I run, so you dont have to
When I strip it right back, further and further, peel off every layer till I get to the very soul of it, running comes down to me versus me. Every run I have ever done, every race I have ever run, every second, was 100% me. Not 95%, not even 96%. When I next run a performance I am proud of, I want all the glory, I don’t want to share it with my enormous, expensive shoes.
Cardiff Half, the weather, the atmosphere, the organisation, it is all incredible. I have been put up by a lovely couple (Gwenno and Dylan), have had a great night sleep, training has gone well, and in the warm up I am feeling light and ready. On the start line, with 27,500 runners behind me, I feel great. 4 miles into the race, we go up a hill. It hurts. I want to quit.
I have struggled with my running since the ON Snowdonia Trail Marathon. It was probably the best opportunity for me to qualify to run for GB, but I blew it. I wrote an honest blog about it, hoping it would give me closure, and it kindof did. But also kindof didn’t.
I am driving on the way to the race when an extremely rare white rhino steps onto the road, so I swerve, lose control, and smash through a barrier, off the Golden Gate bridge and into the river, where I have to break free from my sinking Delorean (purple) and swim to the bank, chased all the way by robot piranhas. I make it to the race just in time, but I’m a bit tired and wet.
I am nervous the week leading into this race. Having run the Snowdonia Trail Marathon on the Sunday, smashing my body and mind against the cold rocks of Snowdon, I now have 6 days to get ready for the International Snowdon Race, 10 miles up and down Snowdon as quick as you can. I have the added pressure and privilege of being selected to represent Wales, and also Snowdon Race being chosen as part of the World Cup Series this year.
I’m done with disappointments and underachieving, done with seeing my friends make it, while I don’t. I’m tired of being a zero.
I am the fastest marathon runner here. I am the current Snowdonia Marathon champion. I am the fastest descender here. I live here. I have practised this course more than anyone. This is my race. This is my time.
I see some very good runners on the start line. I’m happy they’ve come, I want to race them. I’m not afraid of anyone.
