This one’s a bit special. Naomi’s first fast 5K since having Iris, and the whole thing was a proper family mission before it was ever a race. Loading the car, feeding and pumping, a new baby in the boot on the way down to Donfaster on a windy Friday night. If you’ve ever tried to get out the door for a hard effort with a little one in tow, you’ll know that’s half the battle before you even get to the start line.

The numbers were all over the place beforehand. Her watch said 17:35, her Garmin said 17:45, her last parkrun was 18:15, and I’ll hold my hands up, my own prediction wasn’t exactly generous either. Add in a brand new pair of shoes straight out the box, never worn, and you’ve got a proper recipe for the unknown. I love filming these ones because you genuinely don’t know what you’re going to get.

What I really want people to see is the honesty of it. This wasn’t about chasing the old 2:46 marathoner splits or pretending nothing’s changed. It’s the new start, and you can see that in how she’s talking about pace on the start line and how she looks crossing the line. The morning after verdict at Barnsley parkrun says it all really, lungs feeling great, legs just not quite there yet. That’s exactly where a comeback sits, and it’s worth watching if you’ve ever rebuilt from a break yourself.

Next up for Naomi is another 5K in about a month, this time as the proper A race, and she’ll look at stepping up in distance once she’s feeling strong over this one. No rush, just steady building block by building block. Go and watch the full video to see how the race itself played out and that morning after reaction, it’s a good one. Just Keep Running.

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