My Eden half marathon on 10.10.10
I never considered myself a runner, although I’d jogged on and off since I was 23, never going more than about 7 miles. But in early 2010 a friend challenged me to run the Eden Half Marathon with her. I can’t resist a challenge so how could I say no?
We trained together slowly over the summer months gearing up for the big event that October. We decided to run 2 races beforehand, just to see what it would be like.
This was the first time I’d entered a race since school, decades ago. It was a scary step and I hung at the back and kept out of the way. The first race was called The Tywardreath Trotter, which was 7 miles mostly off road. It was raining and harder than I could have imagined, but I loved it. It was exciting to run somewhere new and meet other runners, most of them being from local clubs, which, frankly I found a bit intimidating! But I crossed the finish line – and I wasn’t last!
Next we ran The Truro Half Marathon, never having run more than 10 miles in training. It seemed like an impossible task. The last 3 miles were like running through treacle and my body was screaming to stop. But I got round. I thank a man called Terry for that, his encouragement and chat helped me believe in myself when it had all but drained away. He belonged to a local club and I listened eagerly as he told me about it.
A month later it was the main event. I knew it would be hard, the course was hillier than the Truro Half and that was bad enough, but I’d been raising sponsorship for Mind and felt there was no backing out now. Unlike my friend who did back out claiming an injury!!! I crossed the finish line in one piece, cheered on by said friend. It was a real high to have achieved something that I never thought I could and the buzz of adrenaline had me looking round for the next big challenge almost immediately.
In November I hid my nerves and feelings of inadequacy and joined my local club. By the end of the year, I’d run two races in a club vest, ticking another big challenge off the list! Looking forward to 2011 I wondered what to do next…
2010 Races Completed
- 12.12.10 Winter Turkey Trot
4m. Time: 0:39:32/pace 09:52.9 - 12.11.10 The Mob Match
5m. Time: 00:51:01/pace: 10:13.6 - 10.10.10 The Eden Half Marathon
13.1m. Time: 02:41:59/pace: 12:21.7 - 19.09.10 The Truro Half Marathon
13.1m. Time: 02:38:01/pace: 12:03.6 - 24.07.10 Tywardreath Trotter
7m. Time: 01:23:00/pace: 11:51.4
