FROM COUCH POTATO TO MARATHON MAN
My mate Eddy and I agreed to run a marathon before I turned 50 in 2017. We had set our eyes on the XTERRA Trail Challenge in the Karangahake Gorge near Waihi. With 12 months ahead of us, it was a doable mission. But I had never been a runner, let alone a trail runner. In fact, I had become a couch potato – unfit with a few unhealthy habits.
To get me started, I read a dozen books, downloaded training plans, subscribed to Trail Runner, bought a pair of shoes and took my first steps into the unknown.
The first run I entered was the 16k event at The Hillary on Auckland’s west coast in February. After weeks of training, it looked like a great distance to start my quest to becoming a marathon man.
It was a hot day in Bethells Beach and, with 274 entrants in the event, it was pretty busy at the start. I decided to sprint the first hundred metres or so before heading up the first hill, which turned out to be a
