Learning to Ultra – both as a parent and as a runner (husband), walker (wife)
I’m currently sat writing this from a cold, windy, dark January evening in London – 7 months pregnant so slightly refrained from having more interesting evenings than I once did. And I want to confess - I did something stupid. No net getting pregnant, at 31 – I don’t think it will raise too many eyebrows. Probably put some to rest as even my own mother said she’d never thought I’d get pregnant. Anyway, I digress.
No – I signed up to a multistage ultra. It was such an act of rebellion (or at least what I assume that rebellion counts for at this age). I was in the midst of several major life changes. After 3 years in the states and 7+ years at my company, I was leaving it all to do an MBA. At the same time, my husband was, quite rightly questioning whether our marriage contract i.e. to have children was something I had forgotten about. Life seemed so out of control but at the same time I wanted to have something that was a challenge event, that gave us our freedom. (Only now do I see the irony that a challenge event will never give you freedom, all those weekends training, you can kiss your freedom goodbye.)
And it was if at that moment, as you would see in a perfect Disney movie, the Save The Rhino charity had heard me. Sitting at my desk in New York, watching the iconic taxis line up at Columbus circle, an email arrived. Sign up for the ballot of “For Rangers Ultra”
Now, my favourite thing in the whole world is to go on safari. And here was a challenge event offering a 5-night safari and a chance to run through the Kenyan reserve – all for an excellent cause.
Never mind the fact I hadn’t run more than 5km in quite some time or that I was holding one too many American sized meals around my waistline, 220km in 5 days?! YES!
What. A. Mistake.