Review : This Mum Runs by Jo Pavey

Published by : Yellow Jersey Press

14 July 2016

Copy : Hardback - Borrowed from Library

The Blurb

The inspirational story of athlete Jo Pavey, the runner and mum who ran at a record-breaking fifth Olympic Games at Rio 2016.

'Come-back races? I've had more than a few, the night of 10 May 2014 was the ultimate long shot. I was a forty-year-old mother of two who had given birth eight months before. I trained on a treadmill in a cupboard by the back door and I was wearing a running vest older than most of the girls I was competing against. Was I crazy?'

Jo Pavey was forty years old when she won the 10,000m at the European Championships. It was the first gold medal of her career and, astonishingly, it came within months of having her second child.

The media dubbed her ‘Supermum’, but Jo’s story is in many ways the same as every mother juggling the demands of working life with a family – the sleepless nights, the endless nappy changing, the fun, the laughter and the school-run chaos. The only difference is that Jo is a full-time athlete pushing a buggy on her training runs, clocking up miles on the treadmill in a cupboard while her daughter has her lunchtime nap, and hitting the track while her children picnic on the grass.

Heartwarming and uplifting, This Mum Runs follows Jo’s roundabout journey to the top and all the lessons she's learnt along the way. It is the inspiring yet everyday story of a mum that runs and a runner that mums.

The Very Pink Notebook Review

I love to read an autobiography. I love how a book neatly summarises the chaos that is somebodies life, the highs, the lows, the achievements.  When it comes to reading autobiographies of athletes, I think there have been mixed success, too many times I have read what could literally be a statistics book strung out over 200 pages.  Jo Pavey's 'This Mum Runs' is not one of those books however.

From the very first page it is written with the same gentle humility that Jo Pavey has become renowned for and this continues consistently right to the last chapter.  It is well structured and although, yes, it has a few snapshots of statistics about races and athletics, it is more over about Jo Pavey as an all round person - being a elite athlete is merely her day job.

The important thing here is that this particular athlete actually has a very interesting story to tell.  We all love to hear the inspiration behind anyone who is the top of their game in any field, be it athletics or not, but to be honest sometimes even though they are the best at what they do, it just hasn't been a very interesting journey to get there, thus it shows in the autobiography.

In this book however, we are given a great insight into what makes this person, Jo Pavey, who she is; a mother, wife, an elite athlete - and what makes her world tick.  The life events of Jo are worth reading about and make for a great story to tell.  This autobiography does not shy away from real life, blinding the reader with just the bare bones about athletics which becomes slightly dull, it is honest, it is humorous and it is enjoyable.

This Mum Runs by Jo Pavey receives a Very Pink Notebook - Highly Recommend - rating of :