Well it’s 2018 and I’m sure this year is gonna be full of challenges, but 1st I’m tell you a little about myself , and how I got into athletics .
As a school boy I always loved running, loved the freedom of just running fast ! I was one of those kids who loved sports days especially when it came to the running events 👍 I often ran the 100m and often won 😉😊 . I used to love hear people cheering my name, it felt great.
Life changed when I left school tho, I gave up athletics and got a job as a printer and started a family. Had a little boy ( Ben) who has autism , which has its own challenges , but love him to bits.
I did however make a return to running back in 2009, just to get myself back into shape. It was hard at first, running a mile was a task in its self, but ever so slowly gained my fitness back and starting running on more a regular bases, 3-4 times a week. As time went on Millage creeped up and started getting more competitive, I decided to join a running club ( Sleaford Striders ) meet some fantastic people and started training for my first Half Marathon , the Sleaford Half 2011, I had a time in mind ( sub 2 hours ) . Training went very well and I even convinced 2 work colleagues to do the race to. Race day arrived and I had one of my fellow Striders to pace the race for me ( Terry Grant ) he did an amazing job, encouraged me all the way, giving me kicks up the backside when I needed it. I was on course for the time I wanted up till mile 10ish , I remember that hill , cardiac hill it was called, that just zapped my energy , had to really rally myself, Terry gave me a lot of encouragement at this point. I remember seeing that finish line and coming onto the grass section, I was working so hard at this point giving everything I’ve got, and crossed the line in 2hrs an 2min. Gutted, so close , but I knew I gave it everything . But I did let that put me off, the same year I entered my 2nd Half and smashed my PB 1h 53min in Newark.
Piture above taken at my first 10mile road race ( Heckington Show 10)
In 2012 I ran a few more races for Sleaford before changing clubs.
Above you’ll see the Sheffield Half, this race i loved, it’s one that sticks out in my mind , the atmos was awesome and I got to finish in Don Valley stadium , it was amazing. Also you’ll see the Sleaford Half , Lincoln 10k, and Woodhall Spa 10k.
A new challenge came that year with joining Lincoln Wellington , I knew my training was going to get taken up a notch. I got coached by Gary Warhurst , who played a Hugh part in my development over the next few years. New training group and new friends made 😊 In this group I met Sophie Cowper who really inspired me, her grit and determination was amazing, oh and she was quick, but I used to let her beat me on a few occasions lol 😆😆 ( who am I kidding ) nah, couldn’t get nowhere near her, but I knew she would be going places, and she has, she’s now mixing it up with the best of them. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
You’ll see above a few random shots of my 1st and 2nd seasons in a Lincoln vest, road and XC. I actually enjoyed my 1st season of XC, suppose can’t know what to expect.. Training was going great tho and progress was there. Gary had faith in me and that helped 👍 Suppose what I lacked was self believe , never was a confident person, but i knew how to give things 100% and always worked so hard in trading and races.
Ok well that’s a little bit more about me, I’ll dive into my sprinting times in my next blog, and pick up where i left off her about my distance time, and trying to take on the marathon, and more XC.
The Life Of A Masters Athlete 
Leave a Reply