Since when did I like running?

As we've discussed in my other blog post, I hated running when I was growing up. Apart from begrudgingly competing in my local sports day doing the 200m and 400m sprint, you wouldn't catch me running. In fact, you would catch me repeatedly answering “no, no…I don't like running” when asked by other people when I was going to take up the hobby just like my parents had. My parents spent most of my childhood running, starting a hill running club with their friends 10 years ago in the area I am from. From then on, I spent much of my time surrounded by runners daily and most of my weekends travelling to various locations in the middle of nowhere to watch hundreds of lycra wearing runners.…..run past me, including my mum and dad.

I couldn't possibly understand how people would find this sort of thing fun let alone rewarding, or why they would possibly want to spend their weekends doing this. Over the years, my mum gradually started to shift from completing 10k and half marathons, to completing marathons and trail ultramarathons. Slowly but surely shifting my job from standing at the side of a nice park for 1 or 2 hours to standing in the middle of nowhere for hours on end, in all-weather to support. I had no appreciation for the challenge that was at hand and truly was baffled as to why so many people had showed up to complete this bizarre event.

Over the years and as I got older, I started to find myself borrowing my parents running kit and taking myself out runs. Much to my annoyance my parents began to say to me “Gosh you're turning out just like us” whilst bringing up my hatred I had for running when I was younger. And annoyingly, they are very correct. In the last few years running has become one of the major hobbies in my life and spending numerous hours a week out trail running has become something I look forward to the most. I hate to admit it, but I do in-fact love running and cannot get enough of it. I can't quite explain where the sudden love for the sport has come from but I'm sure it has something to do with being brought up surrounded by it my whole life.

My sister just completed her first 50-mile ultramarathon in the summer down in the Lake District and I was still on supporting duty! So, I think it is only fitting that the youngest member of the family has started taking up running and hopefully next year I will be the one running the ultramarathon!

The Lakeland 50, 2024