“I came to running later in life. Although I was going to the gym regularly to keep fit, I thought running wasn’t for me… I would get completely out of breath just dashing for the train! How on earth could I run for more than a few hundred metres? But I thought I would give it a go, a leap of faith. If others could run, then maybe I could learn how – a pair of running shoes would be all I needed, right?! Ah, the special joy of indulging in all the running tech, shoe options, gadgets, etc was yet to come!
A friend took me running for the first time… a couple of kms… I thought I would die! But I’m stubborn. She taught me to breathe and pace myself. I went out a second time, and then again. Each time I made progress; adding a little distance; running on my own; getting a little faster. I was hooked. Milestones were a great motivation – my first 5 km at parkrun, targeting parkrun PBs, building up to 10km. Then another leap into the unknown – signing up for a half marathon. I loved the process of training – methodically building up distance and endurance, and finishing that first half with a result well within my target time.
All my running in the beginning had been on the road, and then another friend introduced me to trails and a new world opened up to me. Focusing on pace and beating my times didn’t work out there, instead I learned about hills (and that it’s okay to walk them!) And I discovered our wonderful natural backyard. Many adventures have followed, up and down hills, in all sorts of weather, exploring new tracks, enjoying our favourite familiar ones, training for new milestones, and completing 50km trail ultra at Tarawera. Out on the trails I am in awe of nature. The land and the bush persists – I am just passing through for a mere moment, in this time and this place.
So why do I run? Running has become so much more than that first goal of fitness for its own sake. I love the sense of achievement and seeing what I am capable of, and to see how far I have come. Sometimes I still can’t believe that I really can go out and run for miles. I love the friendships built through shared experiences with my running buddies – whether we are chatting away and solving the world’s problems, or running together in comfortable silence, or greeting the sunrise while the rest of the world is sleeping. Running is my meditation – there is only the present, the now, the putting of one foot in front of the other, the interaction with the place I’m running in. Every run is different. Each time I gain an insight that is special to that moment – even if it is nothing more than a sense of ‘this is how the world feels to me today’.
I’m so grateful I took that first step into running. I didn’t know where it would lead, but now I keep running because it settles me, it challenges me, it brings me amazing experiences with good friends.”
Rachel
(Wellington)
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Portraits of Runners + their stories
@RunnersNZ
