“In 2013 I ran my first half marathon. It was also the year I bought my first mountain bike and got my first stitches, completed my first mile ocean swim, bought my first house and crocheted my first blanket, travelled to Europe, made new friends and applied to be a teacher. Sounds pretty good for a 24 yr old!
But it was also the first time I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. The first time I had a panic attack and went to hospital. The first time for anti-depressants, beta blockers and other pills. It was the year I broke. And sometimes, you need to break into 1000 pieces, before you can let the light in.
That first half marathon was in darkness. I was desperately searching for something more from myself. An escape from the existence I didn’t want and couldn’t understand why. Running seemed like a good place to start, but by heart wasn’t in it.
I completed that half marathon, with little training and less self-belief in a painful 3hrs 33mins.
It was actually mountain biking that lit up my life again. It took me to the other side of the world and the edges of my comfort zone and is where I found myself, my future and my home.
It was mountain biking that eventually brought me back to running, and then Triathlon.
It’s in times of struggle that we can really test ourselves to see what we’re made of. The drive to continue to better myself, to push myself to the edge and to figure out how to get past those limits. That’s why I run. That’s why I Tri.”
Laura Johnston @endurolaura
(New Plymouth)
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Portraits of runners + their stories
@RunnersNZ
