On top of Cornwall New Year's Day 2012 - I think I'll go that way and get us all lost!
Why
I run because I can.
I run with the sound of waves crashing below me or where the wind whistles across the bleak moors. I run through woodlands and alongside creeks, listening for the cries of curlews or the screech of a buzzard.
I run to feel alive and free, to just be.
I run races to be with others. I run with a club to be part of a team. I run at a track to go faster. I run long distances to be alone.
I run to find a challenge, to push myself to achieve it, to find my limits and exceed them.
I run to keep myself sane.
Part of the team - Truro Running Club, February 2012. L-R: Tony and Maisie, Alison, Lynne, Julie, Hana and me.
This year I plan to increase my off-road experience and to tackle some longer runs/races for the first time. I want to be a trail runner. A proper one! I know I love mud and uneven ground, trails and tracks, obstacles and hills, but how far can I go and which distance can I claim as my own? Can I get any faster or will I always be this slow?
So far this year I have a big challenge planned for February: running my first 28 mile marathon. It’s along the steep, rocky cliff paths on the south coast of Devon in the UK. I’m scared, nervous and excited. I feel unprepared and don’t know what to expect. Except pain. I expect that in bucket loads, the challenge is to get through it and out the other side. Hopefully in one piece…
As it’s such a big challenge (hopefully the first of a few this year) I’ve decided to raise sponsorship for our local hospice, where a very close and special friend’s daughter was cared for and died just after Christmas. You can find out more on my sponsorship page by clicking the red picture below. You don’t have to sponsor me of course, but even a couple of pounds will help the hospice with the incredible work they do – and it’ll definitely help my morale!!
There’s also a new off road race series in Cornwall this year and of course I’m up for that! Competitors are most likely to be from clubs across the county, so I’ll be running for Truro. There are 10 races to choose from (the longest is ‘only’ a half marathon!) and you need to complete 6 to qualify for a series award – a similar format to the Grand Prix series I completed last year. I’ve scheduled in 8 races for that too, but whether I’ll do them all or not I don’t know, since most of them are on the road.
I’m looking for some longer races later in the year, but the trouble is the ones I’d love to do cost a small fortune to enter and an extortionate amount to travel to! There are hushed words of a new 24 mile race in August though, much closer to home along the Cornish coast, so I shall keep my ears to the ground for that one!
So far my race diary is a bit jumbled and looks like this, but I’m excited about the possibilities and can’t wait to just get out there.
GP: Cornwall Road Running Grand Prix (8 to complete)
MTRS: Cornwall Multi-terrain Race Series (6 to complete)
Completed Runs/Races
- 05.12.12 Marazian (GP) 10k
Time: 1:00.51/pace: 09:47.4 (2011: 01:01:25/09:52.9) - 22.01.12 Storm Force 10 (GP) 10m
Time: 01:37:16/pace: 09:43.4 (2011: 01:40:32/10:03.0) - 01.01.12 Brown Willy Run 9m
2012 Planned Races
- 18.02.12 Endurancelife CTS South Devon Marathon 28m (registered)
- 25.03.12 An Res Hellys (GP) 10m (registered)
- 01.04.12 5 Tors (MTRS) 11m (registered)
- 06.05.12 Bocconoc (MTRS) 5m
- 20.05.12 St Austell Half Marathon (MTRS) 13.1m
- 13.06.12 Bude Lifeboat Run (MTRS) 6m
- 20.06.12 Meet Your Max (MTRS) 7m
- 24.06.12 Lanhydrock (MTRS) 10m
- 28.07.12 Tywardreath Trotter (MTRS) 7m
- 24.08.12 Trelissick (MTRS) 10k
- 14.10.12 Race for Wildlife (MTRS) 10k (tentative – if can’t make others in series)
- 11.11.12 MBH Remembrance Beach Run (MTRS) 4M (tentative – if can’t make others in series)
