Scottish Women & Girls in Sport Week: Isle Jog

It’s Scottish Women & Girls in Sport Week and we are highlighting some of our fantastic female Jog Leaders.

Today, we are shining a light on Isle Jog on the Isle of Lewis. The group was set up by Louise Henderson, after moving to the island and discovering there were no beginners running groups. Marina Sinclair currently leads the group while Louise is working abroad.

How long have you been involved with jogscotland and when did you become a leader?

Louise: I’ve been running since I was 9 years old, originally training with Edinburgh Athletics Club for many years. I took up the sport again after I had my 2 children – it gave me an hour of ‘me time’!

I moved to Dunfermline in 2002 and signed up to be a Jog Leader with some of the ladies from Carnagie Harriers. I absolutely loved helping out and, again, I made new friends with similar interests.

Marina: I first became a member of jogscotland 5 years ago when I joined Isle Jog.  I became a leader 3 years ago.

What made you want to become a jog leader?

Louise: I moved to the Isle of Lewis with work in 2014 and found there weren’t any continuous beginners running activities for adults. I decided to use my skills and experience to set up my own jogscotland group in Lewis.

My first session was on a cold and wet January evening in 2019, when 6 hardy souls turned up. I was worried they wouldn’t come back, but they did. As time went on the numbers grew and I had to find some additional Jog Leaders to help me out.

I wanted the group to cater for as many people as possible, and all abilities. We now have 96 members and follow the jogscotland plans which definitely makes life easier when you have three groups to cater for. We’ve had 6 new leaders join or qualify since 2021, including Marina, and I just couldn’t do it without them.

Marina: Our group was growing so we needed more leaders.  My fitness had increased and I found myself going back to encourage others that were struggling. I would run alongside them and chat to them as I knew with some encouragement they could do it.

Louise asked if I would consider training to be a leader.  I initially said no as I felt I was too old, and hadn’t been running for long enough, but she reassured that me that I wasn’t and she thought I would be good at leading and supporting the group.

What is your favourite thing about being a jog leader?

Louise: I love being a jog leader, especially when new joggers turn up and say ‘I can’t run’ – I love watching their progress and seeing them complete their first 5k or 10k in their sapphire blue Isle jog T-shirts! We are just one big team.

When we take part in events, like the Stornoway Half Marathon or 10k, the team are always there shouting and cheering for their buddies. That’s what makes me do it.

We’re a bit unique up in the islands and it has been known for us to have a yearly chippy run! Everyone does a 5k together and we sit and eat our chips in the main square if it’s dry. We also started a razzle run (which is thing you can find to a McFlurry on the islands).

We don’t charge for our sessions, but we do have a donations bucket. We use these donations to train up new jog leaders or support local charities. It’s great to be doing something positive in the community, it really makes a difference.

Marina: My favourite thing about being a Jog Leader is how easy it is to begin running and to progress. Seeing some of our beginners go on to run their first 5k when they didn’t believe they could, to then 10k, and a lot of our runners have now completed half marathons or even a full marathon.

Being part of the group has made them feel included no matter their pace.  No one gets left behind and our motto is “finish lines not finish times”.  The runners have learnt to celebrate their personal achievement and we celebrate it with them as a group.

So many people drop out of sports because they don’t feel good enough.  jogscotland provides a flexible training program which includes all abilities.  We have seen friendships form and confidence increase.

Why is it important to have women & girls in leadership positions?

Louise: Most of our joggers are women, so it’s important that we have women who understand the challenges we all face. We often have conversations about menopause, mental health and wellbeing. As female leaders we empower other women to believe and achieve their goals.

Marina: Leadership has had a male female imbalance for years in all sectors of society.   This sends a wrong message to women and men.  I think it’s very important to see more females in leaderships roles, as society will then begin to see this as the norm and not the exception.

Women can bring a different perspective, represent women better and lead in a different way. This should enhance and bring a better balance to any team or service they provide.

I think leadership should be encouraged from a young age so that girls build confidence in leadership roles.  It is also the responsibilities of coaches and leaders to give girls the same opportunity to lead as the boys.  Our group now has 7 leaders, 6 female and one male!

What would you say to someone else thinking about becoming a jog leader?

Louise: I would say do it, you really do get a lot back from it. It’s so rewarding, it’s fun and you never know how far you can go!

Marina: Anyone thinking about becoming a leader should not exclude themselves because of age or running experience.

I would say join an active group and become a jog buddy for a while.  A jog buddy assists the leader and runs beside anyone who needs encouragement or may be struggling.  This helps build your confidence and gives you experience of what being a leader looks like.