Runners

WORDS: LEO SPALL. PHOTOGRAPH: DAN ROSSJULY 2018 RUNNERSWORLD.CO.UK 031``````MYRUNNINGLIFE``````Leo’s father, Ralph, died fromprostate cancer last May, and thatloss was the driving force for thisunusual undertaking – at least oneof the poems he recited was abouthis dad. ‘It helped me make sense ofthat moment,’ he says.The link between running and poetryis long established, with writersmusing about humans in motion sincethe ancient Greeks. Leo’s works havemore varied subject matter, but heinterprets some of them as havingthemes applicable to running. ‘I’ve oftencome up with poems after running,’ hesays. ‘But during, I find it meditative- my brain switches into a dierentmode because running is so repetitive.’ Before this latest attempt, Leo hadfinished two marathons, but onlybegan running as a way of completinghis rehabilitation after knee surgery.FOR ANYONE who has everstruggled to find distractionwhile pounding out the miles inmarathon training or races, LeoSedgley might have just the answer.If audiobooks, music or the wondersof the great outdoors haven’t done itfor you, what about stopping regularlyto recite a poem? That is what Leodid on the side of the course at April’sBrighton Marathon, in honour of hislate father. His plan was to finishsomewhere between 4:30 and 5:00,but having to carry a mini stage withhim took its toll and he finished in5:56. ‘At mile 12, I gave the stage to afriend and concentrated mainly onthe running part,’ says the 46-year-oldfrom Lewes, Sussex.‘I’ve done some performance art andI thought it’d be fun in a marathon,’ headds. ‘I was reading poems – it givesme pleasure to share those things –and raising money for Prostate Cancer,thinking about my dad.’Leo completed a streak of writing apoem every day last year. He publishedthem on his Facebook page and likedthe regularity and focus it gave him.The self-styled Guerilla Poet usedsome of them on marathon day,reciting most from memory. Sometook seconds to perform, others acouple of minutes but, as mentalfatigue was inevitable, he had paperversions with him just in case. Thelast one, written specially, was calledThe Final Step (see extract, right).Leo got used to making himselfheard in busy environments byrandomly dropping into pubs in hishometown and reading out poemsto the assembled drinkers as a testof his mettle. The poetry part of hismarathon challenge, at least, shouldhave been a little less intimidating.‘Training to run that far whiletrying to memorise poems stimulateseverything,’ he says. ‘And it works forme to have a purpose rather than justthe thing I’m doing.’``````The Final Step``````‘A time to pauseand drink my illof this deliciousmoment/Tomarvel at thetriumph of willof all the feet thathit the street/Asnow they take theinal step theirwork complete.’ ``````As a boy he used to look for shortcutsin cross-country at school, being moreinterested in sprinting and football. Hisfirst 26.2 challenge was the notoriouslytough Beachy Head trail marathon in2010, a spontaneous decision he maynot have taken had he done moreresearch. ‘I just looked for local racesand thought the hills would be nice,’he says. ‘I didn’t realise it was such anarduous one!’ During the race, he wasovertaken by an elderly woman walkerwho appeared to have just popped outto the shops.Leo took on Brighton the next year,but had hamstring trouble and wasn’t agreat deal faster. He is now tempted torun a marathon without the stage, soat least his experiences have not madehim averse to running.POETRYINMO T IONShall I compare thee to along run? Meet the manwho recited poems whilerunning a marathon``````TAKING A STANDFOR POETRYLeo rhymesfor a reasonHRH R