03/06/2026
Happy Global Running Day. 🌍👟
"Wherever you are, wherever you go, there is always some hill to climb." — Emil Zátopek
Today I want to say a genuine thank you. To every single person who has run alongside me, encouraged me, suffered up a hill with me, or just messaged to say they got out today when they really didn't want to and to everyone who has come to our free speed and strength Sunday run club. You are the RunStrong Rebellion. This community is what makes it mean something.
Running is one of the most inclusive and fundamentally natural things a human being can do (yes i know some of you will be thinking.....not when I do it) but simply moving more quickly across the ground on foot is something we have done well pretty much forever.
You don't need a gym membership, a coach, or a race number. You just need to move a bit quicker than you normally would. That might be a few laps of your local park on a Tuesday evening. It might be a six-hour slog through the Lakeland fells in horizontal rain or putting 1 foot in front of the other for 24hrs or more. All count. All matter. All are running.
Trail running in particular has given me more than any race medal ever could. It has taught me to be present in a way very little else does. When you're picking a line down a technical descent or digging deep into the pain well to summit a peak, you're not worrying about work, your to-do list, or what you said in that meeting three years ago. You are entirely, completely in the moment. "True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future." – Seneca
Running, and in particular Trail running, has a funny way of enforcing that.
One of the biggest lies our generation (especially men) are sold is that physical decline after 40 is just what happens. You accept it, you manage it, you eventually just slow down and stop.
That's not true or at least it doesn't have to be. Yes we start to have to train differently and we might not be as robust as we once were but I refuse to accept we can't significantly slow the process and that is what the rebellion is about. I've seen runners in their 50s and 60s complete multi-day fastpacking adventures, marathons and ultras in the mountains, deserts and icescapes that would floor most 25-year-olds. A good number of the elites are hitting their peak long distance performances well after 35.
The body responds when you give it something to respond to.
So wherever you are on this journey and whatever type of runner you are, first parkrun, first 100-miler, road runner or mud loving trail ju**ie, or just dusting off your trainers after a long break. I salute you today is for you.
Keep moving. Keep showing up.
Stay Strong | Happy Running 🏃
https://runclub.therunstrongproject.com/run-club-caversham