WESTWARD

Tilly GW
Tilly GW
Aug 22, 2017 · 3 min read

PART THREE — REALITY

photo @jan_kirkham

Being at the premier of the Breaking 2 documentary film, created by the National Geographic and Nike, was a huge privilege. Informed and reminded of the planning, belief and sheer effort that drove this project, both behind and in front of the scenes was truly inspirational. I was lucky enough to be the third and final audience member to grab the microphone and ask the question that had been on my mind since the day I first heard about it. My heart pounding, the room silent, a panel consisting of the film director, lead scientist, and two Olympians looked back at me. Amongst an audience I never imagined I could be a part of.

“How fast do you think a woman could go?”

photo @bitbeefy

I have early memories of Paula’s marathons, at home with my family, eyes locked to the TV screen as she speeds through the streets of Athens, New York, London. I must have acknowledged the struggle, the fight and difficulty of the task she was undertaking.

It didn’t seem to put me off.

A significant gesture that I took away from her ritual was the arms straight, fists pumped in the air, that we so often witnessed when she crossed the line, nobody ahead, first place for Paula Radcliffe. I seemed to adopt this in my own practice. Only 5 years old, out with my family, no matter who I might be running against, when I felt the time was right, my fists would pump, my own finish line had come and I had won the race. I was convinced that I was Paula, the fastest woman, the best marathon runner in the world.

Despite Paula being my idol, my competitive (so far, not finished yet!) running involvement has been in the sprints. I have always identified and trained as a sprinter.

When Nike informed me about the Hood to Coast trip, the reality was that I had 6 weeks to transform myself from running short to running long; a huge challenge that, on reflection, I think perhaps is still taking my mind longer to process than my body.

I really struggled to come to terms with heading out the door to run, continually, for what originally felt like forever. I felt unable to tap in to any form of enjoyment or exhilaration from my efforts and missed the thrill of running fast on track.

I’m not sure if it was the running that made me depressed, or the depression that made me run. Or none of the above. It’s unpredictable and difficult to understand. As I’ve previously described, (here), on track I somehow managed to find an absolute escape, no time to think or consider, this is what I missed and craved.

I have now managed to find some peace in running ‘long’. Over the past few weeks, I have become more familiar with the motion and a thought process that I can manage. Running without music I think has enabled me to escape from messy and scattered thoughts, which I initially thought I could hide from by listening to something else. New streets, twists, turns and destinations have provided distraction and intrigue.

The truth is, we share similar goals, dreams and aspire to go further and faster. We’re willing to put in the work, it may come in different forms but pushing mind and body is common. Breaking boundaries, crushing stereotypes, exceeding limits and touching on the impossible. Sprinting? Distance? Running.

Hood to Coast, lets go.

WESTWARD PART ONE

WESTWARD PART TWO

voltwomen

We started nearly four years ago with the IG platform @Voltwomen — we are a truly global community — our IWDrun on international womensday is a good example. Our network has among others elite runners as well as beginners.

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Tilly GW

Written by

Tilly GW

theconfusedbadger https://www.instagram.com/theconfusedbadger/?hl=en

voltwomen

voltwomen

We started nearly four years ago with the IG platform @Voltwomen — we are a truly global community — our IWDrun on international womensday is a good example. Our network has among others elite runners as well as beginners.

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