“I have always liked sport, and football in particular, but when I was a young child it was more about watching than participating. My eldest brother, who is 8 years older than me, was a great runner and I have a very early memory of being taken to the athletics track in Nottingham in the summer to watch some races. I was 7 or 8, my brother would have been 15 or 16, and I wasn’t really aware that I was watching him compete in the County Athletics Championships. He won the 1500m race and I thought that was great, but had no idea he had just won the County race. He then went to Loughborough University which is the top sports university in the country with many UK international athletes going there – so much so that they would have an annual competition of the University students v the top UK athletes. We would go and watch this and it was exciting to see Seb Coe, Steve Ovet, Steve Cram, Jeff Capes, Daly Thompson and others like that.
Later in 1980 I got super excited by the Olympics and the epic battles between Seb Coe and Steve Ovet over the 800m and 1500m races. I loved watching all the athletics.
By this time my next older brother was also running at University, and at the age of 14 I began to think that whilst I enjoyed playing football, I was not really very fit. I also had sinus troubles on and off and Drs had previously recommended more fresh air would help. So I thought, as my brothers were running, maybe I should start doing some. I started in the spring running on a Saturday morning. I had a route where I would run about 1.5 miles and then stop for 5 mins, then run back home. Gradually I cut out the 5 mins stop, then ran faster, then ran further stepping up to a 4.6m route.
We started back to school in September and I decided I would run the schools’ cross country race. Anyone was allowed to run for my school as not many people were interested, but there were about 6 of us. A couple of the football team who had been pressed into it by the teachers, but then the others were known to be really good runners. I set off not knowing how to run a race, but after a slow start I made my way through the field overtaking the others in my school. I came in 2nd for my school and 8th in the race. I was amazed, as was everyone else. So then I joined the Notts Athletic Club and before long I was coming in first for my school and also started running the club cross country races. That year I managed to run for the City Schools and the following year for the County and went on to the National schools competition. By now I was running 5 times a week and racing most weekends.
I went to Durham University and joined the cross country team. I got faster and fitter and captained the team in my 2nd year. We would race 2 mile relays through the winter. There was a great camaraderie and Durham was a beautiful place to run around. We also ran longer races and I ran the Great North Run (half marathon) twice. The first time was a little like my first school cross country race, in that I took it easy and didn’t really know how to run it. But it felt great and the crowds kept me going, finishing in 1h18mins.
I then started work and didn’t have time to run as much. At 26 I began to pick up a calf injury which has recurred throughout my life. I swam more and found ways to manage my injury, but it would seem to reoccur when I was getting fitter. I broke my ankle at 36 and had 4 months out, then again drew back to running, starting with a slow 1 mile about twice a week, gradually building up the distance. I was also married to my beautiful wife Belinda with our 4 children, so I began to take them on little runs down the road. I’m not sure how much they enjoyed it, but Lizzie was a very good runner in primary school and Hannah was very sporty – mostly doing everything but running.
I have had periods of further injury, having time out with achilles problems, but I have always come back to running, loving the fresh air and the sensation itself. There is a point after some training that you feel you can run forever (which you never can, but it feels like it) and then there are days when running feels like it’s hard and everything hurts – but these are not often and the next time always feels better.
I started buying expensive but supportive running shoes and then in covid did some research and now use heel implants in all my shoes. This seems to have calmed down my injuries, but now at 58 I run at 2 speeds… slow and slower. I stretch more and rest more and enjoy the views. I try to do 3 bits of exercise a week including doing a 5k parkrun on a Saturday morning when I can, and playing 5 a side football. We are lucky to have the sea and a beautiful estuary to run alongside at home. As well as helping with fitness, running also reduces my mental stress and boosts my health.
Part of the joy of running too, is all you need is a pair of shoes, a top and bottoms, and you can explore your surroundings wherever you are. It has been such a joy running with my daughters Hannah and Lizzie in New Zealand through stunning scenery.
In 2022, after more than 30 years, I did the Nottingham half marathon with Hannah. We kept each other going and finished hand in hand in 2 hours. This gave me more pleasure than running my first Great North Run. Now I am looking forward to running the Bristol Half Marathon with Hannah and Lizzie in May.”
Nick @nicholasc.jackson
(England)
Photo taken in Fiordland
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