Running!

I recently took part in the EMF 10K with some workmates.

Published by Bryan McDowall on May 6th, 2018.

I neglected to mention it in my last post, but I've ranted about it a fair bit on my Twitter feed. I recently hit a big personal milestone. I completed the EMF 10K - the longest distance I’ve run.

And I finished in a fairly respectable time too, taking only 58 minutes and 26 seconds.

When I started training for the race, the longest distance I’d ever ran (without stopping), was 5km and that was on a treadmill. During training, the furthest I ran was 7km - but again, this was using a treadmill. So when I reached 7km on the day of the race, I was surprised that my legs kept working! Crossing the finish line was such an incredible feeling too.

A photograph of 4 runners before their race starts. — Everyone is composed before the race starts

I had some great running mates, and I’m super grateful they accepted my request to run with them for SpecialEffect - a UK based charity which enables people with disabilities to enjoy games without barriers. Tailoring their approach to the individual, and quite often using their skills to create bespoke hardware.

It’s an incredibly good cause, and we managed to raise over £1450! Sponsorship is still open, so if you’re feeling generous you can donate to anyone on our team! Thanks so much to everyone who supported us and donated to SpecialEffect. It really means a lot!

Until recently, distance running isn’t something I’d spent a lot of time doing. But as I get older, I understand the importance of personal fitness as part of my daily life. Running has such a low barrier to entry, that it’s quite easy to grab my trainers and go, no matter where I might be.

I've caught the running bug, and I'm looking forward to more events and pushing myself even further next time.