A Test Of Endurance

A short morning run, taken when I was about 17, was the innocent beginning which led to a lifestyle that I can only describe as “specialist”. In all my years I have never found anything which matches the highs and lows of the path I have taken, and although people often rush to judgement, I consider it their problem because they just do not understand. In short, I’m an endurance runner and I’m not ashamed to admit it. The joys of endurance running may be considered somewhat “niche” but I have to say that without it, I would be very bored by now. The stamina it has helped me build has come in very useful, too. I built an extension to my house last summer and ended up doing lots of the work myself. Before I took up running, I would have been in shreds after doing that much work, but I whistled my way through it in fine style.

The training runs are where I find the most enjoyment these days. I take part in races and, to be honest, I rarely finish first. My inner motor is durable as the day is long and can out up with anything I throw at it, but it just was not built for speed. As a result, I take the enjoyment where I can find it, and have picked some training runs which take me through some of the most beautiful scenery I can find anywhere. That’s what I get from running – the simple pleasures of the countryside laid out for me, no time limit to hurry me along, and my earphones in listening to music. I can’t think of anything better, I swear to you.

Of course, training far away from home has its drawbacks, not least of which is not being able to get to places quickly. Even when I’ve parked my car reasonably conveniently, the point of running for endurance is that, by the time you’ve been at it for twenty minutes, you are quite some distance away from your vehicle. So when I went over on my ankle last time out, and thought I felt something tear, I was ready to cry. I was some distance from my car – about twenty minutes’ walk with a good ankle, about an hour with one that was rapidly swelling and a makeshift crutch – and my best bet was getting back there and then driving to the nearest emergency room.

The amount of times I nearly fell over again on the way back to my car makes me cringe even now. I was exhausted, annoyed and hungry. I was also pretty thirsty, as I was rationing the water in my hydration pack to ensure that I didn’t run out before I could get anywhere near where someone could help me. God bless that little bottle though, it stopped me from just lying down in some undergrowth screaming and sobbing until someone or something came along and dragged me off. Lesson learned for the future – I’m sticking to the relatively beaten track, or bringing someone with me from now on.