In September, I reach a significant milestone. I will have been a runner for 20 years. HOLEY MOLEY! I don’t have a casual relationship with running. It’s not just something that I do when I can fit it in, or when I can get up enough gumption to go. Running and I are solid. For 20 years it has been my lifeline to sanity. I know that sounds dramatic but I always say I run for my mental health and being fit is a bonus.
It is one of my life’s most significant achievements and I want to celebrate in a significant way!
January 2018. I casually mention to my husband that maybe this would be the year I run a trail marathon or 50k. I told him I wanted to celebrate my 20-year feat.
His response? “I don’t think you should do that”.
What?! I was annoyed. He was trampling on my dream!
“Wait! Hear me out” he exclaimed. “What if you did 20 runs that you would love to do. That way you won’t kill yourself with crazy distances or pressure to reach a race-day”.
I smiled. I loved his idea. It was 100% more ME than training for a race. I don’t run to race. I run for the joy and pleasure it gives me. In fact, in these 20 years, I have only run 2 races. I don’t need a race to motivate me to run. His idea was a perfect fit 🙂
For the year surrounding September 2018 (ie. April 2018-March 2019) I will be running 20 ‘Bucket List’ runs to celebrate 20 years of running
My criteria:
- Routes on trails that I haven’t run before and are inspiring (views, cool terrain, iconic location etc)
- The runs need to be on the longer side (close-ish to 20km)
- They need to take some effort/commitment/scheduling to make happen (I have an idea’s list and a bunch scheduled in the calendar already)
- Run-about style (there to enjoy, take in the scenery, not get-er-done as fast as possible)
I don’t expect this to be an easy goal to reach but I’m super excited about it. I am looking forward to sharing runs with others, seeing beautiful places and celebrating all that running has given me.
So without further ado, here is run #1 in my #Run20for20 series.
Location: Wigwam Flats Rim Trail
Distance: 20.6km
Elevation gain: 420m
Elevation Loss: 383m
Trail details can be found here. Thanks Jessica and Rosanne for joining me 🙂
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