Yellow Fang

I took up running as a twelve-year-old. I was useless at sport and wanted to be good at something. After a couple of months of flat out running on the same course six days a week, my resolve broke and I couldn't force myself to do it any more. Then I started cycling and doing lots of press ups and chin ups. Eventually, I got back into running, about five or six miles once, or twice a week. In my mid-30s I joined Reading Roadrunners and my training and fitness shot up. I started doing distances and times I never dreamed were possible. Not that those times were particularly special, just that I never believed I could do them. My favourite races tended to be trail races. I also joined Thames Valley Triathletes for a few years, although I have now left. My longest triathlon was The Big Woody: about 1.9 mile swim, 106 mile bike and 19 mile run. I went back to university when I was 40, and my focus was on that for a while. The lack of focus, a rash streak of injuries and putting on weight has affected my form, but now I hoping to get some of it back. I also do circuits and the odd spinning class.