If you had asked me about running as a teenager, I’d have said it wasn’t really my thing. I didn’t understand why someone would want to run for pleasure.
It wasn’t until I tried a parkrun in 2017 that I noticed the camaraderie in the running community. All the other walkers and runners have done is praise me and push me. I used to think that I couldn’t do a parkrun because I am so slow but now I know I deserve to be there because parkrun is for everyone. Taking place in local parks all around the world, weekly five-kilometre parkrun events are free and open to people of all athletic abilities – the young, old, families, parents with prams and occasionally dogs!
It doesn’t matter if I’m the front-runner or coming in the middle of a run, everyone just encourages me to do my best and I love it. Now I look back and can’t believe that I didn’t discover running earlier: I just get so much joy out of it.
I’ve often wondered why this sport has such a different vibe to other sports.
You hear people say that with distance running ‘it’s not the finish time but the finish line’. This is true – running is just you doing whatever it takes to get across that finish line. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to do your run or if it was a good or bad run. At the end of the day, we know that we've all covered five kilometres from start to finish, and we've done it together as a community.
"Running is just you doing whatever it takes to get across that finish line." Source: Supplied
The great thing about running is that it’s not necessarily about whether you win or lose, it’s all about doing your personal best and being active. Sure there is some discipline required, but having a go is the first step. With most sports, you put pressure on yourself to do well for the team. But with running, you only have to beat yourself. It’s only you who can do [the work that’s involved] to be faster. You have to discipline yourself and put [strict] practices in place in every part in your life.
Once the running routine is down pat, it’s amazing how other parts of your life start to improve as well. When I’m running, I notice improvements with the food I’m eating, my sleeping patterns are more consistent and I generally feel more on-top of life admin chores and housework. [Discipline] goes full circle for me.
Looking at life over the long-term
At the start of January, I weighed 178 kilograms. I don’t drop weight fast but I am not on a quick fix here. Everything I do health-wise, I do so I can sustain it over the long-term. I just have to keep on working away on my running goals and my weight seems to continue in the right direction.
Of course, I have days and weeks where I think ‘this is the hardest thing ever’.
And like anyone, sometimes during a run I just want to stop. I think ‘it’s too hard. I don’t want to do it. I am not as good as everyone else’. But then, I say ‘look at how far I’ve come’. I was doing nothing 18 months ago and now, here I am. I’m 35 and I’ve completed copious running events, 37 parkruns and I’ve just done a marathon relay with six other ladies on the weekend. That is just a sentence that I never thought would come out of my mouth ‘that I was involved in a marathon relay’.
I have a few more 10 kilometre runs coming up and I want to do a half marathon. I’m also hoping that by next year, I will have a good go at the full marathon. But there’s no real end game for me. I am just going to keep adding goals to achieve.
If there is something you want to do but think ‘I have to wait to be a certain size before I do it’, you don’t. Just get up and do it. Even if it sucks, it hurts and the reality of your dream is not how you envisioned it would be, just do it. It’s okay that we are here and it’s okay if we aren’t like anyone else. We just have to show up, try our best and feel proud of ourselves.
The Medibank Free + Active program is a commitment to help all Australians feel happier, healthier and more connected. With a goal to have 1.5 million Aussies take part in Free + Active in the next five years, the program encourages everyone to get together and get moving, while also bringing together a range of community based partners, highlighting free, fun and social activities. To find a local Medibank Free + Active program like parkrun near you,
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