“I’ve always been an active person – grew up on a farm, loved hiking with my dad, cycling, anything that took me on an adventure. Once, when I was 15 or 16, I had to have a verruca removed from my foot so I decided to cycle all the way to the hospital (45km)!
I never really thought about it till later in life, that I always pushed the boundaries in everything I did. I always wanted to see how far or how hard I could go. Inevitably this took me down a path of self destruction in my late teens when I struggled with my body image and took dieting to the extreme and became anorexic. I drank a lot of alcohol and smoked a bit too. It took me a few years to overcome this mindset and learn to channel that into a more healthy obsession.
I walked. I would walk for hours sometimes, to feel strong and to see how far I could go. It was all a bit mindless really, I didn’t have a goal or a direction at that stage.
A few years later, my dad suddenly passed away, and something kicked into place. He’d always been a great adventurer and photographer who’d been living his life to the full. It was then that I started doing half marathons once a year, but only walked them, I actually didn’t believe I could run.
I got into regular running when a friend suggested I join her on a training run for her upcoming 100km race. This appealed to my extremist nature and it sparked my new obsession with ultramarathons. I knew I had the mindset, just had to get the 40+ year old body to catch up!
I found a coach and started training properly. What a difference that made! And I soon realised I had the ability to do all the extreme things I wanted. I ran my first 50km race 4yrs ago and have completed 7 since. I traversed the Grand Canyon in a day. I hiked to Everest Base Camp. I joined a run camp in Colorado and ran in the Rocky Mountains. I’ve run and loved every minute of pushing my body to its limit.
I am improving my technique and learning new things about running all the time, I still don’t think I’ve peaked and I’m turning 53 this year!
One of my favourite sayings is ‘it’s all about the journey, not the outcome’ and I fully live by that. I don’t plan to stop at 50km, my next race is 74km. What motivates me to run that far….? The cold beer at the end!! #irunforbeer”
Jill @goldfinchjill
(Hamilton)
Photo taken at Lake Tekapo
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