RUNNING
“Do you remember your first run or how did you get into running?” These are among the questions people are frequently whether you’re a beginner or an elite athlete. As I mentioned earlier I started running 10 years ago and it was basically to fill the void of no longer playing competitive sport. Running is great because you’re not restricted by space or time, you can run in a field, park or on the road.
You can decide to run whenever you want and wherever you want which is great. The great outdoors are your ‘playground’ and there are beautiful scenic areas all around this wonderful little island in the form of parks, trails and other scenic locations. It provides a great escape from work and the usual stresses of modern life. “Exercising alone provides me with time to think and process what is going on in my life”. Running with others or in groups of people can also help as they can be a sounding board for people to simply listen and perhaps offer advice or a different perspective on things. We all have our reasons.
Regular running has numerous benefits in terms of both physical and mental health. It’s a brilliant way to build fitness over time and can help improve our mood and ability to cope with stress or bereavement. I can testify to all of the above and more.
Running has taught me to become more disciplined in terms of managing my life and striking a balance with work. It encourages me to be more aware of eating a healthy diet to help fuel my exercise regime. It has helped me to build friendships with people from all ‘walks of life’ through training and competing in events. I can’t speak for everyone but that’s basically what running has done for me over the last decade.
My passion for the sport has helped me to achieve milestones which I wouldn’t have thought possible or even contemplated like completing a sub 3 hour marathon in Dublin in 2018. All runners train with some goal in mind whether it’s trying to complete a 5K or run a personal best at a certain distance. It’s important to remember however that striving to improve race times and increasing your mileage makes us all more susceptible to injury at some point. This is just part of the sport and people must be willing to accept it. We can learn to combat this by training smarter and becoming more aware of the contributing factors like poor posture, diet, lifestyle etc.
I’ve encountered plenty of setbacks on my own journey and managed to learn from my mistakes which are an inevitable part of the sport. My own sporting background and education has provided me with the knowledge and experience to pass this knowledge onto other people and try to improve their running experience. Consequently I set up a running class over 6 years ago to help people of all levels and abilities to help achieve their goals and help facilitate a healthier lifestyle.
The classes provide a platform for people to learn about the principles of running in terms of mechanics and performance which help to minimise the risk of injury and help improve performance.
People learn to understand the sport and when to train and how to manipulate their own routine to maximize their own potential. The most important aspect of the class to help people to enjoy their running and understand the sport to help promote fitness and health. People are the masters of their own destiny and each individual can decide for themselves what they want to get out of the sport. You have the recreational runners and the more competitive type who are wishing to hit targets and goals.
This in turn has led to the start of strength and conditioning (S&C) classes are to help people deal with and manage their injuries which are an inevitable part of the sport. It must be remembered that running takes a physical toll on the body and knowing how to find a balance is key. It’s essentially all about understanding running and how it impacts the body in terms of its physical toll on the body. We all have different occupations and stresses in our lives, our genes among other things can have a big impact on running ability and our incidence of injuries. The class has grown steadily over the years with everyone deriving their own satisfaction from participating in it.
Everyone has goals when they start out running whether it’s simply to complete a 5K or marathon, lose weight, to help alleviate stress or simply meet new people. That’s what I love about running….. It’s for EVERYONE and we all derive satisfaction from achieving different goals.
Training plans are another aspect of my business which provides a framework for people to help guide them in achieving targets and times whether it’s race times or couch to 5K plans. It’s all about the process along the way which in turn leads to the desired outcome of the client. Training plans are very much individualized and it’s therefore important to listen to the client and design a program that suits their needs. It’s not a one size fits all approach.