[reposted from my Facebook/spiderrunners]

So this is a little post to try and hold myself accountable.

I AM A RUNNER...

Way back in 2012 I decided I needed some motivation to keep myself running. You see, I had already managed to progress from overweight graduate in 1999 to completing my first London marathon in 2003 and then with a small smattering of other smaller events in between I ran it again in 2005 & 2007. But then I faltered, lost my mojo a little and work (and lots of driving) began to take over a little too much. So with the London Olympics around the corner and me looking forward to my role as a 'Games Maker' I decided to start not only running every day, but also writing a blog to try and record my journey. 

...NOT A WRITER!

This lasted a fair while and it was during this time that I met the stupendous Mike Bullock whilst participating in my first 24hr event at ThunderRun2013. But yet again, life threw up obstacles and both the running and the blogging fell by the wayside.

I AM STILL A RUNNER....

I then managed to scrape my butt of the sofa and back on the road again in 2019. I was feeling good about the coming months and looking forward to spewing my verbosity with a passion. I don't need to tell you what came next. The four horsemen coaches of the apocalypse, lockdown, COVID etc...and I seemed to be the only person in the world who now DIDN'T want to go for a jog!

...BUT STILL NOT A WRITER!

So the promised return of my blog I hinted at in 2019 didn't materialise and my running took a total dive; my weight spiralling to the highest it had ever been. But again, this didn't last forever, and during this time Mike had been busy with Susan setting up Spider Runners, which I joined back in August 2020.  Once normality returned (kind of!) and the trails became less crowded I resumed my practice of relentless forward motion, with walks, jeffes and a little cycling towards the end of 2023. 

I

AM

STILL

A

RUNNER

Through all this though, I have always considered myself a runner, just maybe not always felt confident enough to say it out loud.  I think there is something that we all share.  Something about the struggles we overcome when we step outside to train; be it the first steps along C25K, a rainy track session to get our 5k time down or those first few miles of a long run as we build up towards a marathon…or further! 

When I haven’t felt like running, I’ve always known I will come back to it and so, this post is about me starting afresh AGAIN.

Having almost forgotten to train for Equinox24 and then struggling with injury and a last-minute sprain of the ankle, last weekend could have been a total disaster for me.  But the positivity I found in this group, the humour, the helpful advice, it all helped get me though my 5 laps at Belvoir Castle and the love and camaraderie I see here is something I know I want to be part of.  

Still rocking the wig.  With Craig, Susan, Mike and Big Rich

It was great meeting more spiders at the weekend and I hope to get to know more of you over the coming months, chatting on the group and on the odd occasion I eventually make it out to more events as family life permits.

…AND HOPE TO WRITE MORE

There you have it.  In bits and pixels.  I am back on my running journey again and I hope, this time to try and capture a little more of it over on the blog I started way back in 2012.  So please feel free to ignore my ramblings.  But if you fancy following along, head over to www.belmontroadrunner.co.uk and I believe you can subscribe for updates if that sort of thing interests you at all.

Happy trails everyone.