Running Ultras - Why?
Fed up
Back in January 2015, at the age of 34, I was fed up.
Fed up of my relationship that wasn't going in any real direction.
Fed up with eating too much food and getting fatter.
Fed up of a job that didn't really value me, or pay me enough.
And fed up of my life in general.
The relationship
I'd been with my partner for about 5 years - and things were kinda great, we got drunk a lot and were quite good mates while at the pub. We went to all the parties together and people thought we were great fun.
Problem was, we were rarely together while at the parties and at home we didn't really talk to each other. We'd simply watch telly in silence while boozing.
The romance was long gone.
We were at very different stages in life. Me being 10 years older meant that I was ready to settle down and start thinking about family. My partner was still interested in getting wasted - which to be honest I had encouraged and collaborated with in previous years.
In reality we were both unhappy. I pushed her away and eventually we made the break in March.
The fat
When I became single again I weighed around 16 stone (220lb/100kg) and I looked like shit. I'd given up on personal appearance for quite a long time.
I knew I wanted to lose some weight.
Now don't get me wrong - I wasn't after a beach body, and I aint no pretty boy. I just wanted to shift a bit of the belly so that clothes looked a bit better and someone might one day fancy me again.
Over the years I'd tried diets with mixed results. But I always ended up putting that weight back on with interest. I knew I needed to be a bit more drastic with my diet to kickstart a change. As a youth I had some issues with obsessively under-eating - so I knew I needed to be careful not to fall into old bad habits. But I needed to reduce my intake of calories.
I chose to cut down my meals to one a day - and in that meal I could eat what I wanted.
In the next few months I lost around 25lb.
And I even went on a couple of dates.
The job
I was a copywriter for a ski holiday company. Perks of my job included snowboarding and staying at various 4 and 5 star hotels (all good research) for some of the winter - and getting paid for it. Also there was a really good office atmosphere. I was the most experienced in my team and overall I liked my job.
But also, in my experience, enjoying a job equates to low pay - and being taken advantage of. It was tough work (when not on the mountain) and we were always stretched.
So when my best friend, who lives in Japan, invited me to his wedding (in Japan) I requested some holiday - for a 10 day trip. The problem was that the wedding trip slightly overlapped with our busiest time of year (I'd lose the first 2 days of a month long project). I'm no stranger to working extra hours to hit deadlines, so set out a plan in which I'd make up the time. My boss refused my holiday point blank.
It was a bit of a bluff when I handed in my notice. I thought she would reconsider my request and work with me. As it was, my boss accepted my resignation - preferring to do the work entirely without me.
Back in January 2015, at the age of 34, I was fed up.
Fed up of my relationship that wasn't going in any real direction.
Fed up with eating too much food and getting fatter.
Fed up of a job that didn't really value me, or pay me enough.
And fed up of my life in general.
The relationship
I'd been with my partner for about 5 years - and things were kinda great, we got drunk a lot and were quite good mates while at the pub. We went to all the parties together and people thought we were great fun.
Problem was, we were rarely together while at the parties and at home we didn't really talk to each other. We'd simply watch telly in silence while boozing.
The romance was long gone.
We were at very different stages in life. Me being 10 years older meant that I was ready to settle down and start thinking about family. My partner was still interested in getting wasted - which to be honest I had encouraged and collaborated with in previous years.
In reality we were both unhappy. I pushed her away and eventually we made the break in March.
The fat
When I became single again I weighed around 16 stone (220lb/100kg) and I looked like shit. I'd given up on personal appearance for quite a long time.
I knew I wanted to lose some weight.
Now don't get me wrong - I wasn't after a beach body, and I aint no pretty boy. I just wanted to shift a bit of the belly so that clothes looked a bit better and someone might one day fancy me again.
Over the years I'd tried diets with mixed results. But I always ended up putting that weight back on with interest. I knew I needed to be a bit more drastic with my diet to kickstart a change. As a youth I had some issues with obsessively under-eating - so I knew I needed to be careful not to fall into old bad habits. But I needed to reduce my intake of calories.
I chose to cut down my meals to one a day - and in that meal I could eat what I wanted.
In the next few months I lost around 25lb.
And I even went on a couple of dates.
The job
I was a copywriter for a ski holiday company. Perks of my job included snowboarding and staying at various 4 and 5 star hotels (all good research) for some of the winter - and getting paid for it. Also there was a really good office atmosphere. I was the most experienced in my team and overall I liked my job.
But also, in my experience, enjoying a job equates to low pay - and being taken advantage of. It was tough work (when not on the mountain) and we were always stretched.
So when my best friend, who lives in Japan, invited me to his wedding (in Japan) I requested some holiday - for a 10 day trip. The problem was that the wedding trip slightly overlapped with our busiest time of year (I'd lose the first 2 days of a month long project). I'm no stranger to working extra hours to hit deadlines, so set out a plan in which I'd make up the time. My boss refused my holiday point blank.
It was a bit of a bluff when I handed in my notice. I thought she would reconsider my request and work with me. As it was, my boss accepted my resignation - preferring to do the work entirely without me.
At the time I was angry that my boss had such little regard for me and all the work/effort I had done for her and the company. That resentment took a while to get over.
Fortunately, I quickly lined up an interview for a temp job to start just after the Japan trip finished. The pay was awful but it would be enough to keep my head above water. And I got it.
Life in general
It was now the start of August 2015.
In the previous 12 months I was bored and apathetic of just about everything.
And I was now living in (essentially) a bedsit, working a second job in a pub to try to make the Japan trip affordable and to keep a roof over my head for when I got back. I'd been on a couple of dates - that weren't really great. I'd now packed in my main source of income and life was looking pretty bleak.
At this point I decided I'd look at moving over to Austria and working the winter season in a ski resort - little did I know things wouldn't quite work out to plan.
Life begins at 35
2 weeks before Japan and I went on another date. I really liked her. And she seemed to like me. We even squeezed in a second date before I went away.
While in Japan I messaged her every day.
I even told my best friend that if we could make it past the start of 2016 we would one day have kids together.
Japan
Japan was an amazing trip - I saw my best friend in the whole world have an awesome day with friends and family - and I got to make a speech. And I didn't get really pissed and make an arse of myself.
Japan was an amazing trip - I saw my best friend in the whole world have an awesome day with friends and family - and I got to make a speech. And I didn't get really pissed and make an arse of myself.
While over in Japan, walking up Mount Fuji overnight, to watch the sunrise from the peak, was highly recommended by a friend. I had no idea of what equipment I might need. So dressed in jeans and t-shirt, I bought a stick and (possibly the worst) headtorch (ever) at the Shubishiri 5th (base) station and walked around 8km through the night and climbed around 2,000 metres. It took about 6 hours I guess. Those numbers don't sound tough really now, but for someone not in the best shape or prepared that was pretty good. Plus I was bouncing up the volcano with relative ease, while people around me were looking a bit shell-shocked. I then ran down the mountain in about 45 minutes.
Back to England
Japan had ignited something in me. I realised that my feet are an amazing transportation device. They can lift me to the top of Fuji and they can lift me out of this slump.
I started dating that girl - I think it's safe to say she became my girlfriend - give or take a few rocky days. And I turned 35.
The new job was OK - I got offered a permanent contract within a couple of months, with a promotion and a big pay rise. I was doing OK. I bumped into a friend from my old work and we had a good catch-up. She invited me to move in with her and her flatmates and out of the bedsit.
Things were starting to look up.
Boredom was back
But I still wasn't all that happy in myself.
When I wasn't seeing the girlfriend or working though I was bored.
When bored I eat and drink - I'd started eating fairly normally by now so I thought some exercise might counter the eating.
When bored I eat and drink - I'd started eating fairly normally by now so I thought some exercise might counter the eating.
I just felt like running
So one Saturday, in March 2016, I went for a run.
I decided to do the parkrun thing I'd heard about. In case you don't know about parkrun - it is a 5km timed run around a park that takes place every Saturday morning in local parks.
I completed that first parkrun in about 30 minutes, but I'd also already run about the same distance to get there on time. And it wasn't too hard really.
I decided I'd get a barcode so I could find out my time properly the next time I ran.
The next week I ran it in 25 minutes and 53 seconds.
I was instantly hooked.
I then bought a running watch - Polar M400 - that could track every running move I made.
Running 5k isn't ultra running
On a walk in the Surrey Hills in May with the girlfriend I remember getting some of that feeling of euphoria I got from climbing Fuji again. Our feet had taken us up some hills and to see some great scenery. I didn't want to run around Bushy Park only - I needed more.
So, after seeing a post of another old colleague on facebook about his ultra running adventures I looked for an ultra marathon locally. I found the Surrey Hills Challenge in September. 60km from Haslemere to Dorking. That gave me about 4 months of training to get ready.
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