Thank you to Amanda (irunelite.com) for the Liebster Award nomination! As a recreational runner who is performing against himself rather than aiming to win races or age group divisions, its really interesting to hear insights and observations from an elite runner. Although I haven’t been following her blog for long, I feel its a great source of information and inspiration for runners or athletes (amateur, professional or anywhere between) of all stripes. I’ve been lucky enough to get a ballot entry place in next years London Marathon, so Amanda’s blog is one of many that I’ll turn to for insight and advice for what I can incorporate into my own training.
I also appreciate her knowledge of running shoes: as a shoe addict (seven years working in a sports shop, what’s a guy to do?), I’m sure I’ll have many more shoe geek conversations with her in the future.
Read on for Amanda’s questions for those she nominated (followed by my answers).
1. What is your favourite racing distance and why?
Currently, my favourite racing distance is the half marathon. It’s a long enough distance to be a challenge for less experienced runners and requires a degree of training and preparation, but also manageable for many people to prepare adequately around other commitments. For more experienced runners of all ability levels, its a great distance to test ones limits regularly: its feasible for the average runner to prepare for and participate in multiple halves per year, but this may not be the case for full marathon distances and beyond.
I’ll also add a note that the real goal for me is to progress into the realm of ultra-marathon events (which are usually 50KM minimum). I can’t say this is my favourite distance as I’ve not yet ran that far, but provided I stay fit & healthy and can progress to these higher mileages, I envisage it becoming my favourite distance class. As someone without an athletic background (I started running regularly about five years ago when I was 23), I’m competing against myself and the course more than anything. Pushing for times in a half marathon is great, but the thought of battling myself and the course for five hours plus is appealing to me.
2. Why did you start running?
I started running for fitness. I was active as a kid in school (football/soccer in the yard) but from university and into the first years of employment, I spent almost no time active. I’m naturally small-framed, and I’ve been lucky enough not to have suffered with weight or major health issues, but back then, I was eating terribly and not doing exercise. I felt I needed to do something otherwise it would catch up to me sooner or later: running is a simple activity that you don’t need a lot of fancy equipment for, and seeing as I worked at a sports shop at the time (ironic I know!), I bought myself a pair of shoes and have been running down this road ever since.
3. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Japan. Although running and reading are the two passions I engage most with at this point in time, video games are my first love. Japanese video game developers are responsible for some of the most important works in the medium, and have definitely played a big part in bringing games to the mainstream (and in many people’s opinion legitimising the form as a genuine interactive art). For that reason, Japan is seen as something of a Mecca for those interested in the history and culture of games.
Funnily enough, after cultivating a strong passion for running and reading, I’ve got more reasons for Japan as this answer. I’m come to learn that running has a unique place in Japanese culture (particularly ekiden – a relay event that I read about in a great book called The Way of the Runner by Adharanand Finn). One of my favourite authors, Haruki Murakami, is also a runner and writes about his experiences in the equally excellent What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.
Tokyo is the obvious destination, but to see Mount Fuji and the more rural, natural areas of Japan would be equally appealing.
4. What was your first blog post about?
My first post was a review for a video game called Pyre. A decade or more ago, I was an active blogger on GameSpot, one of the premier video game websites of the time. I thought this would be an apt first post for my return to blogging. In short: its a mystical re-imagining of basketball and (American) football, with a beautiful pastel-colour art style and a natural, earthy acoustic-heavy soundtrack. The developers – Supergiant Games – have a very unique style and this was their third game. If any gamers read this and aren’t familiar with them or their prior works (Bastion and Transistor), I’d recommend checking them out.
5. Are there any posts that you wish you didn’t publish?
No. I promised myself that this blog was primarily another outlet or pressure valve, somewhere I could write and post whatever I felt like. I might have had some ideas for posts that didn’t materialise into anything further, but I haven’t regretted publishing anything yet.
6. What is your favourite part about blogging?
Inspiring discussion with people I wouldn’t otherwise get a chance to meet or interact with. Referring back to question five, I try and write with the mindset that it doesn’t matter whether one or one-thousand people read what I have to say. That said, it is very fulfilling to have other people who share some common interests take a couple of minutes out of their day to read a post, and maybe even comment, which can lead to interesting insights and learning new things.
7. Have you read about any races, run by other runners, that you would like to one day compete in?
There is an extreme trail race called Zegama in north Spain. Amazing terrain and extreme environments relate to my note on question one: its still along way away, but races like this are ones I’d love to build towards in the future and attempt to finish. And again for anyone who shares my interest in getting more into the world of ultra-distance running, the photographer and journalist Ian Corless has an amazing photography book called Running Beyond and a fantastic fortnightly podcast called Talk Ultra.
The book chronicles a number of ultra, mountain and sky races and is a beautiful mix of intimate (not in the adult way, ha) photos of the participants before, during and after the event, and breathtaking shots of these events from all corners of the world. The podcast is true to its name and is regularly three hours plus, great for long run listening! It covers both the big events and professional runners in the sport, as well as catering for the middle- and back-of-the-packers who run for the satisfaction of finishing. As a side note, the noted American ultra runner Karl Meltzer (who I believe holds a record for 100-mile race wins) is frequently a co-host.
8. What was the last thing you ate?
A special edition chocolate brownie Mars bar. Hey, I’m honest at least! I moved to a vegetarian diet in March of this year and feel a lot healthier for it, and I can only see myself moving more towards veganism (I’m choosing vegan and dairy-free options where available). That said, I do still enjoy a bit of chocolate and a pizza (without cheese!). In moderation its all good, just need to keep myself in check! This italicised note was added during my final proof read: I haven’t had a Mars bar since becoming vegetarian and I neglected to check it is was okay for me to eat! Hopefully it was vegetarian friendly.
9. What is your favourite blog to read and why is it your favourite?
I’m new to the WordPress community and currently only have a handful of bloggers that read my posts and vice versa. I genuinely enjoy them all for different reasons, and although I might not catch every single post, I always consider it time well spent to take five or ten, read some thoughts and insights, learn something and maybe even comment and try and get a discussion going.
That said, the mixture of life, health & fitness and personal stories that Cat tells on her blog resonates. She is currently in training for her first marathon (New York) and her series of posts about working towards it are seamless in the way they combine technical details like training plans, experiences and emotions of the actual training, and stories and anecdotes from her life and how they relate to this journey towards New York. I think non-runners with no interest in the activity would still find plenty of engaging, inspiring content in her posts and I’d highly recommend you check out her blog.
10. Are you going to accept this award?
Yes! Honestly, I still don’t know exactly what the Liebster Award is, but after searching, I know its designed to help improve visibility for small blogs and show appreciation for those of whom you might have enjoyed. Considering that, it was flattering to be nominated and I had fun with this.
Some random facts about myself (as stipulated according to the “official rules”):
- I don’t like coffee, and have literally only ever consumed a single small sip (enough to know I don’t like the taste).
- During my time at university, I never once borrowed a book from the on-site library. Don’t get me wrong, I spent a few hours a week in the library studying with the books but never took one home with me.
- I studied history at school and during one of the most important exams, I answered the wrong question (the exam board has a section of the paper with a choice of two questions: every school has the choice to teach the entire syllabus to the class so students can choose which question they prefer, or to teach one half of the syllabus so students essentially have only been taught to answer one of the two questions in a comprehensive manner). Despite this I managed to get an A overall for history, and this is my proudest academic achievement.
- After reading a book about mindfulness meditation (10% Happier) by the news anchor Dan Harris, I have started to incorporate it into my daily routine. For the past month or so at the time of writing, I have been setting time aside for two sessions (one after waking, the other in the evening before I get into bed) of 30 to 32 minutes each. Despite the fact this is an hour of my day, its been really beneficial in helping me stay calm and balanced, improving impulse control and building some strength and endurance. Sitting in a cross-legged meditation position for that amount of time is quite challenging, but I can feel myself gradually getting strong and more flexible (hopefully the physical and mental aspects have some crossover into distance running).
- Since starting a new job in September that has a longer walking commute (about four and a half miles), I read whilst walking to work on most days. This gives me about an hour and twenty minutes of reading time and is a great opportunity for me to chill before a days work. I’m on pace to have read more than 100 books by the end of the year, and my only regret is that I didn’t start reading more frequently earlier in life. But hindsight is a wonderful thing.
I would like to nominate the following blogs for Liebster Awards:
- Cat (cathbradley.com)
- Steph (curioussteph.com)
- Alasdair (alasdairmcgill.com)
The full rules are at this link: https://www.liebsterawards.com/recommended-rules/
If you guys have the time and feel inclined, I’d love to ask you the following questions:
