Running for Luna

With 70 half marathons in 70 days already under her belt, North Down mum Laura Christmann is already looking for her next challenge.

Mandi Millar reports

Bangor mum of two Laura Christmann (45) didn’t even know there was a world record to be broken in the first place.

So when she ran 70 treadmill half marathons in as many days and smashed it, she was as surprised as anyone.

All she’d wanted was to raise funds for Killard House School in Donaghadee, where her daughter Luna (8), who is profoundly autistic, is a pupil.

Now, £9,000 later, Laura has become something of a celebrity around Bangor’s Aurora Leisure Centre, where she completed her world-beating run, even though she didn’t start running until her mid-30s.

“When Sean and I married, the grannies were very keen to know when we’d have a family, so to take the pressure off I said we wouldn’t start until I’d completed a marathon!” laughs Laura, who confounded them all when she achieved her first after only nine months’ training.

Since then, running has become a lifeline, as important for her mental health as her physical wellbeing.

“It’s literally the only time I get to myself, as we have no other respite. None. Luna is awake in the evenings until 11.30, so when most parents have that downtime, we never get any,” explains Laura, who is also mum to Luna’s six-year-old brother Ben, a pupil at Ballyholme Primary.

“When you have this constant, rigid caregiving role, you need something for your mental health, and I love the physical release of stress through exercise.”

Laura believes the discipline required in her daily life has helped her achieve something extraordinary.

“I’ve had to be mentally strong. We have to do the same thing at the same time every day, even eating the same things. That discipline has helped me do this,” she says.

“The fact Luna’s routine shapes our lives has actually enabled something extraordinary to happen.”

Laura had already raised £700 for Killard last year by running the Belfast Marathon, but this time she wanted to do something bigger.

“I thought maybe I could raise even more if I did something really challenging,” she says.

Initially, she set a modest target of £1,000.

“I thought I’d try to run a half marathon on the treadmill for a month, though I didn’t admit that at the start. But when I reached day 12, I realised I was on course, so that’s when I announced my goal,” says Laura, a statistician who gave up her work with NISRA to care for Luna.

“It was only then I realised there even was a 60-day record, so I decided to try to break it. There was such a buzz around the gym, and when I reached day 61, teachers from Killard came down to cheer me on. It was quite emotional.”

By that stage, Laura had raised £3,500. When the gym owners shared her story on social media, Circo, makers of the gym equipment, pledged to match the total.

“I just hope Guinness verifies the record now, although that’s never what it was about,” she says.

“They usually require continuous filming, but I’ve got my Garmin data, photos and witness statements, so I’m hoping that will be enough.

“But whether it is or not, I know, and everyone at the gym knows, what was achieved. What matters is the fundraising, which will go towards summer activities for children at Killard, where Luna has been since she was three.”

Laura first suspected something was different about Luna when she was just nine months old.

“It was little things. Lack of eye contact, a distance I wasn’t expecting. It didn’t feel typical,” she says.

“When she was one, I came into the living room to find she had taken every red and yellow ball from her ball pit and lined them up along shelves and radiators.”

At 18 months, Laura and her husband Sean, a computer programmer originally from Colorado, sought help from a specialist, who diagnosed Luna as autistic.

“She started reading and spelling early, which is hyperlexia, but she is non-verbal and cannot use language communicatively because she has no comprehension,” Laura explains.

Caring for Luna is full-time.

“I have to feed, wash, dress and toilet her. Some people say comprehension might come, but Sean and I are more realistic. We are preparing for lifelong care.

“It’s like caring for a toddler in a much larger body, and that becomes harder as she grows.”

Laura admits the reality of that responsibility can be isolating.

“I think any parent can feel they lose themselves a bit, but I had to give up my career because I wasn’t coping.”

That decision came after a severe reaction to a Covid vaccine left her in hospital with heart failure.

“Sean admitted things were easier when I was at home, and that made up my mind. But I do feel invisible sometimes. I think a lot of women over 30 feel that way.”

Breaking the record changed that, even briefly.

“It made me visible. I worry that will fade and I’ll go back to being unnoticed, but I think everyone needs recognition for something.”

For Laura, running has become that outlet.

“If you are someone who was used to achieving and that’s taken away, you need somewhere to put that energy. My whole world is my home, which is probably why I push myself.”

And she is not finished yet.

“Sometimes I feel if I stopped running, I would fall apart. But I also know I’m resilient. That’s why I’m already thinking about my next challenge.”