“My running story starts not too long ago. I was 39 and reasonably fit and thought ‘let’s do a marathon before I am 40’.
This was November 2019, so I found the Christchurch Marathon in May and started training. I was enjoying running, I was following a plan on a free app and making some improvements. Then Covid hit and the marathon got cancelled, so I thought I would keep training and would run one on my own in Dunedin. However, when I got up to 28km, I hit a wall. Never experienced anything quite like it and it put me off running for a bit.
My mate was posting about a new business he was setting up for running coaching and was doing a good deal to his first cohort. I started chatting to him about hitting the wall and not enjoying it as much as I hoped and he broke things down for me, talked me through nutrition and proper training. He put a training plan together and I haven’t looked back since. I did my first half marathon event in August 2020, Queenstown Marathon in November, the Three Peaks and Caitlin’s run this year, and now I’m training for the South Island Ultra in May.
I’m a morning person and I love running first thing; getting out there before everyone else really helps me set my day up. I listen to podcasts when I run, some comedy and some educational and it’s great. My job is quite fast paced so it also allows me to get my thoughts ready and gives me the energy and clarity for the day.
My inspiration is close by. My wife is an amazing runner, my brother runs marathons for fun, my mum walks and runs most days, and my father in law is a great runner. To have all these people to help me on my journey is great.
I watch a lot of videos and follow a lot of amazing people on social media and love it when I see ordinary people doing extraordinary things. I love planning the trail running more than actually doing them, going up some of the hills recently I have been questioning my decisions but then that all goes as soon as we hit the downhill.
I have got into trail running a lot recently and being in Dunedin we are lucky to have so many cool trails here and access to Central Otago, Southland and the Clutha District on our door steps. Dunedin is great to train in as well, doesn’t get too hot or too cold and has everything you need, big hills, long flats, tracks, trails, run clubs and athletic clubs.
Mouse (dog) loves a run. He is about a 10k max runner and average pace is about 7k, so I like using his slowness as an excuse for my slow runs.
My running story is new but running is now ingrained in my life. I see it going on for a very long time. I talk about running all the time, I think about it a lot, I’m always looking at new trails for the weekends and which crazy events to sign up to. I have a lot of respect for all runners out there and am grateful for all the support I receive from people I know and have never met. It’s a great sport and the community is amazing.”
Tom @tom__sweeney_
(Dunedin)
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Portraits of Runners + their stories
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