Arry’s little guide to her fave Trail shoes!

Like a lot of girls, I have a ridiculous shoe collection…. only, mine are mainly trainers! I have got trainers to cover every terrain, distance, weather condition etc, etc, and I have had the unique opportunity to test them all over multiple terrain and distance thanks to some little jog I went on last year. So, here’s my non-commissioned, non-biased, personal experience and opinion based guide to 3 pairs of the trailies I have used!

A few of the current collection sunning themselves )

 

Firstly, a feature…

Gore-Tex

Generally I don’t bother, reason being that whilst gore-tex shoes are fab for keeping your feet dry in the rain and splashing through puddles etc, they’re not so good for those “wading through mud and water” situations! Once they get wet inside, they take an age to dry, whereas my non-waterproof ones tend to dry off pretty fast. I’m also pretty hardened to running with wet feet! They do come into their own in the snow and cold though!!!! (that’s a long winded way of saying man/woman up and splash around in the mud, it’s half the fun!)

Here are the 3 Trail runners, you get to hear about in this post…. Adidas Kanadia TR4 (and TR3), Inov8 Roclite 275 GTX, Salomon XA Pro 3d Ultra

Salomon XA Pro 3d Ultra

These are the first pair of trail runners that I owned. Recommended to me by an enthusiastic trail runner and Salomon devotee. They were recommended on the basis that they were good for road and trail, waterproof and hardwearing. I can’t argue with any of those things, but they’re far from my favourite! They’re really sturdy, so fab for rocky ground, but I found them heavy and the soles far to “solid” to be comfortable for long distances. They do have awesome laces though! Kevlar clip laces, pretty much indestructable! I’ve relegated them to the dog walking pile, and for that purpose they rock!

Pros: Sturdy, hardwearing, awesome laces, great in snow and puddles!

Cons: Uncomfortable when running long distances, felt heavy and clompy, no good for knee deep water!

Inov8 Roclite 275 GTX

Dune beast!

In general I love these! Best for softer ground and fab on loose ground. They feel really light and are my main dune running shoes! (Whack some gaiters on with them and you become a dune running beast!!). I have the gore tex ones, so I echo what I’ve said already, but as a whole, they’re fab!

Pro’s: Light, grippy, great on loose ground, fab for powering through sand dunes

Con’s: Too firm for long distance multi-terrain (over 20 miles with firm ground), no paddling in the sea!

Adidas Kanadia TR3 and TR4

Kanadia love!

I’ve saved my favourite until last! I cannot praise these enough!!! I bought my first pair purely for the reason that they were on offer at £25 and I thought I’d give them a shot. That £25 pair of trainers survived over 850 miles of Dragonrun1027, the Tesco jetwash and became like my best friends (remember, I did go a bit loopy during the run! ha ha!)

The soles are grippy and they dry fast (they’re not waterproof), most of all, they are the most comfortable multi-terrain trail shoes, I have ever used. The soles release mud easily, so they’re easily cleaned. I now have the TR4 version, which are just as great (and I got them in pink, so I’m a happy girlie!).

They are, however, terrible for sand dunes! They are so well ventilated that the sand goes straight into them as you run until soon your foot is fighting for space!

Pro’s: Comfortable, great for long distances on soft ground, dry fast, cheap, easy clean

Con’s: Not good for running through loose sand/dirt

I also run in Nike Air Pegasus Trail, but I’m in the process of breaking them in for ultra distance on firm ground. They get their debut at Cardiff Ultramarathon on 19th May, so watch this space!

For roads, I’m a Saucony girl, but thanks to a birthday voucher I also have a pair of Nike flyknit +1, and for up to about 10 miles, i love them. (I used to hate running in Nike trainers, but they seem to have come on in leaps and bounds!

Anyhoo, that’s my personal view on a bit of trail rubber. It’s all down to personal preference, but what I will say is take into consideration the distances that you plan on running and the variety of terrain you will be tackling. Those specifics make a massive difference! Be aware of certain brands having a bit of a “cult” following too, they may be great for you, but can also be an expensive mistake!

An Anniversary, a massive map and a reunion!

This Sunday marks the 1st Anniversary of the opening of the Wales Coast Path! 870 miles of walkable/runable route around the entire coastline of Wales. It also marks the 1 year anniversary of the day I finished Dragonrun1027. I was the first to complete the perimeter (I added the Offas Dyke Trail to the run to complete the circuit), and to see the true variety and beauty that our coast has to offer. Yep, it sounds like this blog post is an advert for the path, but the real reason for it is that today something really hit home….

A Sunny Kidwelly Quay

Both myself and Dave Quarrell (who I handed the baton over to at the launch, and who went on to be the first to walk the perimeter) were invited to the Ramblers Cymru Anniversary Celebration and launch of their “Big Welsh Walk” in Kidwelly. Kidwelly is a little town on the WCP which for me holds the memory of a lot of knee pain! I was glad to return today to appreciate the happier and prettier side of the town! The event was great, the massive map of Wales produced by Ordinance Survey for Ramblers Cymru was there, and local school children got to have lessons on a map that they could all sit on, as well as having the opportunity to walk the entire coast of Wales in a matter of minutes! Dave and I were also presented with certificates for our challenges, entirely unexpected, and a really touching surprise )

Dave and I sat on the big map!

 

We chatted to a lot of people and got the opportunity to really reflect on our respective challenges, comparing notes now that life has returned to normal and the blisters aren’t so raw! Both of us agreed that something affected both of us, that has meant that our outlooks on life have changed, our attitudes have altered and we will always have a connection to the coast of our homeland like no other. There are elements of what we both experienced psychologically that can never be understood without having that experience. We were both driven by charities close to our hearts and the memory of parent(s) who had recently passed away. Overall both of us would do it again tomorrow given the opportunity! Next time I would walk the route, and have the opportunity to appreciate everything at a slower pace, and to pop into the pubs and cafes lining the route! Maybe the next time there will be a Beer and cake theme! Ha ha!

So yes I will shamelessly promote the route, because I have left a bit of my heart on it (a massive bit on Anglesey!). Yes there are parts of the path that pass through some not so pretty places, and yes there will be diversions in place at particular times, but these are factors that are to be expected for a continuous long distance trail, the need for maintenance and a little issue of the law and safety. I mention this because I have seen comments by soap box dwelling sceptics that will find complaints about anything just to put their oar in, and I have been called by numerous journalists desperately trying to get negative comments out of me to add a bit of controversy to their reports. In response to both of these groups of people, I will say just one thing: I have seen the entire path, I’ve got myself lost, I’ve experienced grumpy landowners, slipped over, navigated my way through urban sprawl and had occasions where I couldn’t even see the sea, but you know what? That made up probably less than 2% of what was the most breathtaking, diverse trail I never even thought I could experience in my own country. There are hidden coves, secret beaches, awesome rock formations, steep climbs rewarded with panoramic views worthy of the National Geographic Channel, and above all, some of the kindest people you could ever meet.

So, this Summer, keep your eye out for the blue and yellow waymarkers, start walking/running and take it in, you might just find that you will experience something incredible )

Happy Anniversary Wales Coast Path!

Tiring stuff this Circumnavigation Milarky!

 

The Justgiving Awards!

Last week, I had the honour of attending the Justgiving Awards as a nominee for the Endurance Fundraiser of the Year Award.

I can hand on heart say, that it was the most inspirational night of my life! I’m going to cover it in a nutshell, because I’ll be linking to a blog by Anna Cookson, who has covered the night brilliantly with some video interviews (note to self, always get filmed in the dark! Hee hee!)

On the night, we got to hear the stories of normal people who had battled through adversity with the sole perpose of helping others. These are people who had nothing to promote, no preconcieved book deals, no DVD or Album on the horizon, just the will to make life better for people, who in many circumstances, they had not even met. 

Clare Lomas, who, paralysed from the neck down following an eventing accident, completed the London Marathon in a robotic suit, and who’s next challenge is a 400 mile cycle, all for Spinal Research! You can join her on the cycle, find out how… http://www.claireschallenge.co.uk/

The nominees for Young Fundraiser of the Year, touched everyone’s hearts! You may have heard about Martha Payne, the 10 year old who blogged about her school dinners. After having her local council threatened to shut down the blog, it went viral, and Martha now uses the popularity of the blog to fundraise for school-feeding programmes. (did I mention, she’s 10?!).

I can’t do justice to the incredible stories on the night, so please have a look at http://www.justgivingawards.com/the_winners.htm where the full stories from all nominees and winners, VT’s from the night and links to the fundraising pages can be found!

I will do a special mention to Barbara Walmsley, who has spent 27 years tirelessly fundraising for Oxfam and who is responsible for the creation of Oxfam Bridal. Barbara recieved a Special Recognition Award, which she says is taking pride of place on her toilet wall, next to her MBE!

Anna Cookson’s blog from the night, with video interviews can be found here http://blogs.qvcuk.com/anna_cookson/2013/04/a-knight-of-inspiration.html

On another note, this past week has also seen some horrific events. My heart goes out to all affected by the Boston Marathon bombing, the Texas Explosion and the Iraq bombs.

To all those running in the London (and Llanelli!) Marathons tomorrow, good luck and never give up!

“When I believe in something, I fight like hell for it” – Steve McQueen

 

It’s been a while since the last time I got my blog on, so in honour of the 1 year anniversary of the start of Dragonrun1027 (which was Sunday!), and because there’s at least one person that needs a bit of motivation, here it is! (It’s a long one, but bear with me!)

Last night I put a question out on Twitter…. “What is your response when someone tells you that you’ll never do something?” I was really pleased to see that all who responded to the question, came back with a similar attitude to mine. You go ahead and do it anyway and prove them wrong. This wasn’t a random question, it was linked to a conversation I had had earlier on. A friend, who wishes to remain nameless for the time being (I shall call her “Doris”!), was talking to a colleague of hers, who is a seasoned marathon runner, with finishing times that I bow down to. Sadly, along with his running strength, he also appears to have developed quite an ego. “Doris” mentioned in conversation, that she’d love to train for and do a Mountain marathon. The response to this should have been something along the lines of “Fantastic! Go for it! Do you have any in mind?” Instead she got “Really? Are you sure? I mean, you don’t exactly look like a runner, you’ll never manage it”…………… If, right now you have steam coming out of your ears and are shaking your head in disbelief, you’re on my wave length. If you see nothing wrong with this, I encourage you to read on because you might learn something!

I had my fair share of this kind of attitude, both before and during the Dragonrun. I’m not going to go on a rant about “What does a runner look like?” or “I don’t look like a stereotypical ultramarathoner, but I did the Dragonrun”. The first is a ridiculus question to anyone with half a brain cell, and the second is just too predictable. Instead, I’m going to take this opportunity to share some information that I haven’t yet gone into detail on, as I found it very hard to think about following the run.

When you complete a challenge that you’ve set yourself, no matter what it may be, eventually the feeling of satisfaction and relief often over-rides any of the pain or dark moments that were experienced in the duration (I’ve heard the same about childbirth…. I’ve watched One Born Every Minute, and I’m sceptical! Ha ha!). This was the case for me…. almost.

Previously I’ve mentioned “Day 15” in this blog, and in talks that I give, as being my darkest day of the Dragonrun1027. I wrote a blog several days after, but didn’t go into detail about it. I kept a journal throughout the run, which I have written up, and you never know, one day it might be put out in the public domain, but for now, I’m going to share with you, an excerpt from the day that damaged me.

……..It was Sunday 8^th April. To most, it was Easter Sunday, but for me it was the day of my 15^th marathon of Dragonrun1027. The route was Cardigan to Newquay. I was excited for the day, as I was running with two of my best buddies, Becca and Fadge*, who were joining me for a second time (hardcore!) and a friend I had not seen in years, Garod, who was running for the first 6 miles.

Physically I had the standard achy knees, and a slight twinge in my quad, but nothing to give me concern. We set off after meeting Garod and spirits were high! We were laughing and joking, and a few miles in we did the inevitable and took a wrong turn! Fadge, removed the GPS and the maps from my person and took charge, whilst laughing about how useless my sense of direction was, even with the tools! On arrival in Aberporth, we had a welcoming committee, Sarah (Garod’s lovely partner), their little girl, Emily and the rest of their family were cheering and waving with Andy standing by with drinks and food. We were saying goodbye to Garod here, and after a short break, it was time to tackle the rest of the route. Soon after setting off, I became more aware of pain in my quads. I put it to the back of my mind. I had learnt very quickly the art of distinguishing between “real pain” and “psychological pain”. The thing I wasn’t prepared for was just over the horizon.

Everyone has heard of “The Wall”. I had experienced it at least 5 times in the previous 2 weeks, and I was getting used to dealing with the situation as it happened. The breakthrough happened in Merthyr Mawr sand dunes, in the baking heat of day 2, where I literally slapped myself, re-fuelled and gave myself a good talking to! On this particular day however, mile 18 gave me a wall, a razor wire fence and a team of snipers. I was struggling to cope with the perceived pain that I had, and slowed right down. Becca and Fadge, suggested a quick stop and pretty much force fed me. You need to remember at this point, that this was far from a flat run, we were running up and down steep cliff paths the whole way. We plodded on, Becca and Fadge could see that I was struggling, but as yet, I was not prepared to crack. Inside my head however, I was breaking down. The words of the doubters were echoing in my mind, and instead of fighting against them, I started to believe them. I was seeing visions of my mum and dad shaking their heads with disappointment at me and it was breaking my heart, but I didn’t have the strength of mind to fight it. Every tiny niggle suddenly felt like I was being pulled apart limb by limb. Fadge helped me take the weight off for a while, and both he and Becca kept telling me I could do this. At no point did they suggest shortening the day, or tell me that I’d done so well so far, no-one would think less of me if I stopped. They refused to put any doubt into my mind. “One foot in front of the other…. One foot in front of the other” that’s what I was trying to yell inside my head to drown out the doubt that was taking hold. “NEVER GIVE UP!” We were nearing the end of the route and down to the last page on the map, something that normally gave me the fire inside to finish smiling, this time though, I felt distraught. I had been in a bubble of despair for miles, and was now feeling terrible that I hadn’t checked on how Fadge and Becca were feeling. I was disappointed with myself for being self absorbed. We took another wrong turn and had to navigate our way across steep sheep tracks. Each step felt like I was being hit by a car, and no matter how close to the finish we were getting I didn’t feel any happier. Andy walked back from the finish to find us, and he and Fadge held onto me for the last 50 meters. We finished and I burst into tears. I don’t cry very often at all, but I made up for it this time, I was hysterical and hadn’t cried like this since the day my dad’s death sunk in, it was a reminder I didn’t need right now. Andy drove us back to my friend Karen’s house where we were staying. He had pre-warned her of the situation, and Karen, having known me for years and her being an exceptional endurance athlete who really inspires me just knew what to do and say. She gave me a hug, told me to “woman up” and took over the care of Becca and Fadge, who I felt I had let down at this point, and who had a 4 hour drive to contend with that evening. I went to bed that night exhausted and with a broken mind, but waiting on my pillow was a card from Becca and Fadge with the Steve McQueen quote “When I believe in something, I fight like hell for it”. Never before has a quote been so apt. The next few days were tough, I was still quite numb and exhausted, but had to repeat the distance over tough terrain every single day. I had to block out all bad experiences of the previous day and get on with it. I didn’t write on Twitter or Facebook because I refused to write anything that wasn’t entirely positive and heartfelt. Getting through the day was my only aim, and I was helped by the incredible support I was getting along the way………

Amongst all of the good memories and awesome experience I had doing the Dragonrun, that day still haunts me. It always will, but that’s not entirely a bad thing. You see, thanks to those that were there on the day, and who witnessed the aftermath, I’m able to draw the positive in that I didn’t give up. I wasn’t even halfway through the challenge by that point, but went on to have some exceptionally good days, along with some not so good and very slow days, but through sheer grit and, lets face it down right stubbornness, I made it to the finish. My point, if you haven’t worked out already is that challenges are not meant to be easy. No matter what your personal challenge may be, 5K, half marathon, Ultra, Scaling the North Face of the Eiger, the clue is in the definition. If a person has set themselves a personal challenge it is no-one else’s right to enforce the opinion that they don’t think they’ll do it, especially in such a patronising way.

Mind over matter is a powerful thing, and I maintain that in many Ultra-endurance challenges 80% of it is psychological. If you let your head quit, you’ve had it!

Anyway, the next blog entry will have news of new challenges coming very soon! Oh, and “Doris”…….. you’re going to do that mountain marathon! I know you are!

*Becca and Fadge, this is probably the first time you’ve heard some of what was going through my little brain on that day. You are, and always will be, my heroes!

A Shiny New Year!

How far into January is it still acceptable to say “Happy New Year”??? I’m pretty certain I’ll still be saying it in May, so seeing as this is the first blog post of 2013, I’m going to say it….

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

So, last year for me, was the year of the Dragonrun1027 (and some awesome marathon sport watching… How awesome were the Olympics and Paralympics!). I started 2012 thinking it would also be the year that I would hang up my trainers, because I was pretty certain that THE run would finish me off. It didn’t, but a tiny training run in one of my favourite South Wales locations, very nearly did!

The ankle that I broke last August turned out to be pretty bad and prevented me from running for the rest of the year. It’s by no means back to “normal”, but the turn of 2013, has seen me back to running! Whoop whoop!

I still have a lot of cash that I want to raise for Velindre and Gozo CCU. The money that has already been raised for Velindre, has gone towards the Stepping Stones Appeal. A previous blog post explains in detail what it is being spent on. The work that is being done is incredible! Gozo CCU money is being used towards purchase of Ventilators for the CCU and Emergency equipment for the Hospitals A&E unit. These are both parts of the hospital that mum and dad spent time in. If it wasn’t the work of that hospital I would have had much less time with both of them.

So, what’s happening this year????

I’m going to be running the Ring ‘O’ Fire Ultramarathon in August. I was meant to run it last year, but managed to have my accident just 3 weeks before the race (I was totally gutted). So I have a score to settle with my mind, and I’m going to give it my all. It’s 131 miles, the entire Anglesey Coast Path (and a bit!), and my favourite section of Dragonrun1027. There’s a catch though…. It is done over 2.5 days, to strict check point time limits. There are a lot of highly experienced Ultra runners entered this year, so as well as aiming to finish in however many pieces there are left of me at the end, I also hope to learn a lot from my competitors.

So, after 5 months off running, there’s a bit more of me physically (not for long though!), but my brain has been pumping some iron, and I am more determined than ever! I now have the opportunity to use everything I learnt from the Dragonrun1027 and apply it to my training, fundraising, motivational work and the race in August.

I’ve been doing some Motivational Speaking since the run, which has been great, because some of the people that have contacted me afterwards really seem to have taken on board the messages from the mental side of the challenge, and are using them not only for their own challenges, but in work as well! Though my non dragonrun based work over the past decade both, with elite sports and in physical activity promotion, the biggest rewards have always been seeing people achieve what they had never thought was possible. It’s like a part of the brain needs to be unlocked, and when you know how to find the key, the sky’s your limit!

For anyone who is in the midst of New Years Resolutions, training for events, planning challenges, fundraising etc, keep this in mind ….

“When your at the start, be it of a 5K race, a marathon or an ultra endurance challenge, keep the vision of the end in your mind….. that way, you will always be able to see the finish line”

Where’s it all going?…. CSI Lung Cancer

Tonight I got the opportunity to see where the money raised for Velindre’s Stepping Stones Appeal is going to. The Dragonrun1027 contribution to that so far stands at just over £10K and rising! That’s a lot of your hard earned cash, and I’m so happy to tell you that it’s being used in the most incredible, ground breaking ways!

I was invited with a group of other Stepping Stones supporters to a special presentation evening, which would update us on their work. I didn’t expect for even a minute, that we would also have the opportunity to see the work in the pathology lab first hand!

Stepping Stones is an appeal which is dedicated to the research and treatment into one of the most difficult to treat and underfunded areas of cancer research… Lung Cancer. It’s a cancer that’s media awareness raising tends to be restricted to “Stop smoking” campaigns, leading to the assumption that it is just the “Smokers disease”… well, I have news for you…. it’s not.

Lung Cancer is the commonest cause of death in England and Wales, an increasing number of those deaths are in victims who have never touched a cigarette. Research into lung cancer is poorly supported and has a relatively low profile, but it is time for this to change.

So, where is your money going?….

The Wales Cancer Bank is a bank of tissue samples that have been collected (following patient consent) during operations to remove suspected cancerous tumours. In standard practice tissue is removed, a small amount of that tissue is sent for diagnosis and the remainder is incinerated. Now, with consent, that remainder tissue can be preserved and stored for use in groundbreaking research Worldwide. For the first time, thanks to funding from the Velindre Stepping Stones Appeal, lung cancer samples can be collected. Researchers from around the world can put in a proposal, and subject to ethical approval and scientific review samples from the Wales Cancer Bank can be used to improve the understanding of lung cancer and help in the search for new treatments. For example, there is work looking at the identification of genes that may effect the success of treatments from person to person. What works for one person, may not work for another… why not? This question can be answered and treatments can be directed to individuals accordingly.

Earlier, I met the people involved (Researchers, Doctors, Nurses, Fundraisers), and I was able to see first hand, how the samples are used. It was like real life CSI, but cancer was the bad guy! I found myself wanting to stamp on the nasty purple dyed irregular cells, but sadly cancer treatment isn’t that simple.

As it was highlighted this evening, this work is the difference between a diagnosis meaning less than 5 years of life or meaning survival.

It hit home to me, a key reason aside from personal connections, that I have chosen the charities I support so carefully. I know exactly where the money goes, and it’s not on fat cat salaries, clip-board nazi’s or telesales. It’s on people like you and me, that either have been or will be affected by this hideous disease. More than that though, it pays for survival.

I’d like to thank Andrew and Kylie from Velindre Fundraising for arranging this evening, and Dr Jason Lester, Dr Simon Noble, Professor Malcolm Mason, and the rest of the team from Wales Cancer Bank for taking the time to share their work with us.

Over all, thanks to you, who have donated and supported the fundraising efforts from my Kilimanjaro climb, to the Dragonrun1027 and all events that are following. It’s you guys that have raised this total, by putting your hand in your pocket! (or by entering your card details, what with it being all modern these days)! Give yourselves a pat on the back!

The donation page is remaining open at least until the Dragonrun 1027 target of £20K is reached. There are more challenges and fundraising events in the pipeline!

www.justgiving.com/dragonrun1027

Knocked down?…. Get back up again!

Motivation….. You’ve either got it or you haven’t…. but if you haven’t got it, you can get it! That’s a lot of “gots” and “gets”! (Hey, I’m qualified in motivation, but I’ve started by talking nonsense about it!)

What the bloomin’ heck am I on about?!

Basically a few things have popped into my mind over my past 8 weeks whilst going from totally immobile agony, to swinging around on crutches, to hopping, to hobbling, to my current state of walking, driving and waiting to find out what else in on the cards for the broken ankle saga!

I consider myself lucky in the respect that there are certain things that I am very highly motivated for:

·        Running in the dark

·        Running in the cold

·        Running in the wet

·        Running for stupidly long distances

·        Repeating the day before’s ridiculous run

·        Eating Chocolate

·        And most importantly Fundraising

The past 8 weeks I haven’t been able to do any of these things (except eating chocolate, the effects of that are apparent!), so as a result, I’ve discovered a major downfall of being me…. I lack the ability to easily channel my motivation into alternative directions. The result is that I turn into an uncharacteristic whinging, moaning, general pain in the neck! My brain, for other personal reasons doesn’t cope to well with having these things taken away.

There were a few things that were said to me prior to Dragonrun1027, that helped me deal with the fact that some people expected me to fail….

“When someone says ‘you’ll never do that’, what they really mean is that they would never do that”

“I do it because I can, I can because I want to, I want to because you think I can’t”

These two quotes, act like a front line response to doubters within me. They prevent me from getting down about being expected to fail, and more than anything, they give me the urge to prove people wrong. That’s the way I’ve always been. Moreover, they help me realise that just because somebody assumes that you will fail, it doesn’t mean they are willing you to fail. Something that I have often mis-interpreted.

I don’t have a fear of failure. If I did, I would never have made it to the start of the Dragonrun1027. What I do have is a mentality in which I prepare for just about every consequence to ensure that if I did fail it would be for completely unavoidable reasons (preparation in the form of crutches in the support vehicle, incredible expert advice, sheer pig headedness, that kind of thing!). My mantra is “Never Give Up”.

So, what am I getting at? Well…. One person who had told me I would never do it, is a seasoned club runner. A very good road runner, with marathon times that make me whince! Said person, who I shall call…. Erm…. Bob, for the purpose of this blog, recently entered a 10K race,  that he had brushed off in conversation as an easy one, he was just doing for the hell of it. Race day came and weather conditions, were not as expected (wind, rain etc). He set off, keeping to electronic pace thanks to the age of computerised running! At 6K he noticed that his split times were too far out for him to obtain a “respectable” time, so he dropped out of the race. The reason stated was that he didn’t want to have his name associated with such a slow time. (By slow he means the speed of the average bolt of lightening.) I asked Bob, a simple question, “would you rather have a slow time or DNF after your name?” (DNF is the acronym for Did Not Finish). Bob couldn’t answer that immediately, instead it got him thinking, and I passed on a few of the constructive thoughts that have crossed my mind not only during the big run, but throughout my time of taking part in races. Why drop out of a race that wasn’t going your way (with no injury), when you can learn so much from each race and training session? If the conditions aren’t how you planned, surely you can use that to help inform future training and races. And another point, why the ego?

I do admit that a couple of days later I did get a small dig about how I knew he couldn’t finish that 10K race (touché!)

It could be argued that there is a certain amount of ego involved in taking on a massive challenge and refusing to believe that you would ever fail. But at the same time, that can be constructive ego, in another words it could be described as motivation. Particularly when there are personal reasons for attempting it.

When I run, I compete against myself, not always for time, but for the challenge of getting up the hills, through the mud, over the sand dunes, against the wind, whatever gets thrown at me. That’s the beauty of my chosen sport, trail running. Throw in some Ultra distances, and there’s even more things to compete with. That’s just my thing. I now need to train my mind to use this attitude to aid recovery from the injury that could be catastrophic for this particular sport.

Everyone has a bad training session, everyone has a bad race or event at some point, but the real challenge is using the negative experiences to inform and strengthen the positive, and not to fear things not going your way.

Motivation is about finding an internal reason to do somethin, and grasping the determination to see it through. An important part of this is distinguishing between the barriers preventing you from doing something and the excuses you make for not doing it, two very different things that tend to be confused. Be honest with yourself.

The moral of this blog is “Never Give Up”. More so, never let other people’s opinions stop you from trying. To quote from Oscar Pistorius’ autobiography…

“The loser isn’t the one who crossed the finish line last… he is the one who never had the guts to stand at the start line” (this quote was written to Oscar in a letter from his mother explaining the decision process behind his bilateral amputation as a baby)

Now, whilst I kick myself up the arse to get back fighting fit to pound the trails again, there is a small group of people very special to me, who are preparing to take on their own challenges in aid of the Dragonrun1027 charities, please visit http://dragonrun1027.wordpress.com/the-hatchlings/ to see what they’re up to and show your support!