I started ‘distance’ running at the age of 16 years with distances of 5 to 10km. I clearly remember my first fun run. It was a 5km event in Johannesburg (where I grew up). I was blown away by the mass participation and fed off the atmosphere created by those participating and supporting. I recall being absolutely spent crossing the finishing line but also exhilarated by that feeling of accomplishment.
Fast track 18 years and I’ve participated and competed in hundreds of run events of various distances from 5km to 50km.
On a whim and with very short notice I decided to do a half marathon (21.1km) trail running event in Anglesea on Sunday. A 16km run on Friday and 85km hill ride on Saturday was probably not the best pre race preparation.
It’s amazing… no matter how many events I’ve done, I always get a bit of nervous energy when standing on the start line.
The course was very challenging to say the least, however also beautiful – a mix of beach running, single track through dense bush, fire trails and cliff top coastal tracks.
I ran a personal worst time for the half marathon distance (about 30 minutes slower than my previous best), but as is often the case I had a ‘great time’ doing this event.
I had my kids next to me for the final 200m which was the highlight for me, until my son, Elijah asked me why I took so long.
There are run events on just about every week with various distances and terrain. It doesn’t matter what distance event you do, as long as you challenge yourself to get to the start line and enjoy every step with a group of like minded people.
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