“I have a love/hate relationship with running. I know it’s totally a mental thing, but sometimes I want to just stop and give up, even though I know I could physically keep going.
I started running casually when I was about 16 and ran a few 10k road races, eventually working up to a half marathon. By this point I considered myself ‘a runner’ but felt I could only make that claim if I could run a marathon. So I signed up to Liverpool marathon in 2015, managing to rope my dad into doing it with me… he was approaching 50 and having a mid-life crisis!
Marathon training was when I started to ‘hate’ running. I had always run when I felt like it and ran for however long or however far I wanted. But now I *needed* to go on longer training runs, even when I really didn’t feel like it. I ran the marathon but didn’t pace myself properly and from 10 miles onwards struggled to the finish. I took an hour longer than I’d hoped and was so frustrated by the whole experience that I didn’t run another mile for 2 years.
But then in 2017 I started going out with my girlfriend who’s an avid runner. She gave me her old Garmin, bought me a pair of cheap trail running shoes, and took me on my first trail run. I loved it!
Trail running makes me feel like a carefree child again running between the trees. I’m not fast and I struggle with running uphill but I love it and the k’s tick by so much easier.
Running is part of my life again now, I use it to clear my head or to compensate for having a few bevvies. But I’m wary of putting myself off running again so I sometimes give myself an easy ride and don’t finish a run, or I do a shorter distance than planned if I’m not feeling it. But I don’t let myself feel bad about it, I run for me. Sometimes I’ll surprise myself though, I run further than planned or I get a PB and the buzz I get from that is amazing!
Right now running is my tool for integrating myself into a new town. I’ve moved to NZ from Scotland but already met so many people just through local running groups. You can always count on the running community to make you feel welcome!”
Emily @emrose1990
(Taranaki)
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Portraits of Runners + their stories
@RunnersNZ
