Reading all the post around Comrades pre and post, it made me wonder, why does everything have to become so technical and complicated (yes I know I am severely challenged in that regard) but still. What happened to just lacing up your shoes and heading out the door, just because you love it? Make no mistake, I would love to do Comrades and all being well I will do it. But when training for my first Ultra I found I lost so much joy and felt so pressurized when training, to pick up speed, supplements, fartleks, lsd…..etc …etc. Just makes my head spin. Maybe I am not competitive enough but its so awesome being out there just running, just being free from all restraints and pressure that life puts on us. Seems training for Ultras add to the pressure and takes away my joy of freedom on the open road. Am I missing something? Have I lost the plot ? Cant I have both?

Thanks Lyn right back at ya – good luck to you in your training

I know the feeling Sheena, when doing ODD Ultra all I could think about is the cut off times and missed the beauty of running around the dam. I can understand the organisors need to put cut off times so bit of a catch 22 I guess

@ Madelein…trails???? listen girl I like the limbs I have, clumsy as they are, but yes I do see where you coming, we have the most beautiful trails in this country

It’s a fine balance i guess. Eg I’m fine until i go on the track. I started running to get fit. I work on the 6th floor of one of the taller buildings on the WITS main campus, and it has a sharp spiral stair case and dodgy lifts. The dodgy lifts always won out but when I started studying there 2002/3 i knew i could walk up the stairs no problem, or so i told myself. But last year i could not even make it to the second or third floor without stopping to catch the lift. I mention that because my running fitness correlates with my ability to walk up those stairs, now i’m hitting the 7th floor without losing my breath, eighth floor almost there! So getting fit has some barometer at the end. Take the stair analogy to the road or whatever and I get satisfaction from doing more easier.

So for me when I laced my shoes last year June it was running up a stretch of Mercury Rd in Benoni without walking, then doing the whole 6km loop without walking. Then running a 10km, then running a 10km without walking. The going under 50 minutes etc. I still love running for the hell of it. I never run with music etc because i love hearing my feet pound the tar, the smells the sounds etc, but I love the feeling when it gets easier, when those hills seem less daunting, and I see those hard confusing tiring sessions as part of that journey.

I had that moment now moving to Pretoria. A stretch of road in Moreleta Park that no matter what I did broke me, but on Saturday I ran a 9km loop that had it and when I got to Wekker St I ran faster, got to the top and wanted to high five every random I ran past!!!!!

The limit I guess is getting to a point where those rewards never come or they are less than the effort going in to getting them.

@Madelein – there will be a run in the Gauteng area too

Running is good for health and if some one want to be healthy and fit he should be love running,i also love running to be healthy and like exersice is well.