About me:
I love the relentless comforting monotony of the track session, of bashing out endless training reps of 400 or 800 or 1200 m, of even pacing and jagged breathing. I love the broken-up toughness of a hill session – run up, jog down, repeat until fade. Or a winter cross-country run, fingers blue with cold and losing feeling, ankle deep in sucking, chilly mud.
Why do I love it? For as many reasons as there are races. I love the clear-headed exhaustion that follows a hard run – body spent but mind miraculously clearer than the foggy-headed state I started in.
I love running because it is the most sociable of sports – anyone can do it, there are no barriers to entry, running clubs (particularly mine) are friendly and fun. Everyone has a tale to tell, a race story to unfold, advice to give. And because it is the most solitary. It’s your PB, you run for yourself, you run against yourself.
I love to race which hurts from the start and is an effort of will over common sense. |