Getting connected through running

This weekend I find myself looking at two runs in quick succession, which perhaps doesn’t say much for my planning skills.  

The first is a 10k Cirrus team run in the Peak District, BackBefore Dark, which involves some hills and head torches, but will hopefully conclude with a beer in the evening. The second is the Macclesfield Half Marathon, which Cirrus is sponsoring, so I felt I ought to take part.  It is also hilly, I am told, which may mean that my time is not exactly a personal best.  But it will be great to be running around the town where I live. 

The first run is about being connected to colleagues and the second is about being connected with our local community.  Both via the medium of running, which normally involves sweat, occasional tears and blood only when I fall over! It will be great to be out there with lots of other people doing the same thing, going through our individual challenges (mostly mental, but also physical) and having a laugh together. 

Here’s the link to leadership. Running is a bit like leadership in that it's a very solitary activity a lot of the time and yet it's really about people getting together with a shared challenge (as well as being a great way to raise money). I remember when we set up the 505050 Challenge when I turned 50 (believe it or not) and I was overwhelmed by the response of so many people who took part, either individually or in teams, to raise money for The Christie and East Cheshire Hospice.  It was an amazing show of unity and raised way over its fundraising target.  It was also a great demonstration of shared leadership, with people stepping forward, taking responsibility, and making what for many were significant personal sacrifices to deliver the event.  It was both awesome and humbling, and demonstrated the collective power of people with a shared purpose to make a difference. 

So I look forward to running with colleagues and neighbours this weekend, safe in the knowledge that the shared experience will bring us closer together. Connected through running. 

Nudge: How a small suggestion can prompt significant change

It was ten years ago that I received a call from my old friend Jonathan. He was taking part in the Great Manchester Run and wondered if we could put him up for the night before the run. Of course, I said.  By the end of the call, however, I had agreed to do the run as well.

Now this may not seem noteworthy, except for the fact that I hadn't run since I was at school and had never enjoyed it then. But having said I'd run, I thought I ought to do a bit of training. Another friend of mine, Mike, helped me with a training plan and off I went, gradually building up the miles in preparation for the big day.

Jonathan and I ran the 10km (or 6.2 miles) event together and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. My running career had started, thanks to that initial nudge on the telephone.

Fast forward a few years and I was contemplating my 50th birthday. Another friend, Adam, was terminally ill with cancer and I decided we'd raise some money for The Christie cancer centre where he was being treated by getting a bunch of people to run 50 miles along the Cheshire canals.  I'd done a few marathons but never anything of that distance. 

On the run itself Jonathan ran with me again.  So many people joined in, it was amazing and uplifting.  We were doing well but at mile 43 we stopped for too long to talk to other runners and have a break, and my legs decided they didn't want to play anymore. The last seven miles took what felt like an eternity and we crossed the finish line together with me in a state of semi-consciousness. It was a wonderful experience but one I don't intend to repeat.

As we approach the Great Manchester Run again, ten years on, it is great to reflect on how one innocent call could nudge me into such a great hobby.  Thank you, Jonathan. How often do small questions prompt significant chains of events?