Not quite a walk in the park

You know the feeling, you meet up with friends, have a few drinks and start to let your hair down a little? You then get braver as the evening wears on and, before you know it, you’ve agreed to do something which, by the following morning you had forgotten about until someone kindly reminds you.

The awful realisation then sets in and its decision time! Do you let everyone down and blame it on bravado, or do you just bite the bullet, think of England and, using the famous global Nike slogan – Just do it.

Signing up to a ten week beginners course with Rye Runners was the challenge and by dedicating a couple of hours each Saturday morning we were all able to meet, give it our best shot and go for broke. Around 40 of us ‘signed up’, most are still coming each week, a mixture of men and women of varying ages, shapes, sizes and levels of fitness.

Rye Runners are passionate about their mission statement and true to their word, ‘nobody feels left out and nobody gets left behind’

Many of us had never run seriously at all apart from our starring role in the school egg and spoon race, or perhaps the occasional untrained ‘jog’ along the beach chasing seagulls as kids. Some of the group were obviously fitter than others, and took their personal health more seriously but, as a group, we all wanted the same thing, to work together as a team, complete the ten week course at the end of which we will be proud to say, ” We did it”.

“Our amazement and delight”

Saturday, March 7 is week 8 of our course, and none of us yet know what delights Gareth McCully and his brilliant team of coaches has in store for us. But when we started 7 weeks ago, little did we know that by week 7 we would have already completed a non stop 5k run but we did – to our amazement and delight.

And we’ve discovered pockets of the town we never knew existed, footpaths and walks to new and interesting places, and our improved breathing and personal fitness levels are noticeable.

Previous weeks included running up and down hills, but we have been taught how to do it properly, and it’s something we all learned to do and not be fazed by. Warming up, doing the exercises, training, then warming down are all part of the weekly regime.

‘Homework’ includes stretching exercises, mini warm ups and warm downs, short jogs and structured breathing. Nothing too taxing and quite a sociable way to spend time with others with the same agendas.

Being part of a group spurs you on, the camaraderie is great as we are all equal and determined, and with three more weeks to go until we reach our goal we will soon be able to feel a sense of real achievement, we can talk about it to others as we will have done the course, and who knows, we may also be able to wear the t-shirt too.

Image Credits: Nick Forman .