What running means to me and how it became an obsession; a pre-marathon note

I have always enjoyed being active, tried several different sports in my life. I started Skiing at the age of eight. And waterskiing a few years after that. I used to play basketball in school (I have never enjoyed playing football, needless to say I have been always rubbish at it.) and I joined a basketball club for six months at the age of fifteen. Tennis was another sport that I gave a try, but that didn't last longer than several months either. I also trained Judo for six months, played squash for a year and a half and ended up with a twisted knee in 2010. I even joined a rugby club at the age of 26! and that was the best team sport I have ever tried, I was just a bit old to take it seriously though. Cycling was the only endurance sport I did before running and my best cycling achievement was 62-mile ride during Northern Rock Cyclone in 2009.

In April 2012 I twisted my ankle while playing squash and could barely walk for a couple of weeks. The result was gaining about 10 kg in a couple of months .I used to run every now and then before then and at that time I decided to run in order to lose weight and keep fit.

I was sluggish in the beginning and could only jog for a couple of minutes. Gradually I increased the time and distance. After a couple of months I was able to run for 20 minutes. And then running was not a weight-loss tool any more. It seems that I have just found my favourite sport. Having had a wee experience in endurance sport, I made running a habbit. I would run 4-6 times a week and it didnt only give me the physical strength but also helped me relieve stress. Running was keeping me sane while passing one of the most stressful times of my life during my national service. As you might have realised by now, it is now an obsession, it's much more than a sport, it's a way of life. I cannot see myself not running. When you see yourself running long distances - something you have never even imagined yourself to be capable of - it gives you a strength. It widens your mind and gradually elimintate "Impossible" from your list of words. Once not long ago, marathon was not even a dream. And now there is only a few days to my first marathon.

This is what running means to me. I am running a marathon to challenge my endurance, to see what I am capable of. I am doing so because I have enjoyed every single session of my training along the way. Whatever happens, I am going to give it my best on Saturday.

What does running mean to you? and what is your motivation?

Comments

Eiger Ultra Trail 2014; 101km of mud, rocks and sweat

"Run if you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must. Just never give up" Dean Karnazas Last Saturday and Sunday I ran the Eiger Ultra Trail, a 101 km ultramarathon with more than 6700 metres of elevation gain. I arrived in Grindelwald on Thursday and went to collect my bib number on Friday morning. The race organisation was quite good for a race in this size. There was a strict equipment check at the bib number distribution which I appreciated during the race. They asked every runner to bring all the mandatory gear listed on the website in order to collect the bibs. Apart from the bib numbers we were handed out a plastic cup in order not to use many disposable cups along the way. There was also a reflective band which we had to wear after 9:30 pm. The mandatory gear that should be carried along the way Weighs around 4kg (including 1.5L of water) Pasta was served from 12 to 7 pm and there was a briefing session on Friday evening at congress centre which ev

Swissalpine K78. On running my first ultra

“How to run an ultramarathon ? Puff out your chest, put one foot in front of the other, and don't stop till you cross the finish line.” Dean Karnazes Last week I made my way to Davos to run the Swissalpine K78. Davos is where I ran my first marathon last year and this year I was there to run my first ultra. Davos is the place where it all started. It's the place where I met many runners and heard their inspirational stories. We arrived in Davos (That's Samer, a good friend of mine from Belgium who came to Davos to run the K21 and myself) on Thursday morning and went to the expo. Collected the race numbers and had a look around the expo. This is one of my favourite parts of any race. You get to know other runners, races and latest products. At the expo, with the bib numbers The day before the race started by going up Jakobshorn where we met Franz, a truly inspirational man. He's started running when he was 60 and now at the age of 73 he's run numer

On over-reaching your goal: The Eiger Ultra Trail E101, 18-19 July 2015

It is 47 km into the race and I'm walking downhill through a forest towards Burglauenen. It's been a great race so far. I passed the last check point (Faulhorn, the highest point of the race) 15 minutes before my expected time and enjoyed running downhill to Schynige platte. A few minutes ago, when I approached a corner on this muddy terrain, a sharp pain hit my left knee so badly that forced me to stop. I cannot run anymore, I am using my walking sticks to take some weigth off my knee and slowly walking down. I could have run this part of the race quite fast and effortless if my knee didn't hurt. Through my training, I put so much effort to master my downhill running technique and I was quite confident in it that I'd consider it as one of my strength points. It hurts a lot when you have trained a lot and on race day you just cannot perform well. In fact that is hurting much more than my sore knee. As I am limping cautiously, there are many runners passing by, mos

Running in late 20s

Search This Blog