Hi there!

I’m Zoe and I’m a slow runner.

Like many of us, I was one of the kids who hated running (and conveniently had bad knees, which meant a permanent doctor’s note advising against it). Horseriding was my thing until I went to university, and then I had very little to do with any kind of sport until my thirties, when I decided I should probably try to be healthier, and started weightlifting and commute cycling – running was too hard and involved too much effort! 

When a friend persuaded me to do a 5km Race for Life in 2014, I did a Couch to 5k programme entirely indoors on a treadmill, and the hills at the Epsom Racecourse event nearly killed me! I was put off running for another 6 years…

When Lockdown came about in 2020, running was the simplest exercise I could reliably do, and also gave me the opportunity to leave the house to visit the local Common.  I did another Couch to 5km programme (alongside basic strength training) but this time entirely outside, learned about Low HR training – and fell head over heels in love with running. Running at a pace that felt GOOD, really makes a massive difference!

Other than when dealing with an occasional injury, I’ve run consistently since then, and am now the fittest and healthiest I’ve ever been. I’m currently training for my first trail ultramarathon and I certainly don’t feel over 40, let alone look it!

I’m genuinely thrilled if I can encourage or share my passion with other people.

I’m an England Athletics qualified Run Leader, Mountain Training qualified Lowland Leader, Canicross Instructor for Surrey Canicross Club, first aid trained and insured.

EPIC Tortoises?

The Epic Tortoises came about via my work with Surrey Canicross Club, when I was trying to come up with a way to help stop runners from feeling discouraged at being ‘too slow’. I’d mentioned I was looking for a good name to call the slower/steadier/easy running group and one of our members said ‘how about something like the Epic Tortoises’? And it stuck with me – especially just how big a deal, breaking the stigma of being ‘slow runner’ is, despite how beneficial it is scientifically proven to be!

People run slowly for many reasons. Some are new or returning runners, some are deliberately training slowly and some just enjoy taking in the trail at a more relaxed pace rather than a full-on, intense workout.  If you run, you are a runner. Slow running doesn’t necessarily mean shorter distances – it just means we take a little longer to get to where we’re going.

Epic Tortoise runs are social (if you can’t chat as we’re running, we’re going too quickly), beautiful (we are blessed with some of the most spectacular trails in Surrey) and fun. We’ll often walk the hills, skip through the heather, bounce down the hills, stop to admire the views or to take photographs, and ‘set the world to rights’ talking as we go.

The not-so-small print

Whilst we welcome runners of all ability and experience, we recommend that you should be able to run continuously for a full 5km (at whatever pace), on road, trail or treadmill to get the most out of these sessions.

Although we may stop to admire views and walk up hills, we will be spending the vast majority of the time running slowly, which means we may be out for longer than our speedier friends to cover the distances.

If you would like guidance on Couch to 5km beginner running programmes, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Dogs are welcome, but they must be used to running canicross style. Please see the notes on the Bookings page.