A New Perspective
I am NOT a runner… is what I used to tell myself and others who cared to listen (and those who didn’t care but heard, nevertheless).
I live with Ben Duckett (PH Therapy founder) and am a long-time friend of his, and we compete in just about everything. Be it who has the better fashion sense, England vs Ireland in the rugby, or who can cook the better omelette.
I will, however, admit that Ben is the better runner, but that hasn’t stopped him trying to give me the running bug and improve my running to a level where I might dread it less. Let’s say I’ve been a reluctant student.
The Covid-19 outbreak has caused major disruption across the globe, and instigated a mass emigration of white-collar workers from the office to home, all amid socio-economic turmoil. I have found myself in a state of unease, having found it quite stressful feeling remote from the office and my general routine being upended quite unexpectedly. From speaking to friends, I’m not alone in here.
Yet here I am, working remotely, separated from family and friends, looking forward to my next run…
Amid the turmoil, I’ve found running to be a worthy substitute for the mental engagement that’s been foregone whilst away from friends and away from the office.
A big learning curve for me has been that running has not physically gotten much easier the more I’ve done it. I would have liked it to. From running more, the biggest improvement I’ve seen in my running has been in my mental, rather than physical, capacity to endure more. My legs do feel a little stronger and my lungs a little wider, but I’m still hitting the same levels of pain on my latest runs as I did on my first run. The difference now is I’m more accustomed to it.
More and more I’m returning from a run with a clearer mind and a brighter mood, and the feeling that I’m improving as a runner is an added bonus.
It shouldn’t have taken an epidemic to force me into running shoes, but as I said I am not a runner. I’m still not a runner by the way. I’ve been looking for an outlet to calm my mind amid the surrounding chaos, and running has fit the bill for me. In my mum’s case it’s been knitting, my brother’s learning the ukulele, and my sister is ploughing through Tiger King on Netflix.
My dad is a recent client of Ben’s, who has had his work cut out to lift my dad above the dysphoria. As a family, we’ve all stood to benefit from his improved mood having taken active control over his physical and mental wellbeing. My dad, like me, is a sedentary office worker by trade, who has found the transition to isolation difficult too, but found a positive outlet in exercise or just moving more.
Without asking, we’ve all been given a unique chance to self-reflect because of recent events, and if running more is one bright spot I can take out the other side of all this gloom then so be it!
Please stay safe everyone, and see you on the other side
Henry Swindell, 2020.