I simply love being outdoors in wild and natural spaces. Whether I am hiking, running, cycling, swimming, skiing, or simply enjoying a few moments of quiet, exploring the great outdoors makes me feel most alive.
I live on the beautiful Gower Peninsula in Wales, UK. It’s a great spot for a trail runner to explore. I started off running as an 8-year old and completed my first half marathon aged 11. By 16, I thought it was all over, due to a catalogue of injuries. However, since moving here in my early forties, I rediscovered running altogether.
Running has been a journey of self-discovery and empowerment. It makes the rest of my life easier. I want to share some of the richness that running in the great outdoors brings to my life and hope to inspire you to get out there and to keep moving!
A brief history of my running life
Early years
I grew up in Potchefstroom, South Africa, where athletics was a big deal in primary schools. By the age of 10 I was already hooked. I was small, light and fast and got used to winning. By age 11 I ran (and won) my first half marathon. It was 1984 and road running was pretty unregulated back then. The main thing for me was still middle distance athletics and cross country.
My family moved to Stellenbosch, which is a sports and athletics training hub in South Africa, in 1985. Zola Budd moved to Stellenbosch during my high school years. It was very exciting for me to meet her and even have the same coach as her. I was still a little girl with big dreams and no wisdom. I did very well for about two years, winning most races I ran and setting new regional records for my age group. My PB’s for 800m, 1500m (4:45) and 10km (48:36) are all from 1986.
Then things started to change. Overtraining and under eating started to take their toll. This was fuelled by an unbalanced focus on wins and achievements, leading to injury and ill health and unhappiness.
By age 13 I had a double stress fracture in my fibula. At 16 I had debilitating Achilles tendon problems and walked with a limp. Despite training hard (the no pain no gain belief and approach), I did not see the cross country or athletics season through to a peak again. It was demoralising and frustrating and eventually I stopped competing.
The dormant years
Having given up on the dream of being an athlete, I pursued a career in medicine, moved to the UK and became a Consultant anaesthetist in the NHS.
Over the years I never stopped running and even tried out a bit of triathlon! Nevertheless, I carried a sadness with me and even now I sometimes wish I could apply what I know now to my 25 or 30 year old body. Still, running stayed with me and kept me grounded and moving through some pretty tough times and big life challenges.
Ultimately, it is our journey that shapes us, our perspective, philosophy and approach, not only in running, but in all of life. In so many ways, running in all it’s expressions becomes a metaphor for life for me.
I know that you don’t have to win to be a winner!
A new chapter of adventure and discovery
In my early forties (2015) I moved to the Gower Peninsula. It was a time of putting down roots, of new beginnings, of change and hope. The whole process was accelerated by me giving myself permission to run without guilt. Running was my time of enjoyment, peace, reflection and exploration in a busy life with what seemed too many responsibilities.
At that time I was a single mom, my son was 5 years old and I was working a 1 in 7 on-call rota as part of my job. Running was essential! The local running group, Darth Coastal Runners, was in it’s heyday and I had the best time trudging through the mud and trotting along the cliffs with them on Saturday mornings. My time to run was my time to play!
It was at this time that I started a regular yoga practice and I was hooked from the first class. I have since completed my 300hour Yoga Teacher Training and continue to practice regularly.
I haven’t looked back. My passion had been reignited. The sheer joy of running has remained the motivation for doing it over the years. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed winning a few races and setting a new half marathon PB at 45 to beat the one I set at 21! But I have to practice gratitude and celebrate my personal wins to stay on track.
In 2016 I rediscovered the joy of racing. I ran a few cross countries for Swansea Harriers, a trail 10km and a 21km adventure race.
Road marathons
From there I quickly progressed to marathon distance.
- Rotterdam marathon 2017 3:45 (inexperienced, hit the wall at 34km, walked 3km, managed to get running again)
- Snowdonia marathon 2017 3:42 (hilly, maintained pace and effort and finished strong)
- Newport marathon 2018 3:18 (overtrained, exhausted on the start line, missed 3:15 to qualify for London marathon championship place – I managed to get that with a 1:28 half marathon time)
- London marathon 2019 3:09 (consistent pace and effort start to finish, very pleased)
I was self coached during this time and devoured running books! ‘The Endurance Handbook’ by Dr Phil Maffetone had the biggest impact on how I trained. I healed from overtraining and learnt how to train in a sustainable, healthy way. This approach makes a happy runner!
Trail, mountains and ultra marathons
London marathon did not satisfy me. After all, it is defined by the city environment, an environment that I have pulled away from. I wanted the hills, the wide open spaces and the fresh air! Additionally, I was curious about even longer distances.
In June 2019 I completed Run, Walk, Crawl’s Brecon Beacons Trail Ultra (34miles/54km). I was the second female finisher and thought anything over 50km was to be avoided in future. Time would reveal to me that I had indeed embarked on my ultra marathon journey.
Quite literally, my very next race was the Montane Dragon’s Back Race 2021!!! That’s a whole story in itself. I was in way over my head and did not finish the full 6 days. Nevertheless, I was pretty pleased with finishing 4 full days and learning a whole lot.
It was time for me to be coached, so I signed up with Jen Scotney. With her training plans, support and guidance I completed the 190 mile Northern Traverse in April 2022.
The Dragon’s Back was calling me back to complete unfinished business. I continued to devour running books and had listened through Sean Beardon’s entire ‘Science of Ultra’ podcast. It was time for me to sign up for a coaching certification. The timing of my coaching course with the Lydiard Foundation was perfect aligned with my training for Dragon’s Back Race 2023.
At 5pm on 10 September 2023 I became a Dragon’s Back Race finisher!
My future running life
I am ready and excited to support others on their running journey. Please get in touch via email if you are interested in being coached by me.
There is a long wish list of races, adventures, and challenge that keeps me excited and on the run. In addition, I keep listening, reading, studying, questioning and experimenting to improve my knowledge of running. I want to run in ways that keeps me healthy and happy.
