'I'm not a natural runner'

Je ne suis pas une coureuse née

I can’t really remember when I first started running, but I can remember when I started enjoying it. I was training for my first ever 10km ‘fun run’ in 2014 when, the month before the race, I managed to spectacularly break my leg whilst skiing (well, one bone and two ligaments - including of course my ACL!). Coming back from the alps in a leg brace and with the prospect of two surgeries in front of me, it obviously brought an abrupt stop to said 10k. I remember going to watch the race anyway, crutches in hand, feeling like I was in mourning. Before the knee incident I didn’t think I liked running, but afterwards I realised I needed it.

I was back up and running again the following year and completed my first 10km in April 2015. From that point on something had changed, and I truly felt the enjoyment. I felt the sheer peace running has on my brain - running for the mind, not for the time. I’ve never been quick, and really I always thought 10k was my ceiling. This had always been my rule of thumb, telling myself ‘I’m not a natural runner’. In November 2024 one of my closest people was staying with me for the weekend. I told her that theory, that a 10k was my max, and she said ‘that sounds like an excuse to me’. This stuck - I think inside I knew that she was right. So the next week I eked out my 10k and added an extra couple of km to the end. I started to do this more and more and, 11 months later, I ran my first half marathon. After that I just knew I needed to complete a full marathon. Once that feeling had set in I found it really quite difficult to ignore it (believe me - I wanted to ignore it!). The even more irritating niggle that had set in was that I was OBSESSED with doing it in Paris. My logic was that I wouldn't notice how hard it was because the surroundings will be so pretty and I’ll be so distracted.