It can be a long road back when you turn 60 and decide to take running seriously again. But that’s where I found myself a while ago. Entering a new decade gave me the inspiration to move on from ‘ticking over’ and to see what I could still achieve. It was nearly ten years since my last marathon, and in the interim injuries and other distractions (plus a lack of commitment I’m ashamed to say) had turned me into a lazy runner.
So, the journey began in earnest, building up the miles slowly but surely, not taking too many risks for fear of injuries recurring. This took me to a certain point, but mentally I found myself in a place where I knew I needed to push myself further but was struggling to do so. On the one hand I didn’t feel ready for the cut and thrust of racing, and on the other hand I was lacking the drive to push my solo training runs beyond about 12 miles.
Fortunately, there was an answer! Living in west London, I had an awareness of two event organisers local to me who provide a concept that offers the right environment for fulfilling personal ambitions without the pressure of a fully competitive race. It was time to try it out.
Saturn Running (saturnrunning.co.uk) and Phoenix Running (phoenixrunning.co.uk) hold regular events along the Thames towpath, around the Runnymede/Staines/Walton area. The course consists of a very flat 3-4 mile lap which can be completed as many times as the runner chooses. The key feature for me is how relaxed and flexible the arrangements are. The race is open for up to 7 hours, start time is of your own choosing, there are refreshments available at the start of each lap. It’s the perfect setup for some long steady distance (though there are some people who seem to be going pretty fast to me!).
Everyone is running their own race, with their own objectives as to what they want to get out of the day. But being around other runners provides the structure and environment that makes it a very different experience from cranking out the miles on a solo training run.
The number of runners per event is typically around 100. Small enough to not feel hemmed in or surrounded, but big enough to mean that you never feel like you are running completely alone. The course is out and back, so unlike most races you actually get to see people’s faces as well as their backs.
Yes, there are some participants who are capable of 10 ultras in 10 days, but there are also many recreational runners at different stages of their running journeys. There are no judgments, it’s all-inclusive and egalitarian.
The relaxed atmosphere of these events means that it is easy to strike up conversation and exchange experiences with other runners. During one event I met a lady called April who gave me the encouragement I needed to complete my first marathon in many years. She finished before me, but before departing she checked with the organisers to see how I was getting on and left a message to congratulate me on reaching my target for the day. Runners are such a nice bunch of people.
Having now completed four of these events, I have managed to push my mileage incrementally from 12 miles up to 15 then 20 then marathon then 35 miles. It’s great to be back to those distances again, though the big learning curve for me is perfecting the pacing. I’m having to re-learn this skill as needless to say the body is not quite so responsive at 60 as it was a few years back! Plus, there is the extended recovery time to consider too. So far, I’ve been concentrating on distance, speed has been a secondary consideration.
Going forward, I now have the confidence to enter other races, but will continue to use Phoenix and Saturn events as the core of my long-distance mileage. For me, these events sit in that grey area that exists somewhere between training and racing. Maybe there should be a word for that, ‘tracing’ perhaps?
I believe similar events exist elsewhere in the country too, such as Saxons Vikings & Normans (http://www.saxon-shore.com/) in the Kent area, no doubt in other areas too. Hopefully there’s one near you and this particular format can help you with your running ambitions.