VeganRunners
How Joining Vegan Runners Transformed my Running Journey
I first joined Vegan Runners in 2017, at a time where I was serious
about fitness but unsure of how to train as a runner. I ran
occasionally, but didn't love it. Instead, cycling (a sport still very
close to my heart) became my primary mode of fitness for the next 6
years, with the odd run, and lots of strength training thrown
in-between.
I took on big challenges, such as frequent 50 mile + rides. I
even cycled to my family home in Wales from my Gloucester Road address
for a trip home, and cycled back again a few days later. I learned a
lot about bike mechanics and myself in the process. I've seen so much
of the UK that I would never have seen if it were not for my bike. My
favourite thing to do during this time of my life was to, without
giving it thought, pick a location on my route planning app and see
where it took me.
Fastforward to April 2024, I attended Bristol's spring Vegan
Fayre where Vegan Runners had a stall. It immediately caught my
attention as I'd been running on and off for the previous few months.
A lovely lady called Rachel talked me into signing up and after a few
weeks of nervously not attending the weekly training sessions, I
attended my first hills session with Ryan, Chris, and Deb. I was made
to feel so welcome by these warm and friendly VRs.
4
months later, I've become a regular parkrun attendee, completed my
first half-marathon, and have signed up to my first ultramarathon,
which I'm currently training for. My first marathon will take place
during the ultra. Running, and running as part of VRs, has made me
realise that instead of being the person that says "I could never do that"" (which I often say to myself), I am a person that can do the
things I once thought impossible for myself. I can just sign up to a
50km race, despite never having run a marathon, and I can put in the
hard work to run and walk the race. For me, it's not about the time it
takes me to run (unless it's parkrun), it's about the training. I'm
really enjoying the resilience I'm learning through running, as it's
quite literally about putting one foot in front of the other.
I'll be running Chiltern 50km, a route supposedly favoured by
experienced ultra marathoners. Despite this, I feel complete
confidence in myself, a lot of which comes from being surrounding by
the VRs I spend time with each week. I feel inspired by every VR I've
met and am yet to meet, and collectively they have inspiration by the
bucket-load.