By Nick Creely
“Once you exercise you never regret it.”
That’s the very simple yet inspiring message from Pakenham mum and personal trainer Samantha Bond.
The 32-year-old marathon runner has become a face of change in women’s fitness in Australia, helping motivate thousands of busy mum’s – and all women – make a positive change and make exercise a priority.
She has been selected as one of 12 women in Australia to be an ambassador for the Running Divas, an online women’s fitness and health community that provides training, support, guidance to women who are looking to achieve their fitness and health goals.
“It’s basically a women’s running community, and it’s Australia wide – they offer nutritional advice and programs for anyone who has never run before or for people running ultra-marathons,” she explained.
“They have social media and training programs in order to sort of support women to get out and run – basically I am representing a brand for events coming up and helping out on the Facebook page and motivating women who are involved in the Running Divas.”
As a working mum of a young child, Samantha understands why exercise can sometimes be forgotten, but said that strategies can ensure that it becomes a normalised part of life.
“I have got a near two-year-old son, Rhett – I definitely know what it’s like for women who have young children and how busy life can be – I just schedule my exercise as appointments, just like I’d do with work meetings or other appointments,” she said.
“I try and tell people to just give it a go and get out there for 15 minutes – even if you haven’t done it ever before just give it a go, and try and make it a regular practice – you will see great results physically and mentally.
“Exercise gives you a great release and the mental side of things is a major focus for the Running Divas.
“We do focus on people 18+ primarily, but across the board there’s a range of different ages which is great – some have been running for years and some are just beginning – it’s just a great running community.”
Although she helps inspire women to get out and run, she will also be representing the Running Divas on a personal level, with a busy 2017 scheduled.
“I did the Melbourne Marathon last year which was just such an amazing experience, so this year I’ll be doing the Run for Kids on 9 April, the Run Melbourne and then the Melbourne Marathon again in October,” she explained.
For more information on how to get involved, visit the Running Divas Facebook page or visit runningdivas.com.au
