When Dunedin nurse Shireen Crumpton started running again last June, it was to take her mind off the troubles that had crashed around her life.
She had given birth to her first child, Lachlan, two months earlier and had heard the bad news that Doug, her husband, had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and had only a short time left to live.
Running gave her a chance to get out of the house and have time away from her troubles.
‘‘Running released endorphins and was good for my mood,'' Crumpton told the Otago Daily Times last night. ‘‘It releases chemicals [AM1] that make you feel good. Im addicted to the sport.''
The addiction has continued and it came to fruition on Saturday when Crumpton (37) won her first New Zealand mountain running title on the Mt Campbell Range near Motueka.
Shireen won the title in 44min 20sec from Melissa Moon (Wellington) and Lara Phillips (Auckland).
It was a significant win because Moon has won two world mountain running titles and five New Zealand titles.
Moon set a record of 45min 01sec when the event was last held on the Mount Campbell course in 2002. Crumpton broke the record by 41sec and won the race by nearly 2min.
It was Crumpton's ninth New Zealand title. She has also won the half-marathon three times, the marathon twice and the track 10,000m three times.
The 7.2km course rose 900m and the finish was at 1300m. It started on the flat and went slightly downhill before the first steep hill stretch where Crumpton broke away from Moon.
‘‘I felt strong and confident and was pleased by my form,'' Crumpton said.
It has not been plain sailing since she started running again after the birth of Lachlan, who will have his first birthday on April 21.
Expectant mothers release the natural hormone, relaxin, to make the joints more flexible.
It stays in the body for about a year and it caused some problems for Crumpton with hamstring,
Achilles tendon and knee injuries interrupting her training.
When Doug was diagnosed with cancer last year, Shireen determined to remain positive and think about the good times they had had together and not be hooked into the doom and gloom and misery of their plight.
‘‘Running helped me to cope with the problems,'' Crumpton said. ‘‘I had to juggle my day to make time for running.
‘‘But I was not too worried if things happened and I couldn't get out.''
Crumpton has not made any decision on competing at the world mountain running championships in Switzerland in September. Her family responsibilities remain her first priority.
She first competed at the world mountain running championships in Austria in 1996 and came 26th. Her two top-10 performances were a sixth placing in Austria in 2004 and eighth in Italy two years later.
But she intends to compete in most races on the Athletics Otago winter programme.
But she will miss the first one, the Lovelock relay, on May 2 when she will be in Christchurch with Doug and Lachlan to celebrate the 100th birthday of her grandmother, Edna Crumpton.
Edna remains fit and has a daily 30min walk around the rest-home in Christchurch. Lachlan is her first greatgrandchild.
- Doug has had a series of chemotherapy treatments over the past 12 months and has an X-ray every two months to check his condition.
Addicted to running . . . Shireen Crumpton on a training jaunt around Logan Park. Photo by Gerard O'Brien
