Up to my 33rd birthday I was not a runner. I used to hate running. Running was hard, and after a couple of times running a few hundred meters, I was always completely tired and swearing that I'd never do this to myself again. But as you get older, you get wiser (at least sometimes - selectively, hmhm), and I started reading a little bit about running.
By coincidence I also saw a documentary - From 0 to 42 - about a eight so-called normal people training for the Berlin Marathon in one year. Among them were a couple of 50+, chubby, one-step-before-heartattack guys. The determination and the joy that these men showed after just a few weeks of training was very inspirational. So I had to take a hard look at myself, and realised that I had to do something. If they could do it, so could I.
So I started making my own little training plans according to the beginner's programs that I found in many running forums, and after a few weeks I could run 3 km without having to walk. Another month and I was at 5 km. Woohoo. I felt like I was on top of the world.
The feeling was so good that I found myself sitting next to a good colleague of mine in September of 2004 and joking about running the Berlin Marathon next year. Without knowing what really happened, we had made a deal that we would run the Berlin Marathon in 2005. Swallow!
Well, I'll spare you the details of the many kilometers going into the training, the hours on Sunday morning overlooking fields and country roads and being away from the family. I'll also spare you the details of the actual run in Berlin, except the feeling of victory when I ran through Brandenburger Tor and into the finish area. I cried like a baby. Because I did it. I did it for myself, and no-one can ever take away the memory of this experience.
Thomas and I - proud, deeply moved, and tired
That's how I started running - what about you? We'd love to hear your story.
