said.
‘I see women who took a chance on walking into a group of strangers… and found their flock.’
The group continues to meet in Ramsey every Tuesday evening.