Running - Routes, Events and Motivation ...

[Madonepro]

Too often, people who like computing, tech and gaming, are accused of not being interested in sports, or activities that get them outdoors. Now I can only speak to my pursuits, but I am sure there are many others out there, who run. Run for exercise, run for clarity of thought, run to compete, and run to lose weight.

Let's share some of the wisdom we've learnt from this pursuit, and some of the great places and events we've participated in.

My journey with running, (other than at school, and university) commenced around the late 90's, as I wanted to join the Royal Australian Navy, and they didn't have a cycling fitness test, so I took up running. I did that for a couple of years, and took part in a few half marathons, 10k, 5k's, and a running 3k series in Melbourne, Australia. In the late 2010's, I took up running, after seeing the sport of cycling, that I excelled in, competed in for my birth country, get overrun with 'corporate' types, pushing the price of everything to do with cycling, through the roof, and the (IMO) ethos of the sport from being a working class sport, to 'the new golf', (I blame the popularity of Lance Armstrong, and the subsequent media and marketing push that made the sport ubiquitous).

I've stuck with it since then, through Covid, and moving a few times around the world. Post Covid, I found myself in London, and offered a place in the London Marathon through work, and managed to run fast enough to qualify, and run Boston. I have since then, run Chicago, New York, and Tokyo, and had booked, and commenced training for the Berlin Marathon in two weeks time, but discovered (by sheer misfortune) that I have an issue with my Aortic Root, that requires me to have a procedure during October. I deferred my place in Berlin, and rebooked my flights for the approx time next year, and will use that goal to get me through the next year. I had aimed to go sub 3 for the marathon, and had achieved a 03:00:42 this year in Tokyo, (after training through a Perth, Australian summer). My goal will simply to complete the marathon, and get my Abbot World Six Major medal. Depending on how it all goes, and as they've added 1 more marathon to the list, and are planning 2 more by 2027, achieving the World 9 Major medal, might be the future goal.

What's yours...

 

[Apple fanboy]

No interest in running most of my life. But started around 5 or so years ago to help with weight loss and general fitness.
Purchasing an AW helped me a lot.

Btw I’m really a jogger rather than a runner. I rarely run outside as I have no pavements where I live.

It helps offset the desk job.

 

[Madonepro]

No interest in running most of my life. But started around 5 or so years ago to help with weight loss and general fitness.
Purchasing an AW helped me a lot.

Btw I’m really a jogger rather than a runner. I rarely run outside as I have no pavements where I live.

It helps offset the desk job.

I tend to believe that jogging/running are the one and same, although I'm sure that they'll be some that won't agree. I have a job that keeps me on my feet, 12000 a day, and whilst that is good, it impacts my running.

 

[maflynn]

For me, I realized I was wasting my life as a couch potato. I was in my 30s, and all I did was work, head home and sit in front of the tv. It didn't help that on my father's side there's a history of heart disease.

I starting biking, hiking, roller blading and running. Not all of them at once but those were the tasks that I picked up over the next several months and years. Running has stuck with me, first struggling to run a city block, then 2,then 3. Since then I've run a number of races, I used to do 2 or 3 races a year, did a few half marathons.

It was training for the half marathon, that I found that running beyond 10 miles was not fun, so I kept it to that amount. I'm older, and due to various reasons I'll not get into, the distance has decreased quite a bit, but I still enjoy running.

I tend to believe that jogging/running

I don't know if there's an official definition, but my view is that jogging is a slow place, just rumbling along, so to speak, running is, well running. Do a 5k race and you'll see the difference, the first segment of people are full bore running the entire race, but in the. middle and end of the group of people, there's folks like me just going their own pace.

 

[Mousse]

My knees can't handle the strain of running anymore.🤕 I used to run a lot in my younger years, then I took an arrow to the knee.

 

[TechRunner]

Ran cross country in college, then took about ten years off. Became friends with a couple of runners when I was working for a major athletic shoe company and started again. Did seven marathons, the Eastern States 20 miler, the Boston Prep 16 miler in Derry, NH, three half marathons, and numerous shorter races.

Gave up racing about 15 years ago, but still run shorter, slower distances for general conditioning and to stay in shape for hiking and backpacking.

Edit: When someone asked me the difference between running and jogging, I'd quip, "About three to five minutes per mile". A famous runner (I forget who) said the difference was a race entry form. I always liked that one.

 

[mcrain]

53 here. In May I was in a boot and close to my heaviest unable to do much of anything. (I have on ultra (less than 50k and a failed 50k as my longest runs a couple of years ago). I had a trip to do a 14,000 peak in Colorado, so as soon as I was cleared to do 10 min on the elliptical, mid-June, I started. I was told you have to be able to do a marathon at sea level to handle that elevation. Two weeks ago, I got near the peak, but weather was bad. Two days later, we did hope pass near Leadville and part of the ultra there. Last weekend I did a trail run of 27 miles which was my goal. I tell this story because when i started in June, I could barely do the run portions of a walk run. I may be slow, but if I can do it, so can anyone. (My 27 last weekend had more elevation gain than the mountain and the pass).

Anyway, this desk jockey feels a lot better.