Welcome to my blog! I hope you will enjoy reading my race reports, musings about run training and other fitness-related activities.
My name is Petra, I am 100% Dutch and live in Yorkshire. I have lived in England all my adult life. I came to running late, aged 45, having never been sporty at all, though I had been a keen hillwalker. I was the laughing stock at PE during my school years. Unable to do gymnastics, or catch or throw a ball, it was all a bit miserable. Running didn’t feature at school. So at least no early cross-country trauma for me! I started my running journey by tentatively going out in the dark, along the streets in my village, and just building the distance I could run without stopping from a few hundred yards up to a few miles over one winter. Couch to 5k before the term had been invented I guess. I was so delighted when spring came and I could run far enough to venture out into the fields, it was as if a whole world of possibilities opened up, like running to the next village or town! 18 months later someone at work asked if I wanted to run the Leeds half marathon for charity and I entered, thinking I wouldn’t enjoy racing at all. To my huge surprise I absolutely loved it, with the roads closed ‘just for me’ and all those spectators cheering, it gave me real buzz. Since then I have always been keen on racing despite being a mid-pack runner at best, and back of the pack in many races. I joined a running club, Ilkley Harriers, after a few years too, which has been one of the best things I have done, and the club continues to add enormous value to my life in terms of friendship as well as training benefits.
I write this at the end of 2022, and 15 years have passed since those early running steps. I turned 60 this year and am lucky enough to have retired on that birthday. More time for running, not to mention stretching and strength-training, those components become increasingly important as my legs get older! Over the last year I have started taking part in off-road ultras and found that I really enjoy going for the longer distances. Though I still also run shorter road and cross-country races, as well as parkrun. I mainly run in Yorkshire, but when I get the chance I love travelling to the Alps to walk and run there. Still not particularly speedy, but that does not detract from the huge enjoyment I get out of my running. And age-categories and age-grading are of course marvellous things! I also like writing about the races I run, so I hope that sharing my thoughts on this platform may provide some interest for you.