Like most runners I have a love-hate relationship with running. I hate getting out of bed at 5am in the cold dark winter but once I’m out I love the freedom and the peacefulness of an early morning run.
I started running about 2 years ago , I couldn’t run far I was unfit, overweight and was always at the back. However being from Newcastle I really wanted to take part in the Great North Run and I secured a ballot place for 2011. I trained a bit (not as much as i should have) and did a couple of 10ks in the weeks leading up to it. It was Sunday 18th September 2011 (the day before my 31st birthday) and as I set off towards the Tyne Bridge I remember thinking we have a perfectly good metro system why I am I running to South Shields? The experience was fantastic don’t get me wrong it was hard work and I had to walk some of it but the feeling running the final mile along the seafront was incredible. I really couldn’t believe I had done it and in a semi respectable time of 2hrs 22. From that moment I was hooked.
I wanted to lose some more weight and so i decided to enter the Edinburgh Marathon in 2012. Following a 16 week plan from the website I lost 3 stone in weight and ran the marathon nonstop in 4hrs 20 on probably the hottest day of the year. I find running is definitely a virtuous circle particularly if you have a competitive streak! If you put the work in the results really do show especially at the beginning and seeing the results spurs you on to work harder. Running is addictive and I’ll never go back to the way I was before I started running.
Written by Suzanne T