How on earth did this all begin?
- stephturley
- Oct 23, 2016
- 2 min read
I think a good place to start this blog is probably at the beginning.
How did this idea come to fruition?
Well… funnily enough I was running when this absolutely amazing fantastic incredible idea popped into my head. (this is no exaggeration- this is quite literally how positive my little mind becomes when I am running- every idea that pops into my head is like a flashbulb of positivity- if only I thought like this when not running!)
I just so happened to be approximately half way into a rather lovely trail half marathon called the High Weald Challenge. I had spent the first half of the race running at a enjoyable pace and stopping pretty regularly to climb over what felt like 125 stiles. My mind always wonders while running and I guess it’s evidence of how much harder I could potentially be pushing myself during races. A relatively small part of my brain deals with pain, breathing and hills while the rest of my brain ambles through some pretty happy thoughts and makes some ambitious plans. It’s unusual for me to actually act on one of these plans. Normally shortly after a race finishes exhaustion takes over and I either soon forget what my amazing plan was or I write it off, attributing it to runners delusion. This plan stuck though and I was soon actually telling people about it- and once you do that, there is no turning back!
“I’m going to run 30 races before I turn 30” - I told my husband, proudly when I met him at the finish line.
“Oh, that’s a good idea- does this one count?”
“NO- It has to fall between my 29th Birthday and my 30th Birthday to count” - I said, confidently- somehow deciding to make it more difficult for myself
And so it began! I did some research into the National Rheumatoid Arthritis society as I had already decided that they would be the charity I would raise money for- due to the fact that my best friend Mel had been diagnosed in the last year with RA and through the tough first few months of diagnoses and medication had received a lot of support from them. I contacted them- and she was right, they were a lovely bunch and were very supportive of my pledge to run to raise money for them. The just giving page was set up and research into which 30 races I would fill my year with began….
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