On Why I Run

While running a pretty tough but rewarding 15km loop recently I got thinking about why I run. I was never a sporty type at school, and would more than often be found in the last group to be picked for football teams, staying in front of the ball in Rugby to avoid having to take part, and falling in ditches in an ultimately failed attempt to get out of cross country.  When we got to sixth form and could do off site sports I chose Golf in the summer and Squash in the winter, mainly because they were a fair distance away and we went via McDonalds.

Looking back on it if we had some coaching in P.E. I may have gotten into it better, but no one told me how to run.  That may seem a stupid statement to someone to whom running comes naturally, but there was absolute zero guidance on body position, stride length, cadence, or any of the other things runners obsess over. It was simply a case of those who had natural talent joined the teams, those who were of a driven personality type pushed themselves, those who enjoyed sport had fun, and the rest of us resented both the unguided physical exertion and the mocking and humiliation we attracted.

Anyway, that was then and this is now. The first run of my adult life was on January 1st, 2014 as a result of seeing Kelly D try and get as many people out for a New Year run as possible. I had recently separated from my wife and was trying to work out who I was again - nothing was off the cards.  I was reconnecting with people I knew 10 years previous, this was happening, so I gave it a go.

I ran 2.19km in 16:07, with an average pace of 7:21/km.  It was awful - the ground underfoot was slippery mud and I was totally unprepared for it, walking in places because when I tried to run my feet went from under me. I ran three more times that month, getting up to 6:52/km average pace, and then stopped.  I can’t recall why, but apparently I restarted in June 2015 with a 4.68km run in 29:18 and managed to run once or twice a month with an aim to get a 5km in under 30 minutes which I achieved in October. Through 2016 I was very lax again and it wasn’t until I moved back to Sheffield in December 2016 that I got into it properly with Hillsborough parkrun just down the road and the encouragement of Liz. The rest is history, and you can read more about it right here.

Back to the original question: Why do I run?

It goes without saying that exercise is good for you, and I knew I needed to do more of it.  Over the years my weight had crept up to over 13st and my waist to 34”, I remembered having a 30” waist and losing weight had the added benefit of making climbing (which I had also got back in to) easier.  Exercise was only part of the game, I also had to adjust what I ate. The weight slowly came off and I got to 11 stone and a 30” waist (weight has crept up a bit since but waist hasn’t so I assume it’s gobe to muscle somewhere).  My general fitness and stamina are also much higher which I’m really happy with, and has had additional benefits for swimming as well as the aforementioned climbing.

But this isn’t the only reason. Running is physically hard, and walking could have delivered similar benefits with less wear on the body, though it would have required more time.  Running also gave me something to measure myself against, especially with parkrun.  I’m not an ambitious type when it comes to comparing myself to other people, but I do like to track my own progress and see improvements.  Seeing my times come down quickly at parkrun was a real boost, and the community of Strava made it easy to track how I was doing when I went on runs by myself, and soon I was adding in more runs whenever I could - including the work running club. I still surprise myself with things like signing up to the Amsterdam Half Marathon though.

Running is also a brilliant way to get out in to the countryside, or the urban landscape you otherwise wouldn’t explore.  I’ve run many KMs along the rivers and canals around Sheffield, I’ve entered races which have taken me up dramatic hills in the Peak District, and I am lucky enough to live near some beautiful spots like Rivelin Valley, Loxley Valley, Upper Don Valley and with a bit of effort the Peak District itself. The run which inspired this post had a fairly tough climb taking up most of the first half, but it rewards you with stunning views in every direction across the peaks, even when you turn back and face the city it doesn’t dominate the landscape, instead nestling in the hills for which Sheffield is famous.  I was taken with just how lucky I am to live near here and was very grateful for it.

But (and well done if you are still with me, I know I am quite a verbose writer - largely because this is as much for me as it is for you.  Hopefully this section will help make this clear) there is more to it than that. Something much more important.

You see, running is good for the head.

Well, for my head anyway - I know everyone is different.

I said earlier that I was trying to work out who I was again, and one of the things I have discovered is I am a lot less mentally resilient than I thought I was.  The precise details are for another discussion, but I am prone to prolonged periods of introspection and self doubt which manifest in anxiety and despair, and I needed to get a grip on this as it was leading to destructive behaviours.  I was drinking too much, and I wasn’t looking after myself.

Running at parkrun gave me a regular commitment which meant I was more likely to do it rather than find reasons not to.  I’ve discovered that I am far more likely to do something if I have told other people I am going to do it as I’m far more inclined to let myself down than I am others, and running as a social activity meant I also got the support and encouragement of my friends - people who are massively important to me and to whom I owe a lot of gratitude. Being able to return that by running with people and offering then encouragement and support is equally as rewarding.

It turns out it goes further than this though, and that’s why the run which inspired this post was entitled ‘Resetting mind and body’. Getting out on to the roads and trails turns out to have a really valuable benefit which I had not foreseen.  It takes a while to get there, but after several kilometres you hit ‘the zone’ where the running has become second nature, you are moving easily and efficiently without having to think too much about form, function or the effort of making your body move; all of these things are occupying your brain to some extent but not fully, and I reach a state where I am able to attain clarity of thought.  Maybe it is the fact that your heart rate is already elevated and your breathing intense, but things which maybe cause anxiety and confusion when sat on the sofa become easy to think about logically and analytically with objective analysis. When I find myself on the sofa fretting and sinking into a spiral of negative thoughts, getting out on a run will at the very least distract me, and hopefully allow me to figure out what is causing these thoughts in the first place and how to address them. I can only assume this state is not dissimilar to the state people seek to acheive through meditation, maybe one day I shall try and find out.

So yeah. I run because it makes me feel good, and feeling good is important.

City Centre Running

Over a Full English Breakfast in the work kitchen one day we were musing what would happen to us if we kept eating this way - my workplace is not averse to the odd cake and even features a donut based scheme to incentivise good information security practice -  and a passing comment was made to starting a work running club.  Given I have discovered running in a big way over the last 8 months I thought this was a great idea and seized the opportunity, and before anyone could wonder what was happening 12:00 on a Tuesday was a fixture in the company calendar.

I wanted this to be accessible to people, and to fit in 1 hour while giving people time to wash, cool down and eat.  Working on the basis of around 30 minutes moving time I decided to look at some 5km routes starting and finishing at our City Centre office.  Inspired by the Outdoor City Run Routes I tried to add some interest to each route taking in the urban green spaces Sheffield is so loved for.

Route 1 - Sheffield Canal and the River Don



My first route is inspired by my good friend Andy, from whom I lay have also borrowed the idea of a work running club.  The combination of the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal and the Five Weirs Walk along the River Don is a real bonus for urban running in Sheffield, running as they both do from Sheffield City Centre to Meadowhall (and beyond) with never too much distance between them, and I have used them in runs ranging from 5k to 21k of mostly traffic free running.

For our work runs we start at the top of Fargate, running down the side of Town Hall and across Arundel Gate to the station via Howard Street before turning right, and a short climb up to the tram tracks.  From here it's a blast along to Park Square, and if you get lucky you can race the tram.  From the roundabout you drop down into Victoria Quays, one of the hidden gems of Sheffield and a beautiful place to dream of the relaxed pace of life of a narrowboat.  Along the canal to Cadman Street bridge where a bit more road takes you to the Five Weirs Walk - well in reality a quick blast along Effingham Street before crossing the delightful Cobweb Bridge and dropping past the ever evolving River Don sculptures by 'Dan' before returning to the city centre and a punishing blast up from West Bar to Church Street - I vary this section depending on how cruel I am feeling on the day, it certainly gets noticed by people lulled into a false sense of security by the prolonged flat section :)

Route 2 - Norfolk Park



This route is directly inspired by the City Centre Traffic Free Trails but tweaked to suit an office start/finish.  Following the tram tracks we again cross Park Square, this time in a different direction, before climbing past Park Hill flats through South Street Park up to the Cholera Monument and Clay Wood before crossing into Norfolk Heritage Park.  The relentless climb from Park Square continues all the way up to the top of the park before finally turning the corner and heading downhill to Sheffield College, back along to the station, and then a final kicker of a hill back up Howard Street back to the office - a great place to stretch out the pace...
Route 3 - The Botanical Gardens


This was always designed to be a fast one as it's fairly flat, though it does involve crossing a great many roads so you have to get lucky with traffic.  Up along West Street dodging the lunchtime crowds and crossing over the ring road below the University to continue along Glossop Road, the crowds die out as you hit Brocco Bank and eventually drop into the utterly wonderful Sheffield Botanical Gardens where I like to pick a route at random to make the most of the space before dropping down on to Ecclesall Road and fast back in to town - watch out for the building work at the site of the old Grosvenor Hotel though or (like us) you might find you need to double back on yourself...


Route 4 - Upper Don and the Ponderosa



Picking up the Don where we left it on Route 1 we follow the Upper Don trail to the industrial heritage (and the birthplace of the Sheffield Real Ale revival) of Kelham Island before heading up to the Ponderosa which on the time of our first run was still in full cleanup mode from the weekends Tramlines.  This was a hard climb, possibly because only a few days before I had run 21km from Hillsborough to Attercliffe and back via Don and Canal, before finally reaching Crookes Valley Road and a much needed descent.  Crossing the road we pass the Arts Tower and enter the pedestrianised space of Sheffield University Students' Union before passing the Hicks Building and the famous Johns Van and crossing past the old Henderson's Relish factory and heading back to West Street, through Leopold Square, and back to the office.


We've now run each of these routes at least once, with 2 or three people each week so far generally running at something between 5 and 6 minutes per kilometre - the Botanical Gardens was a fast one as we managed to get our Commercial Director on board, who is a regular runner with eyes on a sub 3 hour marathon.  I'm really happy with how it is gone and am always looking to get more people joining in so will be keeping the pace accessible, faster runs can always happen another time - There are plenty more lunchtimes in a week!  Coming up next I am going to try reversing the routes and see how they fare, then I may have to think of some new twists.