Crossing the Rubicon: Joining a running club

It was a dark and stormy night; lightning periodically broke the skyline against a constant downpour of rain that showered me as I jogged across the park towards the running track. Okay well I am being a little bit dramatic. It wasn’t stormy, rainy and there was certainly no lightning! So I was probably being more than a little bit adventurous with my language. Though I did feel nervous about joining a running club, much like the stereotypical main character entering a forbidden temple or lost civilisation. Was I expecting this club to be something out of Chariots of Fire? I don’t know why I felt nervous about joining a running club. I have joined rugby clubs, a boxing club and been part of fitness classes; so it was not the fear of meeting new people. I think where my nervousness lay is with my anxiety that all that I had believed to be correct with running would turn out to be false or that I was not talented enough to be part of this running club. It is probably a very negative/ cynical view to have of myself. I also find it hard to believe that a club will cater for all abilities. These were just some of the insecurities that I was bringing along to my first track session with this club. At this point you may be thinking, why is this person telling me about how they were feeling? Or why is it such a big deal to join a running club? The simple answer to those questions is that I was joining this club to fulfil a goal I had set myself for running in 2015.

Reflections on running to date

Sunday 26^th April 2015 was a great day for me and the London Marathon. I have already talked about the joys of spectating in my previous post, but after watching Gem running the London Marathon; I knew that I needed to write about the marathon atmosphere that day and experiencing watching someone you love achieve one of their goals.

On a national (and possibly international level) Paula Radcliffe ran her final farewell marathon in London that day- finishing in just under 2hrs 37mins. A phenomenal effort considering the surgery Paula underwent in April 2013 and how she could barely run after it. For loads of people finishing in under 2hrs 37mins would be an amazing time; so it just shows how much of a world-class athlete Paula is, that she could complete the marathon in this time “unprepared”. It got me thinking about how the act of running is such an extraordinary thing. It is such a simple action, yet to get faster we spend hours, days, weeks, months, years and even decades trying to improve our race times!