I have noticed that sometimes, when I am talking to a non-runner, they get a glazed over look. I think it is because they do not understand our language, so I have started creating a non-runner/runner phrase book. Here is the progress so far.
If you have any suggestions for inclusion I would love to hear from you.
I had to walk a marathon through the streets of London to get these SOLE footbeds, but it was well worth it. Action PR’s client, Everyone Active, was a sponsor of the recent Shine Walk in London which was a fund-raiser for Cancer Research UK. The PR agency decide to get a team together to take part and invited some National Running Show ambassadors to join them. Another of their clients is SOLE, hence the free footbeds. I was really chuffed to get them, because I have been using SOLE footbeds for years and my existing pair were getting to the end of their long, tough life. That included a 3-month back-packing hike in Scotland; wet feet every day and long distances on varied terrain. I had no foot problems.
Honesty announcement: I used to be the Ed part of Ed & Phil Active, who were agents and distributors selling sports and outdoor goods to independent retailers, before I left to set up Trailrunningman. SOLE footbeds were one of those products, however we only sold products we believed in and used ourselves. The business is now run exclusively by my ex business partner, friend and serial marathon runner Phillip Howells. If you want to buy some footbeds get them from an independent retailer or Ed & Phil via the online shop.
Now to why I love SOLE insoles. I do not have any particular foot or lower limb issues, but do run and hike very long distances, so I am on my feet for a long time. The SOLE footbeds help in two ways. One, because of the heat-moulded fit, the load on your foot is spread over the entire surface, not just the ball and heel of your foot, which helps reduce hotpots and hence blisters. It will also help with power transfer (something triathletes get very excited about) when you are a cycling. Apparently, it will also improve the distance you can hit a golf ball, but I’ve never seen the point of golf so I cannot get excited about that.
Two, they provide arch support which means for me that my feet do not get tired, even when standing up for hours on a concrete floor at a trade show or expo, or when running ultramarathons. Note the all-important word, support! It does this by a one-piece construction of EVA with variable density. Other brands have different sections which control the foot, which can cause more issues than it resolves.
If you suffer from any lower limb problems, e.g. Plantar Fasciitis, then SOLE footbeds should be your first port of call. A lot cheaper than a podiatrist. However, if the problem is serious then consult a professional. Many podiatrists, use SOLE footbeds as the base on which they fit custom made orthotics You can trim part of the footbed to fit your shoe if necessary. If you are a bit too enthusiastic with the scissors or overcook the footbeds when softening, don’t worry, SOLE operate a 90-day no-quibble return policy.
If you want more, have a look at the SOLE website, you will also find research results on there, including the golf study.
Today I was sitting at my computer, working away, when the sound of seagulls distracted me and I remembered some of the wonderful runs I had enjoyed where that was the sound track. I thought that I must have blogged about it in the past so had a little rummage in the archives and here it is:
Running to me is not ab
out exercise, muscle and sinews; it is a sensuous thing involving all the senses. My auditory senses were the main beneficiary on Sunday. I ran from home and had to pass through a small housing estate, along a footpath to the local primary school and then out into the fields and woods. As I passed through the estate there was the sound of children playing outside, how wonderful to hear children enjoying the open air and being sociable. Along the footpath I caught up with a woman pushing a child in a buggy. She was chatting away to the child, pointing out all the things to look at; primroses, a starling, a dog. There can be no more heart-warming sound than a mother talking lovingly to her child.
As I neared the fields I could hear sheep making quite a din and as I got closer the noise got more frenetic. Then I saw why, the farmer had just arrived with a sack of feed. I stopped and chatted with her for a while then ran on. As I got further away the noise die down and for a moment all I could hear was my breathing and the sound off my feet of the tarmac drive. That soften as I turned on to the muddy track, however my breathing got louder as it was uphill.
Then came the sound of the church bells from the nearby village, which got louder as I approached. I love churches and I love the sound of bells. I’m not religious at all, but I think churches are a great link with the community and the past; a constant thread stretching back hundreds of years. The bells fell silent and I stayed a while enjoying the peace and looking out over the cemetery. It is well maintained and many of the graves have fresh flowers on them. I don’t see it as a place of death, but a remembrance of lives once lived.
My route took me towards the sea and the evocative cries of seagulls. For me that sound conjures up memories of holidays on the coast; sunshine, paddling in the sea, sand between your toes, ice-cream and drifting off to sleep tired and contented. Then I turned inland across a stream and into the woods. I find the sound of running water relaxing, unless it’s a raging torrent, then I find it invigorating. In the woods small birds were calling out, either to mark their territory or to attract a mate. All too soon I was out of the woods and back into the fields where the only sound was my breathing. When I passed them again the sheep were silent, presumably their hunger was satisfied.
It was then back through the estate where my contemplative mood was rudely interrupted by the strident beeping of a lorry reversing. My magic running world was gone, but I’ll be back there again soon.
After 20 years of being a long-distance runner I have 
eventually got around to reading “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner” by Alan Sillitoe. I was surprised to find that it was a short story not a novel, was about cross-country rather than distance running (the race is only 5 miles) and is not about loneliness. I didn’t think much of it, but that may be because I don’t think enough. There seems to be more written about the story than there are words in the story itself. Here is a short extract from Wikipedia.
‘Sillitoe uses running in his story as a means of isolation. Running is a solitary action and therefore allows Smith to begin to understand and become aware of the class divisions in Britain. Smith, the narrator of the story, is also a writer and he is an allegoric version of Sillitoe and the isolation that all authors suffer from. Smith is a solitary runner who gets political clarity through running and isolation, just as an author writes alone and thinks alone. The long distance runner and the writer are both individualistic and isolated so that they are able to produce their commodities. The metaphor used to compare both the author and the runner is similar to the author losing his purity when he publishes a work just as Smith loses his purity when he enters the race.
During the time period that Sillitoe wrote “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner” the idea of the runner was changing dramatically. The purity of running was taken away when Smith entered the race because the race dehumanised him. The race made Smith a commodity for nationalisation that he was uncomfortable with. When the sport of running became professional it lost its sense of purity and became a commodity. Sillitoe rejects the commoditisation of running in “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner”. This is why Smith chooses to forfeit the race. Helen Small states, “…the weight of literary attention seems to be focused on a ‘pre-professional era’—either written at that time or looking back at it for inspiration”. The professional runner becomes commercialised and loses the clarity of thought that comes with running for pure passion and pleasure. Sillitoe was an author who believed in the unadulterated sport of running.’
Wow I’m glad I’m not a professional runner who has been dehumanised and commoditised, although I do think there are some worrying developments in our sport driven by clever marketing people. I certainly experience the pure passion and pleasure that comes from running. Perhaps that is because I don’t own any running technology and until recently thought Strava was a Greek pastry.
I think a lot of runners get a great deal of clarity from long distance running, but I would not describe it as a lonely sport. Yes, there are long runs alone, but there is also the camaraderie of races, clubs, training groups etc. In the UK the long Sunday run is often done in isolation, but in South Africa, where many runners are preparing for Comrades, the Sunday run is a social, early morning affair followed by brunch at a cafe (they start very early). And nowadays there is all the friendly banter on social media. It is only a lonely sport if you want it to be.
If you want an account of the event then read these excellent blogs from:
Action PR, Miranda, & Martin or watch the awesome video by Richard.
I am going to write about my thoughts and emotions.
I didn’t give much thought to the event beforehand; I’d entered as a result of my yes/no principle (see blog post 19th June 2017). Say yes more to different, challenging and exciting things; say no more to boring stuff and people stealing my time. Charlotte from the National Running Show contacted the ambassadors asking for bloggers to join the Action PR team to take on the challenge of walking the Shine Night Walk. I have never walked a marathon (I have walked parts of some tough hilly ones) and the thought of doing so at night in London appealed, so I signed up. I didn’t give it another thought after that until the day before, when I sorted out the logistics of getting there.
The last part of the trip was easy, I just had to follow the thousands of people making their way to Southwark Park, this was when I realised that the event was going to be something special. We were isolated from most of the excitement at the start as we were shown to a VIP/Media area behind the stage. A fancy name for a small gazebo with some white plastic chairs, but it still felt special. We were lead out just before the official start so that we would be at the front on the start line. A first for me – being in the front of an event.
The emotions came when the first walkers started passing us, they were there for a much more poignant reason than I was; remembering, honouring and celebrating the life of someone who had died of cancer. Many walkers had messages pinned to the backs of their tops mentioning loved ones, some had the date of when the person had died. Some had died long ago, but their memories were still deeply cherished. Others had passed away more recently. I was particularly touched by one message “For Mary my sister 19/7/17”. My father died of liver cancer when I was a teenager so I have an understanding of how much pain and turmoil is involved when there is a death in the family. For that walker the pain must have still been very raw, I admired her strength and courage.
For some, with the support of friends, the night was a celebration to remember a loved one, for others it was a very painful ordeal and they needed the support of friends to get through the experience. Towards the end of the event, as energy supplies were depleted, it became even harder for some, but they kept battling on. I have the utmost respect for them. I run marathons regularly so for me to walk one was not difficult, although I think it is easier to run than walk, but for most people it was a totally new experience and they rose to the challenge only allowing tiredness and grief to overcome them when they had finished what they set out to do; remember and honour a missing loved one.
My father died over 40 years ago and I thought I had sorted out how I felt about that, but I obviously hadn’t because, as I walked, emotions swirled around in my head and memories came back that I had long forgotten, or perhaps suppressed. Being with so many people who had lost someone in a way gave me permission and a safe environment to examine my feelings. I am very grateful for that opportunity and feel that I have now sorted out what was a little bit of unfinished business.
Shine walkers I feel very humble to have been part of that amazing event.
If you are serious about doing stuff you need to put a few of those things on a ‘will list’ i.e. they are things you will do. The language we use and the words we chose say a lot about our intentions. ‘I hope to’, ‘I’d like’ to give us an excuse not to. Close that door so there is no way out and say I will.
Commitment is scary, but without it achievement and fulfilment are unlikely.
Fitness guru, Julia Buckley has a great video about commitment .
Alanis Morissette – Ironic
“It’s the good advice that you just didn’t take”
Not following good advice is annoying, but listening to bad advice is even worse and can be disastrous. How can you tell the difference between the good, the bad and the indifferent? Fortunately there are some simple questions you can ask yourself to judge how good the advice you are being offered is likely to be.
As a general rule the more emphatic someone is that you should do something the more likely it is that you shouldn’t.
The best advice will come from you with the benefit of experience. Don’t let it be the good advice that you just didn’t take. The second time you get kicked by a donkey you don’t learn anything (Old Spanish proverb).
