Well, I’ve made it back for another weekly blog! In running it’s sometimes said that the 2nd run is the most important when getting into running. The 1st run is usually littered with all the things you shouldn’t do, going off too fast, getting a stitch, poor weather, struggling to breath, the aches, and pains! Enough to make you decide not to go again. But if you do go for the 2nd run in a short period of time after the first i.e., days not months or years; then it becomes a great habit.
First things first. Had I always been interested in running? Resounding no! I’m a Geordie. I’d happily run playing football all day if given the chance. Imagining I was playing for the Toon, trying to emulate my heroes, Keegan, Beardsley, Waddle or Gazza. So no, I had no interest in running as a kid for the sake of running. But then how many kids in the 80s did? Even now a lot of people don’t get into running until they are adults. The reasons are varied and something we’ll touch in the next few weeks.
I have, however, always been a huge fan of Athletics. I remember the 1984 LA Olympics, or more accurately the Athletics of the ’84 Olympics. We were in Vancouver at the time visiting my uncle and his family and we watched quite a bit of it live. I was familiar with a certain athlete called Steve Cram of course. The Jarrow arrow. The local lad who made it to the Olympics. Others were focused on the battle between Ovett and Coe. Daley Thompson transfixed me. My first sporting hero who wasn’t a Newcastle United footballer!
He could run fast, he could run far, he could jump, throw items long distances, and pole vault! Surely the one field event we would all like to try. So, I was hooked on Athletics. Carl Lewis, Linford Christie, Fatima Whitbread, Steve Backley, Kriss Akabusi; the list goes on of athletes I loved watching. Because of Steve Cram, the middle distance appealed the most but sprinting, the field events and then long distance got me hooked.
There is a reason I mention all the above. At this time, I attended a school called St Peters Primary School in Low Fell Gateshead. Yes, I know. I don’t look like I’m Catholic! It was the school my parents really wanted me to go to. A catholic school to their minds meant discipline, a very good education and more importantly as one of the few Asian families in Gateshead at the time, a Catholic school meant if I suffered any racism there would be zero tolerance of it. Thankfully, they were right, especially for the last point. As a young boy with a top knot, I stood out, but the headmaster of the school, Mr. Moffat, supported my parents desire to attend his school. Anyhow, I digress!!
The reason I mention this is that if you were in 3rd or 4th year Juniors; I believe this is now called Years 5 and 6; in Gateshead, it was compulsory to run the Junior Great North Run at the time. At least I think it was! I don’t remember being able to opt out! Back when the GNR started it used to be in June and not September as it is now. The junior GNR I believe was 5 miles! It was on the Saturday. It used some of the route of the main race. You got to Heworth roundabout. Ran around it and went back the way you had come, on the other side of the dual carriage way. The finish was the only thing I liked. Typical right?! It finished on the track in Gateshead Stadium. By amazing coincidence, I finished both the ones I did with the same school friend. Let’s call him Michael! And both took roughly 1 hour. Looking back, not too shabby!
Once I got to secondary school though when you were encouraged to enter, I never did. For 2 years I did it as I thought you had to; and you probably did in all honesty but there was no way I was doing it voluntarily!! In the weeks leading up to both races, 1986 and 1987, we trained in the playground of the school. The playground was like a ‘J’ shape. So, there was a short period of time where we were out of view of Mr. Murray who oversaw the training. And myself and my best friend would stop running when we got out of view! We would then come back into the main part behind whoever we had been behind. Clever right? We thought so. Then others copied us! They weren’t as aware and would actually come straight back into view having cut out a section. Mr. Murray got wise to it so stood at the bottom of the playground, so it wasn’t possible to cheat! I should mention the playground was on a hill, so it was like doing hill sessions! For 30 to 40 minutes. Torture. These days though I need that long to get into my rhythm for the long distance I prefer.
Secondary school. One of our PE teachers tried to get us to do cross country. We didn’t like it. We kept taking shortcuts. We got told off. We did detention, but still kept taking shortcuts. After 4 weeks he abandoned trying to get us to do cross country! We stuck to playing football, occasionally rugby and Athletics in the summer.
And that was about as much as I can say about young me and running! I would watch all Athletics on TV and was lucky enough to see some great Athletes come and compete at the Gateshead Stadium but being a runner was not for me. Mainly as I was overweight when I got to secondary school and kept on putting in weight, so running was tough.
When I sent to university though, that weight dropped off. Cooking for yourself, on a budget; walking everywhere on campus, playing lots of football (what else) saw me lost 5 stone in my first year. In the 3rd year we lived near the running track at Birmingham University so 3 days a week I would go and do between 10 to 20 laps. I got into a routine. I quite enjoyed it. I loved watching GNR on TV; as a kid I watched it in person on the Tyne Bridge; and promised myself I would enter it and do it at least once. Then I graduated. Went to India for 6 months. Came back married. Found a job. Forgot all about running and found work colleagues to, you guessed it, play football with!!
Throughout my 20s I promised myself I would do the GNR. I did it as a junior so I might as well do the full version I thought. I never though tried to get into running. Until? Yep. I put lots of weight back on. Even then it was lots of treadmill running as I was self-conscious. In 2005 for some unknown reason, I decided to enter the ballot for the London marathon! It was a race I watched every year. I loved watching the elites but then I became even more intrigued by all the charity runners, ordinary people like me who trained for it and did it. I was hooked and so I entered the ballot. This is in the days of Flora sponsoring it. The days of entries only opened for 1 day. Guess what? Nope. Not that! I did not get a place in the ballot but on getting the rejection letter I applied for a charity place, said I could raise the £2,500 minimum required for the place and got it! At this point I had still not done any road running at all. This is October 2005. I was about to turn 30 so I thought the challenge would be good!!
I had no running friends. This was just as broadband was coming in and dial up was on the way out! Social media was not really a thing. Unless you count Friends Reunited or Myspace. So basically, I had no idea what I was doing! I received a training plan from the charity and started following it in Jan 2006. One week later I took a nasty fall playing football. I know! I broke my wrist. I had to have pins put into it to allow the bone to heal properly. So, I had to defer the London marathon to 2007. I was gutted but I knew it was for the best. I hadn’t taken it seriously enough. However, I decided that instead of a marathon being my first event, a half marathon should be! So, I got a charity place for the 2007 GNR!
Yes, I know. Why would someone who never really took to running try to get into it by training for a marathon? Not a 5k, not a 10k, not even a half. But the whole 26.2 miles. I’m not sure. But in a way that broken wrist did me a favour. I’m certain I would not have finished the marathon if I had done it as planned in 2006. By at least doing the GNR that year first I realized that running a marathon is serious business. It should have been obvious! It wasn’t. I was too laid back when I entered the ballot. I’d say it was an arrogant decision. Watching TV, thinking if they can do it, so can I. One mantra I have maintained for a number of years now based on all those races where I got it wrong is to respect the distance. That’s why when I finally attempt 100 miles it’ll be with full focus and commitment and lots of experience!
So, I leave you in 2006! We’ll pick up with how I prepared for that first half, how it helped (or did it) my preparation for my first marathon in 2007.
Feel free to comment or email me any questions or things you would like me to talk about.
Never done.
Usingh Bolt - Endurance Runner 
Loved hearing about your early story, thank you! We had cross country at my school, on top of a hill. Freezing! Lots of people used to stop and hide under the trees (even have a ciggie under them) so I didn’t come last sometimes (I was a year ahead of myself but no one thought of taht in sports terms, being a year younger, hm. Put me off sports for years!). I was a big Olympics fan, too, and really remember those names you recount. I think I wanted to be Daley Thompson, too!
LikeLike