Me and running

I have been a recreational runner for about 8 years, and continue to clock up running miles whenever I can, using the Nike+ app (look me up if you want). Most of the time I run for no other reason than to get outside in the open air and clear my mind, but every now and then I've entered organised races; nothing quite beats the atmosphere of a big crowd cheering, or a nice shiny medal at the finish line! I have terrible self-discipline when it comes to nutrition and don't have any preconceptions of ever finishing at the front (somewhere in the middle of the pack is typical). I'm just happy to plod along at my own pace, and make it to the end in one piece. For a short while I did parkrun at Harrow Lodge, but my eldest started Saturday morning classes soon after, so the running has inevitably taken a back seat for now. Thank goodness for Sundays!

For the last few years I've focused on beating my annual mileage, and have done so year on year by a small margin. While I'm hoping to do the same this year I've also set myself the additional goal of earning a running (or cycling) event medal for every month of the year. So far it's going to plan.

Although it's highly unlikely that I'll ever find myself in a position to duplicate their feats I'm fascinated by adventure runners who push the limits day after day. Eddie Izzard's first set of back-to-back marathons for Sport Relief (2012) were probably the first to grab my attention and truly inspire me, and since then I've immersed myself in the worlds of Rosie Swale Pope, Sean Conway, Elise Downing, Anna McNuff, Jamie Ramsay and Ben Smith (aka 'The 401 Challenge') to name just a few. By contrast, the furthest I've ever run is about 18 miles! In 2015 I followed the London Loop path from North to South Havering and I'd love to run round the whole borough in one go. One day, perhaps. The same goes for the London Marathon whose sheer scale has always intimidated me.

At 40 years young I feel that I'll be running for a while yet, so who knows what the future holds. Watch this space...