First time for everything.

So I've decided to start a blog, to fill my spare time more than anything. However I do love running, cycling, hiking and anything that gets me outside experiencing the world. I often find myself boring others with how great a run was, trying to sell magic of trail running. When running with friends in Glasgow I ramble on about how great running is in the Borders or the Trossachs, how they need to ditch pounding the pavements and escape the city. I figured a blog was the best way to share my adventures and experiences, no matter how small.

From reading others blogs the first post seems to be a bit about them so here goes:

I run, cycle, hike and climb but I am a runner, an obssesive and addicted runner. I first started running in early primary school at local cross country races. My parents tell me I used to cry before every race and refuse to run, most of the time I did run and had stopped crying by the finish, this was probably just my pre-race routine. I started running again aged 17 in the adult section of the same cross country races and started my current pre-race hour on the toilet ritual. It worked quite well and I managed to pick up 2nd in my catagory and not defecate myself once.
At Uni I found the lure of the Beer Bar strong and spent the first 6 months enjoying the "Uni Life". Things changed when one hazy hungover morning our new tutor opened the session with "does anybody run?". Eager to impress I shouted over the commonwealth athlete sitting beside me and later that week was at my first Hares and Hounds training session. I was hooked, running in a pack through the city streets, pushing ourselves to puking at sessions and wearing the team vest at races. This was my first experience of running in such a tight and supportive team and I was loving it.

I floated on running for the next 2 years as an average athlete at races up to 10K. My running "epiphany" came following 2 months out after appendicitis. On placement In Ayr following a couple of 2-3 mile runs I was lured out on a run that started as "lets run to that cliff by the sea". 15 miles of running, scrambling, tressspassing and getting lost later as the sun set we hobbled back into the house. I had changed; Long runs brought a sense of journey, discovery and achievement; not to mention the fantastic slow burning pain that drives you forward. To this day I still bore friends with that magical run in Ayr, I brush over the fact I missed class the next morning with legs too stiff to negotiate stairs. The seed was planted, mountains and ultras were calling me.

A ridiculous cycle, marathon and ultra later we are at present day and I am a drastically different person to what I was before that run. Running has helped me find who I am, ditch a degree I was forcing myself through for all the wrong reasons and given me the drive to pursue my dreams.

What to expect from my blog:
1. Ramblings about drives us and the nonsense that tumbles through my brain while I run.
2. Race reports.
3. The odd kit, book and training reviews.
4. Some cheesy running videos.