AFTER spending days chasing and organising their kids, these two Ballarat Harriers mothers still love to run.Rachel Gibney and Kelly Ruddick finished first and second in the women's competition of the Ballarat Regional Athletics lap of the lake.Between them they have seven children."The first four placegetters were all mothers and we have 12 kids between us," Gibney said."We race on most weekends, there is usually a local race and I have done three Athletics Victoria races this year."Gibney has two-year-old twin sons and a one-year-old daughter, while Ruddick has 14-year-old twin sons, a five-year-old son and a one-year-old.Ruddick returned to racing at the start of the year and has been with the Ballarat Harriers for 20 years.Her second place was the highlight of her running career."Until last weekend, fourth was my best placing," Ruddick said."I went out to get a personal best and set the pace so to get a medal was a bonus."Ruddick's father is a life member at the Harriers while her brother is also a member."I have come and gone between injuries and pregnancies but always tried to be there as much as I could," she said."This year is the only time I have had to train consistently and it is the best I have ever run."My only goal (this year) was to do the lake but I think I better keep going."Gibney said she started running again soon after her daughter was born and has been more competitive this year."The lap of the lake was my priority but I have run the state championships in Melbourne and have the Victorian Country championships coming up," she said."But the Harriers are going really well, we lack numbers in the women but are getting some good results."Both mothers agreed the big challenge in returning to competitions after having children was finding the time to train properly."It is good to have training once you organise someone to look after the kids," Gibney said. "You have less energy but you can cut out the junk miles and do core training."It is a good release and you appreciate running a bit more, it is a bit of time for ourselves - hard but enjoyable."Gibney said that she tends to train before her husband goes to work but Ruddick ran at night."I stick to a training program once I'm organised with my kids," Ruddick said."I have the track season coming up and tend to do a lot of race walking - I am hoping to break Ballarat records in the 1500m and 3km walks, I came close last year."Ruddick is also aware of a family dynasty that could take over Ballarat Athletics."My sons are A-grade high jumpers and compete well in Ballarat," she said."It is their first year and they can run too but I imagine Rachel's kids will run, their dad is a good runner."Gibney summed up the mums' feelings saying if you want to run, you can."A lot of Harriers in the Ballarat region are mothers and runners," she said.vp+8"Everyone enjoys it after they organise things, it is a bit harder after having children but if you want to do it, you can."