Inverness Harrier Jenny Bannerman discusses returning to athletics after having a baby
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Jenny Bannerman knew there was every chance her competitive running career was over when she decided to start a family.
Picking up running when she was 10, and taking part in 10k races since 2007, athletics practically took over her life.
Coached by her dad Charles and finding love in the sport with fellow Inverness Harrier Stephen Mackay, it was not an insignificant step sporting-wise to make the decision to put competition on hold to have a baby.
The time, Bannerman felt, was right though after reaching what she believed to be a new summit in the sport.
"I've been running since I was about 10, and road running since I did my first 10k in 2007," she recalled.
"I had slowly improved a lot since then, and I had a lot of success in the last five years or so before I had George.
"I won the Scottish 10k Championships in September 2021, and I was conscious that time was ticking on a wee bit if we wanted a family.
"Realistically, I wasn't going to do much more than that in my athletics career. The Commonwealth Games was above what I'm capable of doing, I wasn't going to reach that standard, so we thought we would try for a baby after I won the 10k.
"People always said that you know when the time is right to have a baby, and after the Stirling 10k in September 2021 I got what they meant.
"I just wanted to be sure that I had done everything I wanted to do in athletics, and then move on to the next chapter. At that point I was satisfied with everything I had done, so the time was right – and if I can come back, I will."
With a little help from her friends
Bannerman's hope was always to make a return to running in one form or another, but there were no guarantees.
In the end, how much she missed the sport convinced her to come back – but Bannerman's time out could have been longer than it was.
She kept running while pregnant, taking on board advice from people around her who were either medical experts or fellow athletes who had had children – including one former Commonwealth Games medallist.
"I've had a few friends, locally and in the central belt, who have been there and done it," Bannerman said.
"Jen Wetton and Morag Miller were very supportive to me when I found out I was pregnant and had lots of questions about running when pregnant and timescales, and what to expect.
"Then I got speaking to Lynsey Sharp as well, so the three of them were brilliant because they had been there and done it.
"There's also a group of four of us in Inverness who were pregnant at about the same time, so we were sharing experiences and how we were feeling there and then.
"A lot of people are quick to say you shouldn't be running when you're pregnant, but the advice I got from athletes who had already had babies was great.
"I've got a really good physio too, Jenny Keys, who was brilliant at keeping in touch about what was safe.
"My dad's got a friend who is a retired sports doctor as well, so I had so much support from being who have been there and done it, people who were pregnant at the same time as me and also medical people as well.
"My dad, who is my coach, has coached plenty of athletes but never anyone who was pregnant, or who was going to be making a return to athletics. It was all very new to him as well, so it was very handy to have all these people we could reach out to and get advice from.
"Everybody is different too – you can get all the advice but only you know how you're feeling.
"I stopped running at about 33 weeks, but I started transitioning over to a cross trainer from about 26 weeks so that I could minimise the impact the running was having.
"Then when I was returning, I started out on the cross trainer and gradually moved back to the running, so it was the same process in reverse to ease back in."
Family ties
Bannerman did a couple of Parkruns while pregnant, and did not wait long to get back into action after George was born.
Of course, there were challenges along the way, in particular with a hormone-related ligament issue that temporarily forced her back on to the sidelines when she tried to return after eight weeks.
Success, though, has followed once again. Bannerman's first race win since giving birth came last month in a 3k race at Aberdeen, and she credits the support system around her with allowing her to take those initial steps back into the fold.
"I'm so lucky to have the family around me that I've got," she explained.
"They all love having George as well. I actually haven't ran a step with a buggy, and I don't intend to, because they all want to look after him for the hour or so I might be out. It would have been very difficult without them.
"I've probably just had the same challenges as any other parent – sleep deprivation in the early stages. Catching up on sleep for months on end has been difficult.
"Before, I was training hard and I thought I was tired, but you realise what tiredness is when you've got a baby.
"It's like I've been able to draw a line, and I'm not comparing anything I'm doing now to before I had the baby.
"There's something quite nice about having no expectations. That's what I'm enjoying about being back.
"George is my priority now, so if I get a run done, fine. There's less pressure to train, although things have worked out okay so far.
"We've had a few bits of illness here and there, and before I would have been stressed about being unwell because I wouldn't have been able to train, but now my concern is that George is okay and I'll just run when I'm better."
What's next?
Now, Bannerman and her partner Stephen have extra motivation to get to the finish line when they are competing.
Rather than just aiming for medals, they are desperate to get back to baby George as soon as possible.
It has been nice having George around at Bannerman's early comeback races, but she is not looking too far ahead into what the future might hold.
"Stephen actually just won a bronze medal at the North 3000m at the beginning of January," Bannerman added.
"George went to see him at the Scottish Open, and Stephen and I both did the 10k with him there, which was lovely.
"I've not done a huge amount, but George has been to both 10ks and a 3k that I've done since, so it's nice that he can share the journey with us.
"He won't be able to come all the time, but we're lucky to have family that will come along and look after him while we do our thing.
"I think it's an extra bit of motivation. That day I did the 10k, I was really looking forward to seeing him at the end of the race.
"It's definitely really nice, I can't wait to see his wee face at the end.
"It's a really nice atmosphere, and that one was a nice finish to what felt like a long day after not running that distance for so long.
"It would be great to get back to where I was before, but you just don't know. My dad is planning races for me for the rest of the year, but I'm just trying not to think about it at the moment.
"I'm just concentrating on getting the training in, and I'll see what happens.
"My first 10k was in 2007, and it was 46 minutes or something. At that point I would never have thought that in 2021 I would have won the Scottish 10k Championship in 35 minutes.
"I didn't have any expectations, so I'll just take the same approach and see how things go over the next few years."
