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WHAT’S INSPIRED, IMPRESSED OR, PERHAPS, ANNOYED YOU LATELY ABOUT RUNNING OR RUNNERS? THE WRITER
OF THE WINNING EMAIL OR LETTER RECEIVES A PAIR OF SAUCONY TRIUMPH ISO 5S, WORTH £140
RUNNER’S WORLD, Unit 9, Apollo Business Centre, Trundleys Road, Deptford, London SE8 5JE
Email [email protected] Tweet @runnersworlduk Facebook runnersworldukMAY 2019 RUNNERSWORLD.COM/UK 031WE ASK, YOU ANSWER
IF YOU COULD RUN WITH ANYONE, ALIVE
OR DEAD, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
HH RR
RUNNING GAG
I reduced my mileage this week and
it coincided with lots of potholes
appearing on my route. I felt like I
was tapering over the cracks...
Craig Allen, GloucesterBa-dum-tish! Reminds me
of the time when I started
sleeping more and running
PBs. It was a rested development...
[That’ll be enough of that – Ed]MIND GAINS
I’ve been very interested to see a
lot of articles in Runner’s World
recently about harnessing the
power of your mind to improve
your training. After having a really
bad time through the last half of
the London Marathon in 2016, I
swore I would never run a marathon‘My son Sean, who
died 24 years ago,
at the age of five, in a
traffic accident. In my
head and heart, he runs
every run by my side.’- Stephanie O’Brien
‘My late husband. He
got me into running
and we aimed to run
the London Marathon
together. Sadly, he
was killed in action,
aged 27, but I’ve run
London twice
since then,
wearing his
dog tags.’- Liv TF
‘Prodigy singer
Keith Flint – I’d
tell him he’s not
alone.’- Rachel Read
‘My mum, who passed
away 10 years ago. She
gave me the belief that
I could run. I run my
first 50-mile ultra in
six weeks’ time:
the medal will be
dedicated to her.’- Melanie Lawson
‘Bon Jovi – just for the
moment when we were
halfway there...’- Paul Vine
‘Emil Zátopek. Total
running legend who
won the 5,000m,
10,000m and the
marathon in the same
Olympics [1952].’- Jamie McGrory
‘My mum, who passed
away last year, aged- I’ll always
remember her
comments when I
finished my first
London Marathon:
“Well, that’s very
good.”’
- Tony De Ferry‘Dolly Parton. We
would laugh our way
around – she’d need a
good sports bra,
though.’- Samantha
Kedwards
again. Fast-forward three years and
here I am, training for London once
again. Except this time, I went
straight to a clinical hypnotherapist
to try to unpick some of my worry
and anxiety about ‘the last time’.
It is really paying off. I completed
a half marathon in hard one-mile
laps in truly dismal conditions at
the weekend and was able to easily
put aside my various worries and
anxieties while running to focus
on the positive aspects of the run
and embrace the challenge. Great
to see that a more holistic approach
to training is starting to become
more mainstream!
Georgie Parkinson, YorkDan, his partner and
the awesome power
of a labradorRunning helped
Joanne return
to full healthSTRIDING FORWARDS
My partner and I live extremely busy
lives, and the past six months have
been some of the hardest we have
faced. My partner has had a hard
road to recovery from a shoulder
operation and the stresses of a
nursing degree, and all while we
moved into our first home. It has put
a strain on our relationship and, at
times, it didn’t seem we would pull
through. As if all these things were
not enough, we rescued a chocolate
labrador. He needs lots of exercise,
so we began running together.
Since then, we’ve never stopped
running; it helps us to clear our
minds and focus on the now. It’s a
kind of meditation. Running has
brought us back together and we
can’t get enough of it.
Dan Hale, via emailRECOVERY RUN
After suffering badly with mental
illness for many years, including a
diagnosis of personality disorder and
being sectioned twice in 2018, it was
suggested by my mental health nurse
that I take up running. I was naive
about this. I was severely depressed,
highly anxious and very paranoid –
I didn’t think running could help. But
one day, after motivation from my
mental health nurse, I went for a
short run. From that moment on,
my anxiety and depression improved
and my paranoia slowly got better.
I realised running played a huge role
in my aim for recovery. For the first
time in years, I didn’t feel like I was
defined by my illness. I wasn’t a
patient or a service user: I’m a runner.
Bex Gibbons, via emailRUNNING TO THE RESCUE
I have recently had to have a
hysterectomy because of a tumour
and I signed up RW to help my mind
with the rehab. I was truly inspired
by the information provided on many
subjects – it helped my mental state
and my surgical recovery. During my
recovery, I decided to apply for the
London Marathon and got a place.
I’m now back to full health – and
nothing makes me happier than a
good run.
Joanne Ingleson, via email