For a long time, I told myself I didn’t have time to run.
I was a teacher, then a headteacher. There was always something else that needed doing. Another email. Another meeting. Another problem to solve. Another priority that somehow felt more important than making time for myself.
Running could wait.
The problem was that tomorrow kept moving.
Eventually, I realised something remarkably simple:
I didn’t need to find time. I needed to make it.
That realisation changed much more than my running.
And, eventually, it became the idea behind STRIDE.
Where it began
I’ve loved running for as long as I can remember.
As a child, I ran for Wakefield Harriers. I loved racing and trying to improve, but looking back, there was something else that mattered just as much.
Belonging.
Being part of a club. Training alongside other people. Encouraging one another. Sharing the nerves before a race and the stories afterwards.
Running wasn’t simply something I did. It connected me with other people.
Then life got busier.
I became a teacher and later a headteacher. Like so many people working in education, I gradually allowed work to take priority.
Running came and went.
There were periods when I ran regularly and periods when I barely ran at all. I’d tell myself I would get back to it when things settled down.
But education doesn’t really work like that.
There is always another deadline, another challenge and another reason why today isn’t quite the right day.
When running became something different
During some particularly demanding periods in my career, I began making time for running again.
And this time it felt different.
Of course, I still enjoyed getting fitter. I still enjoyed racing. I still liked the satisfaction of running a little faster or a little further.
But running started giving me something I hadn’t really appreciated before.
Space.
Space to think.
Space to reflect.
Space to process a difficult conversation or work through a problem.
Sometimes simply space to breathe.
I started noticing how often a problem that felt overwhelming at my desk seemed more manageable after half an hour outside.
I noticed the seasons changing. I discovered paths and places I’d never seen before. I spent time away from screens, emails and notifications.
And I realised that making time for myself wasn’t taking something away from my work.
Quite often, it allowed me to return to it with more energy, perspective and clarity.
Today, I’m back running with Wakefield Harriers. I love racing and chasing the occasional personal best, but running means far more to me now than it did when I was younger.
Some days I run hard.
Some days I run slowly.
Sometimes I run with others.
Sometimes I need to run alone.
What matters is that I run.
So why STRIDE?
Because I know I’m not the only person in education who has struggled to make time for themselves.
Education is an extraordinary profession.
It can also be consuming.
We spend our working lives looking after other people. Teaching them. Leading them. Supporting them. Helping them develop and flourish.
And somewhere amongst all of that, it can become surprisingly easy to stop looking after ourselves.
I don’t believe running solves every challenge facing people working in education.
It doesn’t.
And STRIDE isn’t about telling everybody they need to become a runner.
It’s about something much simpler.
Making time for ourselves again.
Moving.
Connecting.
Building habits that make our lives healthier, happier and more sustainable alongside the work we care deeply about.
That might mean walking around the block.
It might mean completing Couch to 5K.
It might mean turning up at parkrun for the first time.
Or it might mean training for your next marathon.
There isn’t a qualifying pace or distance.
There is simply a place to begin.
What I hope STRIDE becomes
Right now, STRIDE is at the very beginning of its journey.
And I like that.
My hope is that it grows into a genuine community of people from across education who encourage one another to move and make time for themselves.
A community where someone completing their first walk feels every bit as welcome as someone training for a marathon.
A place where we celebrate turning up, not simply running fast.
I hope we can take on challenges together, share stories, meet at parkruns and races and, eventually, find new ways of helping people across education build healthier and more sustainable lives.
Over time, I’d love that impact to reach schools and families too.
And there is another part of the vision.
Through STRIDE Professional Learning, I hope to explore some of the same questions beyond running: how we build sustainable habits, protect the people working in education and create careers in which people can thrive for the long term.
But I’m in no rush to build all of that.
The community comes first.
I don’t know exactly what STRIDE will become.
In fact, I don’t think I should.
Because if this genuinely becomes a community, the people who join it should help shape where it goes next.
This is the first stride
So this is the beginning.
One idea.
One community.
And one belief at the heart of it:
The people who spend their lives helping others to flourish need time and space to flourish too.
If you work in education, I’d love you to be part of what comes next.
You might already love running.
You might be returning after years away.
You might be thinking about starting but haven’t quite managed that first step yet.
That’s okay.
Walk. Jog. Run. Run-walk. It all counts.
Join us. Share your journey. Encourage somebody else.
And let’s see where this can go.
Every journey begins with a single stride.
This is ours.
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