Just over two years ago a leaflet dropped through my letter box; it was advertising various running events in support of a charity I can’t recall. Something catches my eye: 100k run!
I’d never run a marathon before, not even a half, but ‘how hard could it be?’ I thought. Having recently read ‘Yes Man’ I was feeling inspired, and committed to it in an instant.
My friends thought I was crazy, few said I could do it. After all, I’d given myself 7 weeks to train, and to make matters worse, it was across the Pennines from Manchester to Sheffield. This didn’t deter me though, in fact it made me more determined to prove everyone wrong.
And I did!
It’s a sense of achievement words can’t describe, I was on top of the world. This is something I wanted to and had to repeat.
The following year I decided to run another 100k, though this time I wanted be more prepared, train properly and race for a time. Which I did.
I got a good time and position, but it wasn’t the same. I just didn’t get that buzz, and it disappointed me. It was here I realised that I was only attempting to achieve a target that was already achieved, where is the accomplishment in that?
I wanted to set that feeling right. So, this year, I signed up for a 24-hour-run. Again, people said I was crazy, that I couldn’t do it.
At the start line I found athletes in appropriate attire surrounded me. Then there I am in shorts and t-shirt wishing I had prepared for rain, mud and the night sky.
When I finished I felt the same emotion I had experienced the very first time. I had achieved a target seemingly out of my reach and from this point on I made this my vow, to only aim for a target I can’t see or touch, that’s beyond me and that I would have to fight tooth and nail for.
This leads me on to the point of this story, my next challenge.
In 2016 I aim to run 10,000 miles for charity. To put that in to perspective, that’s over 27 miles a day or the equivalent of nearly half way round the world.
Is it possible? Who knows? All I know, is that I believe only a few people in the world have ever done this type of distance; the last had to quit his job; I however, can’t afford that luxury.
Why 10,000? Well, my original target was five. But after bumping into an old friend whose reaction was: “you can easily do that”. It made me realise that I had set my target too low. Luckily that chance meet ensured that I didn’t go back on my vow.
Why am I am I doing this? A good friend asked me the other day and I struggled to articulate it, partly because I didn’t know, other than I just knew I had to do this.
The answer is that I want to dictate what people remember me for, I want to create a legacy and I want to inspire. In parallel, I want to use this as a spring board to do good and to raise money for good causes.
No matter how stupid, ridiculous or impossible it may seem, if you want to do something and it feels right, just go for it! No matter how big or small, if it’s important to you, if it makes you happy then you should make it happen! You only live once.
This will be hard, extremely hard. Yes, I’m a good runner but this is even beyond me – for now. And even I think it’s crazy. I will have to make sacrifices, this is a year out of my life. I’ll have to make significant changes to my lifestyle and diet, then maintain it for a year. But I must not forget that other people will be making sacrifices too.
Fortunately I have great friends and family who are understanding and willing to support me. I am excited and I’m not quite sure this journey will end. But I know how it starts, and it starts today. Endless planning and promoting. I’m not just running, I have some crazy ideas too. Watch this space: https://www.facebook.com/Run10000-700473793386647/timeline/
