“Well it seems this year I am running to ‘fill in the time’ while I wait for my husband Scott while he runs his ultra-races. I guess I get a wee bit of FOMO (actually that’s a lie I get a lot of FOMO) and not being the kind of person to want to sit around drinking hot chocolates waiting for him to finish, I seemed to have taken up the hobby of entering the smaller race on the day just to ‘fill in time’.
I guess I am a runner, but by crikey I find it hard. I am definitely not a natural runner that’s for sure, I can guarantee I am not making it look easy or effortless when people drive past and look at me! It started in my early 30’s, not long after my boyfriend at the time (now my sexy husband) and I moved in together, he is a very good runner with some pretty good credentials under his belt and even though I vowed and declared I was not a runner, or even slightly interested in running, he never pushed it as cycling was more my passion. But something crept into my mind and before I knew it I was out there walking the dog …walk a power pole …run a power pole… and repeat. Next thing I knew I was running 5km without stopping and I was actually quite enjoying it.
5km crept up to 10km and I must say when you are 10km+ running fit running is actually fun!
Not long after that my best friend decided at 40, she wanted to run the Sydney Marathon and running was a brand-new thing for her too, so she started. Not long after we decided that maybe we should try running together, and that is how Girls Run Club was born, an exclusive club of two (and trust me, many others have asked to join) with the only other invited guest being my dog, Indie.
Before I knew it, I seemed to be entering half marathons and other various running events.
Scott and I live in the beautiful Heathcote Valley with the port hills a 5min walk from our front door, and with two dogs we spend a lot of our time on the hills walking around, so this year I have leaned more towards trail running. I enjoy the pace of trail running more, stopping to smell the roses, walk the uphill’s and take in the views is more my running style these days.
This year while Scott ran the Kepler Challenge, I decided once again that I could possibly ‘fill in time’ on race day and got myself onto the waitlist for the Luxmore Grunt with my friend about 8 weeks out from race day. Not sure if we would actually have a chance of getting in we started some very extensive training with a lot of big hills up and long steep runs down as we knew it would be the run down that would smash the legs and stop us from being able to sit on the toilet or walk downstairs for the days following.
With two weeks to spare we both got the call up (oh shit!) and it was a magic day! A lot of people I know have run the Luxmore Grunt and all very kindly expressed how incredibly hard it was, so I really wasn’t sure what we were in for, but I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it’s a descent steep climb and a very long downhill run, but we had a blast. Possibly 2km too long at the end where you can hear the loud speakers but can’t see the finish – that was a form of torture when you just wanted it to be over.
I wonder what will be next…”
Joanne @jodotemmens
(Christchurch)
Photo taken at Kepler Challenge, Te Anau
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