“Life is a series of decisions made from a set of variables placed in front of us…
In my teenage years I was always sporty and played both netball and did martial arts (karate). Eventually it got to a stage I had to make a decision on which I was going to concentrate my energy on, as they began clashing and to progress I had to concentrate on one. Martial arts won out – possibly due to the fact that it came with opportunities to travel to and fight in Japan… which I did three times.
Fast-forward to post university and OE and I began running and hiking more as a way to see Scotland while travelling. On my return I kept up running, got married, had kids and just never went back to karate – which is an all or nothing sport.
Work was becoming increasingly more stressful and we were constantly understaffed, so I turned to running because it was something I could control, made me feel good, and as an active relaxer, running helped me to regulate my stress levels and cope better with life.
In 2014 My husband had an accident and suffered a TBI (traumatic brain injury). Again I turned to running to help cope and survive this difficult time as it was something for myself and on my terms – it became an active meditation. I ran without earphones and used running to clear my head. I often found the harder the day, the harder I pushed on the run.
Up until this point, most of my running was road running, and as time went on I set myself goals to run further. I began running back to back 60-70km weeks (always with rest days and a healthy diet) but no strength training or variable runs, so unfortunately I ended up with a stress injury in my foot that stopped me in my tracks. Upon seeing the sports specialist (Nat Anglem, whom I’ve since realised is an avid trail runner himself) he suggested I take my running off road and onto trail.
I signed up for my first trail event in 2019 – Mission Mt Somers 23km trail run. It was tough, technical, and I was hooked. I have since returned alternate years to run the event and each year is a tough as the previous due to the elevation and technical single track, but it keeps me coming back.
In 2023 I decided a better work life balance was needed and reduced my working week to 4 days plus weekend and call work. This allowed for a greater dedication towards training for bigger events while still being around for my kids and husband. It was the best thing I could have done and allowed me one day a week of protected training time. I have also spent the last few years researching and adapting what works best for me, with most of my runs now based on perceived effort and what feels good.
While I continue to enjoy the training and the sense of satisfaction I get from achieving big scary goals, if at any point that changes, I’ll make further decisions on what’s next. For now I run for a better ME.”
Kirsty @k_a_gilmour
(Ashburton)
Photo taken at the Great Naseby Water Race
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