Glasgow Running Routes:

Personal Bests:

5km: 18 minutes 32 seconds (on a treadmill)

10km: 40 minutes 51 seconds (Gallovidian 10k)

Marathon: 3 hours 50 minutes 34 seconds (Loch Ness Marathon)

20m Bleep Test: 13.7

Equipment:

Shoes: Brooks GTS 10 from Achilles’s Heel (a nearby shop)

How I got into running

After Christmas 2009 I was making two lists, one for the stuff I wanted to achieve in the coming decade and the other for 2010. Originally “Run a marathon” was in the decade category but I soon realised 2010 would as good as year as any. I had the time to train and I was already at a fairly good level of fitness from going to the gym (my time for 5k on a treadmill was 20:53) . I liked having something definite to aim for so I signed up to the Loch Ness Marathon 2010 on the 22nd January.

I picked the Loch Ness Marathon because I wanted to do one in Scotland but mainly because the timing suited me. It would give me a whole summer to get ready.

I didn’t start any particular training immediately but I started using the treadmill more often. Most training regimes for marathons last about 12 weeks so I figured I had plenty of time to build up my fitness.

In March I finally got round to buying a pair of running shoes I was meant to purchase for my birthday and started running outside of the gym. I found it surprisingly fun. Glasgow is a nice city to go running in, especially the West End. There are plenty of parks with my favourite for running being Kelvingrove. I tried to run outside twice a week plus some time on the treadmill while I was at the gym.

I could see my own improvement in less than two weeks and I could easily run for over an hour without any stiffness in my legs. The variation you get from outdoors is much nicer than the gym. I did miss the precision of the treadmill. A treadmill will never lie to you and you know exactly how far you’ve been and how long it took.

As the weather started to improve in Spring I ran home from university some times instead of taking the subway. I also did gentle runs to friend’s flats instead of taking the subway. I must admit this wasn’t all about training but also saving money!

For most of the summer holiday’s I was in Dumfries so I couldn’t use the university gym. I was also less imaginative with my routes in Dumfries and only ever used the same fairly flat cycle path.