By Robyn Turton
It’s that time of year again when we haul out the Christmas tree, prepare for the family gatherings and wonder where the year has gone. It gives cause for reflection. I began the year with a goal to run 12 half marathons! I was never very sporty in high school and it was only on a whim that I ran my first half marathon in February 2012 (who plans a race for February in PMB!). I loved it but didn’t do anything else until June 2014 when I ran my next marathon for charity. The end of that year saw me finishing an additional 2 half marathons but both much slower than my first. So what I’m really saying is that when I set myself this ‘marathon’ of a task, it was certainly no wee walk in the park!
Equipped with my Polar exercise watch and Reebok running attire I hit the ground running at the end of January 2015 and haven’t stopped since! It’s December now and I have indeed crossed the finishing line 12 times. It’s been an incredible journey with many uphill battles and downhill joys.
Uphill battles
- Training in the Cape in winter – enough said!
- Discovering only half way through a race that I really should have gone to the loo before the start!
- Giving up most of my Saturday lie-ins for time on the road – I like my sleep
- Not being able to feel my fingers from the 15km mark during my November race when Cape Town decided to get its delayed winter rains all in one day
- Not having enough time to train properly in the second half of the year
Downhill joys
- My adoring fan club during the Two Oceans half marathon in April J
- A PB of 1hr50min50sec for the Gun Run in October!
- Being able to travel and see parts of the Western Cape in order to get to some of the races
- Not having any major injuries
- Training in beautiful Cape Town – in the mountains or along the sea
- All the friends, comrades and fellow runners who I’ve met along the way and who have been a part of my journey this year!
- All the crazy adventures! From running an extra 1km to get to the start 5min late to spending half an hour looking for my car after a race to having my husband use a rolling pin to massage my sore muscles
I read a quote this year: “Any idiot can run but it takes a special idiot to run a half marathon”. After 12 half marathons this year I must be classed as complete bonkers, but boy was it epic! So, bring on 2016 in London!
a feast of tales 