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Except for the talented and committed few, running is a recreational sport that can be enjoyed with friends or undertaken in quiet solitude. The primary reason for many taking it up in the first place is to pull themselves out of the sedentary lifestyle abyss that is becoming all too common in the modern age, and to afford themselves a certain level of health and fitness.
To many, running is an end in itself but over time, there has been anecdotal evidence to support a correlation between sporting achievement and personal growth and development. Indeed, John F. Kennedy believed that “physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.” And having transformed myself from sometime-dreamer into endurance athlete and writer, I can personally attest to the validity of this statement.
Serendipity (not her real name!) brought me to New Zealand. A self-made meanderer, I met my Kiwi wife-to-be in a London nightclub. After a tiresome year and a half scratching away at the employment coalface, we both agreed on making the exodus to Aotearoa – home for her and adventure (and love!!) for me.
Brought up in rural England, I had always enjoyed the great outdoors, and although I had often dreamed of big adventures, lack of motivation, discipline and direction resulted in no plans ever getting much further than the drawing board. Once in New Zealand, a casual suggestion by a work colleague provided the necessary impetus for me to get off the couch and change.
His idea was for us to take part in The Kepler Challenge – a 60 kilometre endurance run over rugged terrain in the South Island. My wife was quick to point out that I hadn’t done any serious running in over five years, and added that I hadn’t even completed a 42 kilometre marathon, let alone a 60 kilometre mountain race!! True, I thought; but here was an opportunity for me to immerse myself in endurance sport and realise some of my dreams of adventure at long last.
Therefore, keen to relinquish my mantle as Mr Procrastinator, I accepted the challenge and embarked upon months of training. Admittedly, we both could have done a whole lot more in the training department but come race day, although neither of us broke any records, we both finished the mountainous course and could hold our heads up high on our return to work.
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