jogscotlandmagazine Summer 2011
cool down Why I run… by Libby Pollock
We’ve all got different reasons whywe run. Some of uswant to loseweight, somewant to boost fitness levels. Some run to raise money for charity,while others want to push themselves towards faster times and longer distances…
So this got me thinking…why do I run?Well originally I started to run because I started working at jogscotland!Working in this office, you can’t not! So as a complete beginner I joined a local jogscotland group and started my training to become ‘a runner’.
A year later, I now run because I don't want to let my training lapse and lose the buzz of what I've achieved. I've worked hard to get to where I am today, and I’m scared that if I stop then I’ll have to start at the beginning again!
I feel a lot healthier and my thighs now wobble a bit less than they used to! I can now treat myself to a few guilt free cakes and chocolate bars from time to time. I run to get a breath of fresh air after a long day’s work and feel a lot better for it. I now sleep better and I’ve saved a fortune on coffees over the last year as sociable café outings have now been replaced by a gossip filled run around our local streets!
I run to raise money for charity. This year I am running as part of theWobblyWilliams Try Athlete team to raise money for FundingNeuro. Having already run the Asset Management Women’s 10k, I am now looking forward to running for them again at the Edinburgh Marathon Festival’s Hairy Haggis Team Relay.
So I am now also running to be part of a team, which has added a whole new level of fun to running for me! Iwas proud to run through the streets of Glasgow at theWomen’s 10k in my WobblyWilliams pink team vest! It might not have been my best performance time wise, but it was definitely the best race I’ve run due to the support of the rest of the team and the crowd!
Now, in the final days leading up to the Hairy Haggis Relay, my relay team are excitedly plotting our last training sessions, race day logistics and post race feast! Running with others is fun, keeps you motivated and makes sure you get out the door, even when you don’t feel like it!
I run to meet new people. Running really is a rather sociable affair! A fact highlighted to me once again during the recent Great Scottish Run Tour with In Demand DJ Romeo. The tour attracted jogscotland members and radio listeners, all fromdifferent walks of life but with a shared love of running, and despite not knowing each other, boy, do us runners like to talk! But the sociable aspect of running, and particularly of jogscotland, is what makes people come back formore and keep at it! Even in the wind and rain of Scotland’s ‘summertime’, groups of friends can get out and run together for the fun of it – as the front cover of this edition of Stride illustrates perfectly!
I run because I can really see and feel how I am progressing.While some choose to monitor their progress in a formal way, with sports timing and tracking devices and spreadsheets, the beauty of running for me is that you don’t necessarily need to do this (unless of course you want to) to know that you’re improving – it becomes obvious! You just start running a bit faster, for a bit longer and find it a bit easier…sometimes!
When I run, I don’t always take my watch with me, and if I do, I often forget to look at it! The other day, I bumped into a friend when out running, and we ran home together. Towards the end of the route, he sprinted off and said he’d meet me at the finish. I plodded along the final leg of our route and high-fived Craig enthusiastically marking the end of our run. He looked at me oddly and enquired why I hadn’t looked at my watch, to which I responded that I didn’t even know what time I’d started! He laughed and said I really was a ‘fun runner’… and I guess that’s right, I run for fun!
Above all the other benefits running gives me, it’s the fun element that keeps me going. So try it, once you start seeing your progress, it becomes addictive!
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