Do it anywhere…..

…Running that is!

Following on from Keith’s blog about ‘Why singing is good for you and your marketing ideas’ I was inspired to write about the benefits of running which is something I’m passionate about.

I got a charity place for the iconic London Marathon in 2017. Initially the thought of running 26.2 miles was very daunting, the furthest I had ever run was a half-marathon…once! There were quite a few moments of self-doubt but as I trained the miles got easier and I started to believe it just might be possible. The London Marathon is something I had always wanted to do, so believe it or not I was elated running every single mile. I was running my dream; the atmosphere and support was incredible.

 

Someone once said to me, ‘The training is the marathon and the marathon is the reward’. I trained, I ran it and I loved it.

I missed a sub four hour time by 4 minutes; I was sure I could get a sub four hour time (now I knew what I was doing!) and made it my mission to get a sub four hour time in 2018.

 

When deliberating whether to run the Brighton Marathon (I didn’t get into London this year in the ballot), I asked my nine year old son for his opinion and I thought he might say no because the training does take time but he said ‘Yes, I’m really proud of you.’ Those few words of encouragement were all I needed, within a few minutes I had registered.

 

Yet again I found the training hard, relentless and gruelling; battling shin splints I was unsure whether I would manage it BUT everything on the day fell into place, it was perfect running conditions and I managed to finish in 3 hours 47 minutes (from mile 18 it was sheer mental willpower and stubbornness that got me through!!) And this also meant it was a ‘Good for Age’ time for the London Marathon 2019! Except for the first time this year the number of ‘Good for Age’ entries was being capped at a total of 6,000 places for the 2019 event – split evenly with 3,000 entries for women and 3,000 entries for men.

 

Since the London Marathon in 2017 running has become part of my life. I find it therapeutic, I like to have a few runs, varying in length booked throughout the year. This keeps me focussed and gives me something to aim for. I am competitive but only against myself.

 

This is a great article I came across ‘Does Running Actually Help Creativity?’

 

When you put your mind to something it’s amazing what you can achieve. If your mind says you can do it, you can do it. There are so many benefits, you could: Live longer, make new friends, lower blood pressure, build stronger bones, increase energy, get out into nature, it’s free and it also gets the creative juices flowing!

 

Exercise is medicine and working in the NHS we are very aware of keeping healthy, so get ready, set, run!