AUTHOR, ENDURANCE ATHLETE, MOTHER, AND ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S MOST SOUGHT-AFTER MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKERS, TURIA PITT,
is taking the indomitable spirit, grit, and determination that she is known for and channeled it into a new online running program. Scroll down to be completely inspired and for all the details on how you can sign up…
Ten years since she was trapped by an out-of-control grassfire during a 100km ultra-marathon in the Australian desert, leaving her with full-thickness burns to 64 percent of her body, Turia has defied almost every expectation placed upon her. Told she would never run again, she not only recovered but went on to compete at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii just five years later.
Now, Turia is helping Aussie Mums learn that they too can run, with the launch of her “RUN With Turia” online program, which she says has nothing to do with losing weight and everything to do with gaining confidence, fitness, desperately needed ‘me time’ and that unbeatable feeling of accomplishment.
I had the absolute pleasure to chat with Turia about juggling life and parenting, forgetting stuff, toxic positivity, and her new running program. Please enjoy…
+ here are the five reasons why Turia thinks mums of all fitness levels should sign up to her ‘kick-ass’ online running program, and you won’t find a single mention of getting ‘bikini ready.’
1. Prioritise yourself
“After you have kids, your life changes in the most wonderful ways, but it also becomes really difficult to carve out even a fraction of your day for yourself,” says Turia. “The fact is, as a Mum, you have to be disciplined about prioritising yourself, and I’ve created a program and a community that gives you the permission and support to do just that. The program is super flexible and doesn’t require you to drive anywhere or log in at a set time – all you need is a good pair of shoes and a small window of time, and you’re good to go!”
2. Work on your mindset
Turia calls RUN with Turia ‘a mindset course packaged as a running course’. “When you’re out on a run, for whatever duration of time, I can promise you that you’ll really start to notice your inner voice, and it will most likely be telling you that you’re tired, not fit enough and should probably just go home and eat cake,” says Turia. “One of our key rules of enrolment in RUN with Turia is ‘don’t be a d**khead to yourself,’” she laughs. “We teach participants how to talk to and encourage themselves, and to do that in real-time while running. Sure, you can read a self-help book or listen to me talk about self-love – but nothing teaches you about what you’re really capable of more than getting out of your comfort zone and having a crack at something new”.
3. Stronger, fitter, faster – make tangible gains
“Watching yourself run from point A to B and doing it a little faster than you did a couple of weeks ago is nothing short of exhilarating. So is running a distance you’ve never run before and building on that week by week. If you happen to lose kilograms in the process, and that’s something you want, then great! But we focus on what you’ll gain – strength, speed, fitness and a better relationship with yourself to boot.”
4. You can do hard things
“Running is hard, I get it,” says Turia. “But I really believe that’s part of the magic of it. It shows us what we’re truly made of when we’re willing to back ourselves and have a go. Each week in the program, we challenge you a little more, until you’re ready to run your goal distance. “Having a tangible and concrete goal to work towards and an actual plan on how you’ll get there is a game-changer. That feeling of accomplishment you get when you realise that you did the hard thing is priceless, and I guarantee that it will spill over into other aspects of your life.”
5. Join the sisterhood
“I wished I had a group of Mums to run with after I had Hakavai, and that’s why building the community aspect of the program was so important to me,” reveals Turia. “Being a Mum can be lonely at times, so I wanted our RUN participants to be able to work towards their goal distance with a group of like-minded women while supporting and encouraging each other.”
“The RUN with Turia Facebook group is honestly the most positive place on the internet,” she continues. “In fact, whenever I feel a bit flat, I just go into the group and read everyone’s posts, and I am so inspired. These are women from all parts of Australia, challenging themselves and keeping each other accountable under all different circumstances. It’s a place where everyone shares their struggles, their wins, and their vulnerabilities freely. It’s the best!”
Run With Turia – more details
According to Turia, the program caters for everyone, from beginners, who would love to learn how to run but don’t know where to start, to Mums with some running experience who would like to get back into it after a break, or set a new challenge for themselves.
Offering 5km, 10km and 21km training programs, all RUN with Turia program participants start and finish the 10-week program in one cohort in order to motivate and encourage each other throughout the process, but can choose to fit the training sessions in whenever it suits them during the week. Participants also have access to live coaching calls with Turia and her team of experts, including a professional running coach, pelvic floor experts, physios and more.
The RUN with Turia program costs $249, and enrolments until midnight October 2, with the program launching on October 4th, 2021.
For more information or to sign up, visit www.turiapitt.com/run.