REPs Magazine Spring 2016 | Page 30

P

ounding through the
streets on a cold autumn
night, lit only by shopfronts, car headlights and
that thing in the sky Neil Armstrong
may or may not have bounced upon,
I’m a happy man. With the slapping
of my feet and the odd heckler as
my soundtrack, the city acts as my
unlikely eye-candy.

© Photography: Jody Wright | Shoes and Jacket: Saucony | Hat: Known

But I spent years trying to find
myself as a runner. A 10k here, multiterrain there and the occasional fun
run for good measure. I ran to be fit,
but I didn’t get a buzz from it.
The problem was that for an action
supposed to be free and liberating, I
was attaching too many formalities
and unwritten rules. Distance, time,
gradient, tempo, mileage, recovery,
hydration, gait – I made running more
complicated than it needed to be
and then couldn’t understand why
I wasn’t enjoying it. It is often these
details, important for professional
athletes and serious amateurs, which
can confuse the novice, alienate the
uninitiated and wear down anyone
with a touch of OCD.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.
There’s a run there for everyone if
we all look hard enough.
Despite being the epitome of
running, I never saw myself
completing a marathon. A gruelling
26 or so miles in honour of Greek
Soldier Pheidippides, who apparently

wasn’t dressed as a Disney character
or wearing the latest shoes, may
suit those searching for a meditative
pilgrimage but was never on my
agenda.
I tried to make friends with the
treadmill but while it saved me from
the rain and I never got lost, this

30 www.exerciseregister.org

REPS_ 29-31 OCT_RONNYTERRY.indd 30

21/04/2016 11:11