Chris Stanley – staying active with Parkinson’s

Three images of Chris Stanley Nordic walking instructor with Parkinson's. Chris with a friend in front of a finish line race gantry. Chris walking towards the camera. Chris with a friend both adopting a Nordic walking stride pose.

3 March 2025

When I met Chris Stanley, I was immediately impressed by her warm personality and determination to remain active whilst living with Parkinson’s.

We met one Saturday in November when we were both running through Colwick Country Park to the start of Colwick parkrun. I caught up with Chris who was carrying Nordic walking poles. As I said good morning, she asked me where the parkrun start was. She told me that she was a Nordic walking instructor and was meeting some of her Nordic walking students there. Chris explained that she had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s a few years earlier and was determined to stay as fit and well as she could. Nordic walking was helping her to do that.

Understanding the impact of health challenges

Over the eleven years I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve become aware that many women runners over 50 face health challenges. Some have experienced health setbacks, such as cancer or the need for a hip replacement, which may have a long-term impact on fitness. Others are living with chronic conditions, such as osteoarthritis or Parkinson’s. I’m interested to know how women cope with setbacks. How do they recover and adapt? Are they able to stay fit and how do they manage to do this?

Chris Stanley – an active life

Chris (Christine) is a retired PE teacher in her early sixties and lives in Southwell in Nottinghamshire. She grew up in the West End of Glasgow. Running has been part of her life since she was eleven, when one of her PE teachers encouraged her to join the school cross country team. Chris excelled at netball and played for her school and at district level. She went on to play netball for Scotland at Under 18, Under 21 and adult level.

After university Chris qualified to teach Physical Education. Whilst teaching full time in Inverness, she played netball for the Gauntlets netball team, swam, and played badminton and golf. She also took part in sprint triathlons.

Cancer diagnosis and fundraising

In 1992, aged 29, Chris was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, after feeling ill for a year. She was very fit, and it took a year for the doctor to take her seriously. Her chemotherapy treatment was successful but unfortunately the Lymphoma returned. In 1994 Chris underwent further treatment – chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. After this, she was given the all-clear for a second time. Doctors told Chris that the chemotherapy she’d received meant that she wouldn’t be able to have children. This proved to be untrue. Chris and her husband had two children.

Parkinson’s diagnosis

When the family moved to Southwell in Nottinghamshire in 1994, Chris joined Southwell Running Club. After her second round of treatment, Chris used running to fundraise for cancer research charities. She ran several Race for Life 10ks and many half marathons, mainly in Scotland. She also ran the Great North Run.

In 2012, Chris ran the London Marathon, finishing in 4:37:10. Looking back, she suspects that she had the first symptoms of Parkinson’s around this time. The symptoms weren’t obvious because she was fit. Whilst Chris herself suspected that she had Parkinson’s, doctors initially thought her symptoms might be due to other neurological conditions. This led to a frustratingly long period of being referred for investigations without any answers. Eventually in 2018 Chris was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

What is Parkinson’s?

The Parkinson’s UK charity describes Parkinson’s as a progressive neurological condition that affects 153,000 people in the UK. There are over forty symptoms of Parkinson’s but the three main ones are a tremor (shaking), slowness of movement and rigidity (muscle stiffness). However, everyone’s experience is different and not everyone will experience all these symptoms.

Christine Stanley stands in a group of four women wearing running clothes and race numbers. In front of them is a sign saying Rutland Spring Half Marathon and some tubs of narcissi.

Keeping active after diagnosis

After 35 years of PE teaching, Chris had to retire because of her Parkinson’s symptoms. But she was determined to keep active. She didn’t stop running and took up yoga, ballet and painting after retiring. In 2019 she ran her last half marathon, the Rutland Half Marathon. Her daughter Hannah, sister Angela, and running partner Alison ran the race with her.

Nordic walking

Chris was encouraged to try Nordic walking and took it up in 2022. For a few years, British Nordic Walking and Parkinson’s UK had been working together to develop walking groups for people with Parkinson’s. Nordic walking offers not only physical exercise but also helps with balance and gait. There is evidence that exercise can reduce the symptoms of Parkinson’s and slow its progression. Chris participated in a research project led by Sarah McCracken, a Parkinson’s nurse specialist and research nurse, looking at the benefits of Nordic Walking for people with Parkinson’s.

Sarah suggested to Chris that she should do the Nordic Walking instructor’s course. And in 2023, Chris became the first woman with Parkinson’s to qualify as a British Nordic Walking instructor.

Chris now runs three Nordic Walking groups in Nottinghamshire which benefit people with Parkinson’s and others. This is one of the ways in which she promotes the benefits of exercise for people with Parkinson’s. She says her life has been enriched by the people she has met through her groups.

How does Chris keep going?

Chris says,

Parkinson’s Disease never lets you forget you have it and every morning I wake up and my first thought is, ‘I have Parkinson’s Disease. What is working today?’ Every day is a challenge and it’s not without hard work and dedication that I remain fit and well.

Chris does two activities a day and says that she is driven to make the most of each day. Training like an athlete makes her feel normal. Moving lessens her pain but she still aches. Whilst Chris can no longer run for extended periods, she has adapted to doing run/walk intervals.

In an interview on the Two Parkies in a Pod podcast, Chris said:

I need a purpose…It’s made me more determined…My life has changed. Doors have closed. Many doors have opened. And I try and live day by day and take the joys of the day by day and try and forget the negatives and try not to be with negative people.

Achievements

In September 2024, Chris and Sarah McCracken presented on the benefits of Nordic walking for people with Parkinson’s at the World Nordic Walking conference in Lahti, Finland. After the conference, they competed in the 5k World Championships. Chris was the only woman with Parkinson’s to take part in the event.

In November 2024, British Nordic Walking presented Chris with an Ambassador award for her contribution to supporting the Parkinson’s community. She is continuing to work closely with Parkinson’s UK, advocating for them. In January 2025, Chris represented the Richmond Group of health charities at an event at the Houses of Parliament to promote living well with long term health conditions.

Chris sums up her mission:

I want to be a voice for others, especially women, who face this dreadful progressive neurological condition and to educate the general public about Parkinson’s.