A great friend asked me to sponsor him to run this year’s London Marathon, and it got me thinking.
I’m pretty sure there are two types of people in this world. Those who know they’ve got a marathon in them, and those who categorically, without any doubt, absolutely know they have not. I’m the later. I will never run a marathon.
Why am I so adamant about this?
I enjoyed sport at school, competed for an athletics club, played netball at university and when I started work. I was an average sportswomen who enjoyed the company and the laughs, rather than the competition.
I’ve spent years since watching others sign up for half marathons and marathons thinking I should do the same. When I was unwell, I actually did sign up to run 26.2 miles along the South Coast, but after completing exactly one training run of 2.6 miles, I was an inevitable no-show at the start line. I dread to think how many unused running apps my phone must have in its download history.
My running brain is punishing. Stop here. It hurts. You’re bored. You’re slow. There is no point. You’re pointless. You’re unfit. You’re fat. You’re useless.
At last, I can now admit, I have absolutely no desire or inclination to go on a run.
My anti-run epiphany came to me in a swimming pool. I’d spent 40 minutes reading a book on a sun lounger and was swimming a length of very leisurely (read extremely slow, head above the water slow) breaststroke.
I exercise for calm, for peace, and for space.
This realisation has meant that at last I’ve learnt to curb the brutal self-talk that for years said I wasn’t exercising hard enough or often enough. I now try to do exercise I actually enjoy, with a mind that is a smidge more compassionate. Daily walks are the constant in my exercise plans, ideally with a woolly hat on my head and warm sun on my face. I often swim, I sometimes practice yoga, I’ve recently started pilates.
Exercise is so very different for everyone - the type we enjoy, the reasons we do it. And that’s more than OK. It’s just important to move.
My mate James finds his peace, space and calm whilst running. He is a parent, a husband and a business owner, and when the inevitable stresses of these three roles get on top of him, he runs to find balance. He has set up a run club from his brewery to help others do the same. He is running this year’s London Marathon for MQ Mental Health so they can fund pioneering mental health research that will lead to better treatments, better support and faster diagnoses for everyone affected by mental illnesses.
If you’ve got a few quid to support this vital organisation, then please consider sponsoring him here.
He is brilliant and I’m very proud of him. I’m just so glad it’s him stomping those 26.2 miles, not me.