“I have always been an active person with a general interest in fitness but I didn’t start running until after I had children. I had severe post natal depression after the birth of my first child and so after the birth of my second son, three years later, I was much more aware of my mental health. I looked for a way of keeping fit, whilst getting outside and giving myself some time out from the responsibilities of being a mum – running seemed the perfect answer! It quickly became the thing that gave me time just for me.
I did a few shorter races while the kids were young, a couple of 10kms and a few duathlons. I had it in my mind that I would love to be able to run a half marathon but thought it just wasn’t possible for me. Another mum from my plunket group then told me how she was training for the Christchurch Half with a group from her church and invited me to join them. I did and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made!
It was the support from the people in that group that made me realise that I really could do it and that got me across the finish line of my first half marathon. I continued to run with people from that group and went on to complete a few more half’s, and although he didn’t tell me at the time, the coach had set the training plan up so that there was a marathon six weeks after one of them. So when I’d done the half he just said “well, you’ve trained to this point, done a really good half, now you could keep going and do a full!” My belief in myself that I could do it definitely wasn’t as strong as his belief that I could!
On the marathon day I was extremely nervous on the start line, but it was an amazing race and one that will stick in my mind for just being awesome. You never know what’s going to happen in a race, you don’t know if you can complete it, but I was smiling from beginning to end. My friend joined me on her bike towards the end and I remember her saying “I’m pretty sure you’re meant to be dying about now!” But we were just running along chatting and it was a great run for all the right reasons.
My running has evolved over the years and the distances have increased. I enjoy being part of a race but I also just love getting out and adventuring with friends. I am happiest when I am out on the trails. Speed is irrelevant to me. It is being out in nature, moving my body and freeing my mind that is important. It’s all about just being present and celebrating the fact that I get to run and have a body that allows me to! I have faced some mental health problems in my life and running has definitely helped me to feel in control of my body during times when I haven’t necessarily been able to control my mind.
You learn so much from running, especially the longer distance runs, that you can apply to other areas of your life; like just keep putting one foot in front of the other and don’t look too far ahead. Running an ultra can be a very overwhelming thing, but if you break it down into lots of 5km, all of a sudden it doesn’t seem so overwhelming.
The people and the community that I have connected with along my running journey have made such a difference to me. I like to think that I’ve made a difference to some people as well. I volunteer for Speed Freaks as a coach. I’ve been doing that for about 18 months now and I just absolutely love it! The philosophy behind the Speed Freaks is to bring people together by using running as a vehicle for overcoming mental health or addiction issues. Just having the support of other people around you, people that notice if you don’t turn up, who check in with you and see how you are – that’s everything. And it’s not necessarily about the outcome of races or how fast you are, it’s just about being around supportive people who’ve got a common goal. Wearing the blue t-shirt is a big honour to me. I love it when people recognise you and call you a ‘freak’ as you’re running along.
I have done a lot this year, it’s been awesome and I am really proud of some things I’ve achieved – my first backyard ultra and first ‘official’ ultra race, but I think I’m actually going to go back to running for the enjoyment of it for a bit. I just need to go back to the love of it for a while.”
Kat @sherbetweb
(Christchurch)
Photo taken on the Kepler Track
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