Never too young - Introduction
I was 36 when I started running. I’ll never know what I
would have been capable of during my teenage years and on into my twenties.
Those years of exam stress, career and relationship pressures could have been so
much easier if I had known the release that could be found from a good run.
Nothing can change that now. There is no point dwelling on what could have been and wallowing in regret. I’m happy that I found running – or should I say running found me – when it did, and for the years of pleasure it has given me and I’m sure will continue to until the day I can no longer do it.
When I was 12 I did have a mild flirtation with running. Someone introduced me to the concept of the Fun Run, a local event where people would run a 10k run to raise money for charity. I have a vivid recollection of my parents encouraging me to take part and investing in a vest and pair of shorts so that I would look the part. I completed the course and in a good time of around 45 minutes. I ran a couple more and loved the gold medal you received for finishing.
Someone suggested I join the local running club. It was called Phoenix - a good metaphor for my running experience. I was a shy child and the first visit turned out to be my last. I chose to run around the park with a football in my evenings instead.
Almost a quarter of a century later I was asked to run the London Marathon for the charity I worked for. I agreed as I had always dreamed of running through the city with the thousands of other people in their brightly coloured vests and smiling faces. I guess it was more of a bucket list thing than any running related goal.
Between the fun run episode of 1988 and the marathon entry of 2012 I had done precisely no running. I’d played some squash, a little five-a-side and, despite three years of heavy drinking at University, was still relatively trim and healthy. Or so I thought...
My marathon training consisted of a single run. Never one to do things by halves I attempted a 13-mile slog which resulted in my first experience of shin splints. Hence only the one outing before the big day in April.
On the day itself I managed to complete the course through a mixture of determination, fear of failure and sheer pig-headedness. The leg cramps I experienced in the last 12 miles will live with me forever, but so too will the exhilaration of crossing Tower Bridge, the cheers and encouragement of the crowd and the feeling of elation at crossing the finish line on the Mall.
My time of 5 hours 20 minutes was irrelevant to me. I had done a marathon and that was the end of my relationship with running.
Fast forward six years and I have now completed over 200 parkruns (a free 5k timed event held across the UK at 9am every Saturday), run numerous half marathons, several marathons and three ultra-marathons. Running is a lifestyle as well as a hobby, it keeps me sane as well as healthy, and is the source of most of my social circle.
The joy running gives me is something I would love to share with my younger self. I would encourage him to be brave and join the running club. My advice would be to stick at it, to explain that the breathing soon becomes natural and the sore legs a distant memory. I would take him to the many beautiful places I have run, up and down mountains, beside lakes and along coastlines.
Together we would develop the ability to continue for long distances as well as challenge ourselves and discover the self confidence that comes from reaching and surpassing your personal goals. I’d introduce him to all the wonderful people running has brought into my life and who have shaped me as a person as well as a runner.
Unfortunately, that is not possible, but I’m ok with that. Running came back to meet 12-year-old me 24 years later. It is a similar story with many of my running friends. Recollections of happy times running as a child and then a long gap before returning in middle age, either due to health concerns, an attempt to lose weight or simply a desire to do something positive with their life / mid-life crisis. All agree on one thing; that they wish they hadn’t stopped or waited so long to return.
There are hundreds of books out there that extol the pleasure to be found in the simple activity of running. Many of these are aimed at persuading adults to get off the sofa and get fit. Others describe techniques to improve or give accounts of individual’s personal experiences.
However, I have yet to find one that speaks to young people; that urges them to consider running as a serious life style choice. A book that explains the benefits, not just to physical health, but general well-being and stress reduction, enabling you to be a more resilient, confident and content person.
A book that would speak to any would be pre-teen runners and encourage them to persevere so that they can take advantage of their years of maximum strength and ability.
So here it is, my attempt at ‘selling’ running to you. I hope you will see that running is more than a punishment (school cross country), a chore (running to catch the bus) or an activity for MAMILS and MAWILS (Middle Aged Men/Women in Lycra).
You don’t need money for expensive clothing or merchandise. You don’t need to enter official races.
You don’t need any qualifications or previous experience. You don’t need anyone else to go with you. You don’t need hours of spare time.
All you need is the willingness to give it a go. I hope this book will encourage you to do just that, so that when you are my age you can look back on many years of enjoyable running and know, as I do, the rewards of putting one foot in front of the other.
Nothing can change that now. There is no point dwelling on what could have been and wallowing in regret. I’m happy that I found running – or should I say running found me – when it did, and for the years of pleasure it has given me and I’m sure will continue to until the day I can no longer do it.
When I was 12 I did have a mild flirtation with running. Someone introduced me to the concept of the Fun Run, a local event where people would run a 10k run to raise money for charity. I have a vivid recollection of my parents encouraging me to take part and investing in a vest and pair of shorts so that I would look the part. I completed the course and in a good time of around 45 minutes. I ran a couple more and loved the gold medal you received for finishing.
Someone suggested I join the local running club. It was called Phoenix - a good metaphor for my running experience. I was a shy child and the first visit turned out to be my last. I chose to run around the park with a football in my evenings instead.
Almost a quarter of a century later I was asked to run the London Marathon for the charity I worked for. I agreed as I had always dreamed of running through the city with the thousands of other people in their brightly coloured vests and smiling faces. I guess it was more of a bucket list thing than any running related goal.
Between the fun run episode of 1988 and the marathon entry of 2012 I had done precisely no running. I’d played some squash, a little five-a-side and, despite three years of heavy drinking at University, was still relatively trim and healthy. Or so I thought...
My marathon training consisted of a single run. Never one to do things by halves I attempted a 13-mile slog which resulted in my first experience of shin splints. Hence only the one outing before the big day in April.
On the day itself I managed to complete the course through a mixture of determination, fear of failure and sheer pig-headedness. The leg cramps I experienced in the last 12 miles will live with me forever, but so too will the exhilaration of crossing Tower Bridge, the cheers and encouragement of the crowd and the feeling of elation at crossing the finish line on the Mall.
My time of 5 hours 20 minutes was irrelevant to me. I had done a marathon and that was the end of my relationship with running.
Fast forward six years and I have now completed over 200 parkruns (a free 5k timed event held across the UK at 9am every Saturday), run numerous half marathons, several marathons and three ultra-marathons. Running is a lifestyle as well as a hobby, it keeps me sane as well as healthy, and is the source of most of my social circle.
The joy running gives me is something I would love to share with my younger self. I would encourage him to be brave and join the running club. My advice would be to stick at it, to explain that the breathing soon becomes natural and the sore legs a distant memory. I would take him to the many beautiful places I have run, up and down mountains, beside lakes and along coastlines.
Together we would develop the ability to continue for long distances as well as challenge ourselves and discover the self confidence that comes from reaching and surpassing your personal goals. I’d introduce him to all the wonderful people running has brought into my life and who have shaped me as a person as well as a runner.
Unfortunately, that is not possible, but I’m ok with that. Running came back to meet 12-year-old me 24 years later. It is a similar story with many of my running friends. Recollections of happy times running as a child and then a long gap before returning in middle age, either due to health concerns, an attempt to lose weight or simply a desire to do something positive with their life / mid-life crisis. All agree on one thing; that they wish they hadn’t stopped or waited so long to return.
There are hundreds of books out there that extol the pleasure to be found in the simple activity of running. Many of these are aimed at persuading adults to get off the sofa and get fit. Others describe techniques to improve or give accounts of individual’s personal experiences.
However, I have yet to find one that speaks to young people; that urges them to consider running as a serious life style choice. A book that explains the benefits, not just to physical health, but general well-being and stress reduction, enabling you to be a more resilient, confident and content person.
A book that would speak to any would be pre-teen runners and encourage them to persevere so that they can take advantage of their years of maximum strength and ability.
So here it is, my attempt at ‘selling’ running to you. I hope you will see that running is more than a punishment (school cross country), a chore (running to catch the bus) or an activity for MAMILS and MAWILS (Middle Aged Men/Women in Lycra).
You don’t need money for expensive clothing or merchandise. You don’t need to enter official races.
You don’t need any qualifications or previous experience. You don’t need anyone else to go with you. You don’t need hours of spare time.
All you need is the willingness to give it a go. I hope this book will encourage you to do just that, so that when you are my age you can look back on many years of enjoyable running and know, as I do, the rewards of putting one foot in front of the other.
