Finding the Line

Reuben is my youngest son, and he’s very much like me. He’s a bit fiery, full of energy, and constantly on the go. He doesn’t stop.

I ran a marathon back in February, and it didn’t go so well. I was thinking of him when it was really hard, and I told him afterward, “Oh, you know, I was thinking of you because it was really hard today.” And he said, “Oh, mommy, well, I love you anyway, so it doesn’t matter.” He was eating mini chocolate croissants at the time, so I think he was quite satisfied with life.

Family Balance

My eldest son is Arlo. He’s nearly taller than me, and he’s very much like his dad. Tall, skinny with flaming red hair. But then, you give him some rocks and he just bounds over them. He loves parkour. That’s his favorite thing.

My husband’s name is Tommy. We went to university in a town in Scotland called St. Andrews, which is a really famous golfing town. We lived in the same halls when we were in our first year, so we’ve known each other since we were 17.

I’m a family doctor. I used to work in London, so that’s where I did my degree, and we lived there before moving to Malta. I work really long hours, so thankfully my husband works from home. He does a lot with our boys and takes them to school. It’s a difficult balance to train, and then work, and then give them enough attention as well. Obviously, you constantly feel like you’re failing.

Early Years

I hated my name because everyone would associate it with Jemima Puddle-Duck, and I didn’t like being referred to as a duck. But I’ve grown into it. I like it a lot more as an adult than I did as a child.

I left Scotland when I was three. I’ve lived in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, and America. My dad worked in the oil industry, so we traveled a lot.

I was energetic and outdoorsy as a child. I was also a gymnast when I was younger, and I did that up until I was about 17.

When we lived in Brunei, I remember that we would go up into the rainforest at the weekends and play in the waterfalls, and that was just amazing. We would also do these things we called hashes, where they would lay out little pieces of paper along the trail and then you would try and find them. You did it all as a family and in groups of families. That was a really cool experience.

Settled in Malta 

In Malta, we’re very close to the sea, and it’s all really rocky beach. When we first moved here, I used to run to and from work every day.

It definitely took some time to feel like home. Initially, my license as a doctor wasn’t recognized in Malta. It took a long time for that to be sorted out, which was up to nine months, we just didn’t feel settled at all. That was a tricky period.

Now, our kids are growing up here. They’ve been here since they were super small. It’s pretty much all they’ve known really.

I love the running community in Malta. It's big, and it’s really supportive. I’m a member of the ladies running club and have been from the moment I arrived. They were the ones who introduced me to Malta's beautiful trails. I’m also part of Team Qorru Power, which has given runners fantastic support.

Run For It

When you run to and from work, you don’t have to sit in traffic, you don’t have to wake up quite as early, and you’ve got a purpose for the run. You’ve got to get to a location. I do it at least twice a week now, and I love it because I get to run along the coast.

The other thing is that I do have crazy friends that like to wake up at 4:00 a.m. in the morning, so I'll meet them, and we’ll run and then come back before everyone’s awake. Then it’s done.

I have to keep my mind distracted when I’m running, otherwise I get in my own head. I’m typically running or racing while listening to podcasts about other people doing adventures. I can feel inspired by them while I’m running, and that can help me.

I always have a lot of race anxiety on the start line. It’s my least favorite place to be. I much prefer to be in the race than on the start line of a race. I find it very anxiety-driving, so I try to distract myself with other things. Often, talking to other people helps as well.

Explore Trails

Trail running became part of my life after I moved to Malta, but living in London, there are not very many trails. In Scotland, I guess I just didn’t even know of it as trail running. It was just running. Where my family house is, it’s on the top of a hill, surrounded by fields. So you just go running, and it’s just really beautiful countryside. Then you realize, actually, this is a trail, and you should probably wear a different shoe for this.

“Trail running has taught me not to think about what I’m doing. It’s far less stressful.”

You don’t have to worry about the pace on your watch, which I can get really tied down with. Malta has got some really beautiful places, and it’s great to get to go and explore them.

The great thing is that it’s the experience of it too. Especially on longer trails, it’s an experience. It’s an adventure. That’s what you get out of it.

Breathe and Achieve

Although you want to inspire your children, you also don’t want them to think that winning is everything.

A lot of the time, you’re competing against yourself as well. When things go quiet out there, a lot of the time I’m thinking, don’t fall over. I might go into a race and want to run a certain time, and I don’t really care what the outcome is in terms of the place that I’m in. It’s more about what have I achieved? Have I improved on this?

I always want to see where the potential is, where the line is, and that’s a lot of the time why I keep doing it. But I also do it for the experience, and for the adventure of it too. When I race, or even when I just go for a run, I just find myself relaxing, and my breathing is so much calmer.