“In early 2018 I was looking to find a new friend group and signed myself up for one of those speed dating like events for meeting new friends. I ‘matched’ with a few participants and we got each other’s contact details. One of the girls contacted me and we caught up for coffee. We chatted and she said she was keen to start going to the gym or doing some walking or running. I had been walking around the block and had started doing a few jogs along the way whilst exploring a new neighbourhood. The blocks got bigger and the jogs got longer. The coffee meet up girl had done some research, she’d found a Facebook page for a local running club – the Hamilton Roadrunners. They met up weekly and she was keen to go along and asked if I’d like to go too. The Roadrunners were so welcoming and encouraging, there was such an amazing community feel and an interesting mix of people from all walks of life with varying running abilities and experience. Here’s the funny part though, I never saw the coffee meet up girl again after that night. She never got back in touch with me, maybe it just wasn’t her thing!
“I was late to the running party! I emigrated to NZ from Scotland as an adult and didn’t run in my childhood. After a couple of years in NZ I wanted to enjoy the outdoors more and gain fitness. I tried running (kind of!!) on and off for a few years by myself, not really gaining any momentum or encouragement. Reaching a milestone age and after a few life changes in 2017, it was the right time for me to get stuck into a hobby for better mental and physical health.
The amazing people at Hamilton Roadrunners very quickly made me feel like part of their running family. I made new friends and they encouraged me to come along to Hamilton Lake parkrun. I ‘ran’ my first parkrun in April 2018. At first, I couldn’t run around the 3.6km Hamilton lake without stopping to walk, but my new friends were so encouraging they kept me going back each week. 4 years later and I’ve done 150 parkruns.
I ran my first 10km event that year and after seeing so many club members accomplishing amazing things, I decided to see if I could run a half marathon! My first half was in 2019 at Hawkes Bay. I had such a blast, the feeling of achievement from each training week, accomplishing something just for me, filled my cup!
In early 2020 I decided I was going to run the Queenstown Marathon. I just wanted to finish, enjoy the buzz, and experience the day. The day was amazing, I loved every minute of it. I pretty much decided on the finish line I was coming back to do it again. COVID cancelled the 2021 event eventually and I ended up running the Hawkes Bay Marathon instead, but I’ll be back to do Queenstown again soon.
After running that first marathon I wanted to be stronger in the last 5kms than I had been that day, that’s when I found Life in Motion on Facebook. I joined her Run Club and now love the strength and mobility workouts as part of my regular training.
Running has given me such an appreciation for what my body and mind can do when put to the test. Running is just my routine now. I love my long training runs, they give me mental clarity, me time and I get that buzz when I accomplish a goal. I’ve met and continue to meet amazing people at my running club, rungroups, parkrun and events too. The running community sure is special, and a little bit of encouragement goes a long way!”
Val @valwilson405
(Hamilton)
Photo taken at Lake Tekapo
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