Continuing our series of FV5K posts, today we hear from Lisa Jackson, best-selling author of Running Made Easy and Your Pace or Mine? Lisa's story of how she first got into running may be just the inspiration you need to start your own journey...
Lisa's Story
I’m no good at running. In fact, I’ve come last in 25 marathons, but that hasn’t stopped me from joining the 100 Marathon Club, or completing two 56-mile ultras (the equivalent of running from London to Findon), or becoming a Runner’s World columnist and running writer.
And what do I have to thank for all of this? A humble 5K.
Exactly the same distance as the Findon Valley Residents' Association race you’re thinking of entering (or perhaps have already decided is not for you because you’re too slow, old or unfit).
When I did my first 5K at the ripe old age of 30, I was so out of shape that I had to use the handrail to walk up a flight of stairs (a magazine job where I was tethered to my desk for 12 hours a day like a battery chicken – yes, really – will do that to you).
A colleague invited me to enter the race and I surprised myself by agreeing to go. 'How hard can it be?' I thought, steadfastly avoiding training and turning up in some flimsy plimsolls I'd swiped off the freebie table at work.
Of course, I spent most of the race walking, and when I did run, each step thudded onto the road sending a shockwave up my leg to my more-than-ample bottom.
Running was infinitely harder, and more unpleasant than I ever remembered. Who likes the sound of their butt flicking the tops of their thighs? Who enjoys having a face the colour of a stop sign?
And yet... I rushed home afterwards high as a kite, eager to tell my husband about it. Because what had blown me away about the event wasn't the running itself – at that stage it was way too hard to like, even for a few steps – it was the atmosphere. Hundreds of people had turned out to cheer us, and I remember being very moved by the sight of several dads under a tree jigging babies on their hips while swilling Champagne and guarding a giant pile of kitbags.
Far from being competitive (let’s face it, only the first five or so runners are going to get prizes), I realised that races could be collaborative, because my fellow ‘competitors’ were constantly turning round to shout encouragement at me and urge me to keep going. I realised that running didn’t have to mean feeling like a loser, even if you did finish at the back, because everyone who crossed the finish line felt like a winner, not just the three people who ended up on the podium.
I also realised that while running really was hard (for me, at least), and involved unimaginable amounts of huffing and puffing, jiggling and wobbling, it also resulted in unimaginable amounts of joy once you'd done it. And when they gave me my medal, well that was it. I didn't comprehend it then, but they had me. They had me for life! That night I started a tradition I’ve kept up ever since – I went to sleep wearing it.
A medal. New friends. Being cheered at like you’re Taylor Swift. And some of the most spectacular scenery in the British Isles. These are what are awaiting you in the inaugural Findon Valley Residents' Association 5K. Cissbury Ring is a magical place and you can look up at its ancient grassy heights, or down at the pink orchids in the swaying long grasses beside you, and rejoice in how good it feels to use your body in the way it was intended (and that doesn’t just mean running, walkers are welcome too).
I’m sadly unable to join you, but next year this race will have pride of place on my ‘dance card’, because I’m familiar with the route and it’s so gorgeous I want a chance to run there with others and see how they respond to the surprising mix of sleepy suburbia and untamed wilderness.
Who knows, maybe this 5K will be your stepping stone to a whole new world. I know mine was, and I’ve never looked back.
Lisa's book, Your Pace or Mine? is available on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback editions (link to buy, left).
If you found Lisa's story inspiring and you haven't yet signed up for the FV5K, there's still time!
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