They are a strange breed these runners. We’ve all seen them, usually while sitting in traffic listening to the whirr of the window wipers and waiting for the car’s central heating to kick in. You are in the middle of wondering if you’ll stay awake long enough for the second episode of Corrie that evening, when a flock of high viz jackets and running tights pass you by. You shiver involuntarily at the thoughts of trotting around Westside on a dark Tuesday evening and wonder what these poor souls have done to deserve such a punishment. Then they pass you again next week and you notice something. These runners, they look quite cheerful for persecuted souls. In fact, they look fit, healthy and happy. You think I wish I could be like that. But I could never be like that. Or could I? Of course not, these people have probably been running for years. They are naturally sporty. It’s too late for me to start something like this now. Or is it?

The truth of the matter is that regardless of age, sporting experience, or lack thereof (!), anyone can run. When I first joined the Fit4Life programme with Galway City Harriers 12 weeks ago, somewhere in the back of my mind, I presumed that I would eventually think of it fondly as an interesting phase that I went through. Like the Tai Bo, hot yoga and salsa classes that had gone before it, I would look back and think well at least I tried it, but it’s not for me. In any event, I had to join before I could drop out again, so I recruited a buddy and we paid our annual membership fee (which incidentally is significantly less than one month’s gym membership). We resurrected our old tracksuits and trainers and armed with complimentary high viz vests and training diaries, away we went.

The first evening of training, I realized that while it wasn’t going to be easy, nor was it the boot camp I had envisaged. There were 3 different groups, beginners, joggers and runners. I joined the beginners and we set off in a group of about 20 with our leader from GCH. We mainly walked the route to start, with an occasional 30 second jog in between. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening over the next couple of weeks, the jogging intervals were gradually increased until they eventually outweighed the walking intervals. The pace was challenging but never crippling and ever member of the group, regardless of initial ability, made vast improvements. After about 8 weeks, I decided to dip my toe into the water and sign up for my first race. I opted for a 5k run in Craughwell which was organized by Craughwell AC and was well attended by other members of GCH who tirelessly encouraged and supported the newer members. It was possibly a little ambitious considering we were still walking some of our training route but I managed to run the full 5k and in a fairly respectable time in light of my fitness level 8 weeks previously.

With renewed enthusiasm and the first race under my belt, I signed up for a second 5K in Kilmurry McMahon, Co. Clare. With still a month to go, I inadvertently found myself in the joggers group one night and although the punishing hill in Laurel Park was almost enough to send me screeching back to my previous life as a couch potato, the sense of achievement in regularly completing the route without walking was certainly enough to encourage me to keep going. On the day of the Kilmurry Race, the club had organized a bus for the participants and spirits were high as we hit the road on a fresh but sunny Sunday morning. Reminiscent of the buzz of school tour days, we arrived in Kilmurry eager to put our new found fitness to the test. The rolling hills of Co. Clare certainly did that as we jogged the seemingly never ending course but the exhausted elation at crossing the finish line made it all worth while. I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that I had improved on my time considerably since the previous race, and just like that, a runner was born.

So if you have ever considered running, even just as a passing thought, don’t let another year go by. Last September’s beginners are now in the joggers group to stay and a new wave of beginners will be starting again in January, so sign up. With a little bit of effort and the tireless support from Bernie Kelly and her team at GCH, you could find yourself jogging the rolling hills of Killmurry in no time. It might seem a daunting prospect, but you’ll soon realise that it’s not such a long way from Clare to here.

submitted by "A special correspondant"