When i first began to run I was always of the philosophy I may not be the fittest person around, but I believed in my mental hardiness. I believed and still do that I can continue to push beyond what I have achieved on any given day.
This hardiness was built on the back of others achievements. Reading about other runners such as Dean Karnazes inspired me to start down the long road of running long. Hearing about others achievements inspires me to go outside and see how far I can push. One of my favourite ever inspirations was by a runner whose name escapes me. One day someone sent me a link to a youtube video of ultra runners.
The runner spoke of the runners high and that he preferred to explore the low times. For if he was able to push in the lows the highs would take care of themselves. There may be a little para-phrasing there but the idea stuck with me. From that point on I have always tried to explore the difficult running days. Making sure to manage my emotions when it gets tough and bring the breathing and heart rate in line. Concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. This has served me so well and has allowed to to continue to push in a multitude of situations.
So when I heard about an adventure film festival taking place in Buxton I thought it would be a great idea to head on over. After all I could meet someone who gives me that little piece of knowledge that pops into my head on a difficult run! There are lots of talks and film viewings of all sorts of athletes you can find a full list over at the Buxton Adventure Festival running 2-3rd of November
I plan on attending on the Sunday with a runner and his wife that I met a while ago, Simon Freeman. We are managing to squeeze in 3 talks. The first from Heather Dawe, ultra runner, climber and cyclist who is chatting on stage with Claire Maxted, followed by the film Dragons Back.
Followed by Jez Bragg who is talking about his epic 3,054Km journey across New Zealand. Then finally the one I am looking forward to the most Rosie Pope-Swale the only person to ever run around the world solo! Mixed in between all the talks are numbers short films, so it is sizing up to be an incredibly inspiring day.
I wrote this ost listening to the perfect song — Haim – Falling. Is perhaps the running mantra i live to, never look back, never give up.
Simon it was a pleasure to hear your short (and impromptu) talk at the Buxton Adventure Festival this weekend. I’ll continue to follow your blog with interest.
All the speakers were very good, I only regret missing Rosie’s talk because I was outside having a chat with Jez!
Best wishes
Tony
All the talks were great! I am just working on a post now about the entire day.
Rosie was incredible, I ended up buying her book today on Kindle so I could hear about the whole adventure!