Well quite frankly, Christopher McDougall has a LOT to answer for. Well him, and a lovely local lady called Jacquie Moulder but we’ll come on to her later…
I can’t remember who introduced me to the book ‘Born to Run’, but it triggered a trainer induced domino effect in me. Before I had even left the couch, I was enchanted by phrases like ‘Marathon des Sables’, ‘Taramahura Indians’, ‘Barefoot Running’, ‘Badwater Ultra’ and ‘Spartathlon’. I started soaking up stories of endurance through jungles, Death Valley, the arctic circle and mountains. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Understanding the beautiful indiscriminate nature of running, unfettered by age, background or experience. Ok, I admit, I do have a tendency to get carried away with ideas, but this idea started to weave its web around me from the outset. This lay dormant in the recesses of my brain for some time, particularly as when I first read it I could no more run than abseil.
They say that running is 90% mental, and 10% mental. Well that’s it. Not only am I 100% mental, but if it’s all in the mind, then my mind has gone ultra. Marathon schmarathon. I’ll start with Couch to 5k, and see where it takes me. If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why oh why can’t I?
Thoughts of today: Do I do a PhD? It must be fun to tick the ‘Doctor’ box on forms. The Appalachian trail looks fun. Ok so there are about 40 murders on it per year, but statistically that’s still gotta be pretty unlikely, right?