How’s your relationship with running going? Are you madly in love, or are things going through a sticky patch? After a frustrating few weeks due to injury, I’m finally getting out there again. While I’m not yet back to where I was, the enforced break has made me re-evaluate my running, and notably what I love (and hate!) about it.
So, in the spirit of Saint Valentine, may I present: Snog, Marry, Avoid – The Running Relationship Quiz!
After much heart-searching here are my answers:
•Snog – scenic long-distance trail events featuring lots of vertical, absurd gradients and silly terrain. Sure, they’re mostly out of my league, I know I shouldn’t be with them, and they’re incompatible with my long-term commitment. But…. just once in a while the temptation is irresistible!
•Marry – running outdoors, how, when and where I want. Sometimes it’s bliss, sometimes it’s a bit samey, sometimes I wonder what the point is and think I could do better (see Snog) but, for better for worse, this is what I really love.
•Avoid – Mr Garmin. Yes, he’s really popular, clever and thinks he knows so much about me, even my heart rate! But he’s an empathy-free zone, and things always have to be done his way. I used to want to please him, but now keep my interactions with him to the minimum. Whisper it – I even go out without him!
Of course, as for all relationships, what one person finds attractive can be somebody else’s turn-off.
So, what’s on your Snog, Marry, Avoid list? And why? Strictly no people, please, but whether it’s places, types of run, events, training, tech, gear, whatever… time to spill the beans about your running relationship!
Looking forward to your confessions!
The Marathon Team xxx
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Written by
Cmoi
Marathon
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Honestly I haven’t been thinking for all this time, we’ve had a few days in Venice and just got back (thank goodness we weren’t flying back today 😱)
But after having a little think here is my reply 🙂
Snog - intervals. Complicated relationship, definitely masochistic. I use to avoid them as they led to pain and spells on the IC but I’ve got stronger now and so can cope with them but only from time to time 😫
Marry - Long, slow languorous runs close to nature. It’s when I’m happiest and definitely a long haul thing 🙂
Avoid - park runs. I’ve done a few but don’t really enjoy them. I think it’s because they mess with any training I’m doing and since I seem to be in training most of the time……
Ciao bella! Such a lovely photo, thanks, though obviously I'm heart-broken to learn that you didn't spend your entire time in Venice pondering over your reply. 😜
With you on the marry and avoid - no interval snogging for me though!
That's such a beautiful picture RunWillie , and we're not dissimilar in our approach to running either. Though I'd have to drive about four hours to get to the nearest ocean!
Oh no misswobble , you're entitled to be more than miffed about that. Your running needs to learn to treat you with the respect you deserve. Wishing you a speedy and full recovery. 😘
Hmm, I'm not a very technical runner, but feeling like you have your shoes on the wrong feet 🦶❌🔁❌🦶 doesn't sound good. Really hope you can get things sorted soon. When's your race?
My fitness felt ok but I was only jogging very slowly for a short time. I’ve got my wobble cushion and I’ve been using that. I’ve put it in the lounge doorway so I can’t go in and out without using it 🙂. As I type this I’ve got my knee up, but I’ve been ok today and have been pottering. My greenhouse window has been ripped off and badly damaged. Gawd knows how I’m going to get it back on 🙄. There’s always sommat 🤷♀️🙂
I turned out yesterday but it was a nightmare Because of my sore knee I untypically drove to the country park for my run. Got back to the car after my slow plod on the trail and it wouldn’t start 😫. Several freezing hours later the rescue van showed up. I was freezing, hungry and desperate for the loo. The weather was horrendous 🥶
Oh misswobble , what a nightmare! I mean, I'm pleased you got out on the trails, but boo to all the rest. I do hope you got home, thawed out, fed and comfortable (I'll confess, I'd probably have peed on the spot) with no further hassle. You deserve some good luck now 🍀
The weather was so vile there was no way I was gonna bare my arse to have a pee Besides there were two pecky swans stalking me for my bread shoes 😁.
I cleared up a fly tip before getting in the car as the poor swans were trying to eat cardboard. There were beer bottles and all sorts of rubbish dumped in a heap. I’d got a box in my boot so I put the rubbish in it and straight in the boot. Several hours of sitting in the car later the pile of rubbish was really smelly What a bloody rotten day
I ate like a pig when I got home. Eggs and bacon and thick slices of home made bread doorstops 🤤 it took hours to get warm. I got into bed with a brew after my bath 🛀
Races are definitely in the snog category; although my experience is limited (not many races!). The element of risk, hint of danger and the joy at crossing the finishing line and collecting bling take runner’s high to a new level. At nearly 70 years old, these experience need to be stretched out. The occasional dalliance…not a way of life.
In the marry category, like you, are the every other day runs of varying duration and conditions. I can take the rough with the smooth from the joys of a new pb to dragging home one limb or another after a break down. I am good at remembering to celebrate anniversaries too and am a fairly cheap date with only a flat white and chocolate brownie (or similar) needed to mark the occasion.
Avoid; definitely IC. What a perfidious wench she is! Just when you think you are making progress she crushes you. You are left wondering; is this the end or just a blip? The only solution is to seek help….I see a podiatrist on Thursday. Whether he will put me back on track or simply help to extract my foot from my mouth remains to be seen…….🙂
Glad to see you're on the mend! I am too, my Achilles is much better and I'm getting back on track (or road anyway) with my marathon plan. Go us!!!
And lol, nice subject! I have been pondering it all day, but I keep coming back to the different race distances, so here goes:
💖 Snog: The longer triathlon (half-Ironman and beyond). I am (very) seriously toying with the idea of Castle to Coast next year. This is roughly half-Ironman distance and would take me home from London, which is a thing I just love! But what worries me is the bike leg, quite apart from the 105 km length of the ride, I am actually pretty scared of cycling downhill! So I'll be heading up over the downs on my bike later this year and asking myself some pretty hard questions...
💖 Marry: Marathons have my heart!
💖 Avoid: 5k 🤮 I'm kidding really, hoping to rock up to parkrun a bit more this year... with trepidation though! Maybe I'll just volunteer, haven't tried barcode scanning yet... 😂 5k is so hard!!!
I hereby proclaim you Queen 👑 of the castle 🏰 roseabi , even a sprint tri would be a step, or more accurately a swim, too far for me!
Downhill cycling is properly scary. Several decades ago, during a summer holiday in the Roya Valley, my husband made me ride up a very steep winding road for hours. I got a puncture and cried most of the way up, before rocketing down the descent in a fraction of the time, frantically hanging onto my brakes.
Eek!! I tend to hold onto the brakes until my forearm tendons are completely gone, so there's a lot of work to do 😂😂😂
Ooh! What a fabulous post Cmoi
Snog: I just love the excitement of the NRC HM training programme at the moment. So much so I end up dreaming about completed and forthcoming runs. Maybe I'm just an oddball 🧐😮🤪🤣. Also doner kebabs. Is that allowed 😀
Marry: it has to be Coach B. Dont tell Mrs RfJ. I really find the coaching to be inspiring. It makes me feel happy and in control. It makes running so joyful (for me anyway)
Avoid: blooming Garmin and its numbers driven programs. Great watch but the training plans just aren't for me.
Ha! Mine has been unusually quiet the last few weeks. I would normally expect an "unproductive" or similar message of encouragement. Maybe he's just waiting to destroy me next week with a barrage of abuse 😁😁
Well, Hidden , I'd said "no people" (to avoid libel and other shenanigans 😱) but I guess Coach B is more of a virtual presence 🎧💬🏃♂️. However, there's considerable evidence to suggest that he's involved in relationships with lots of others. Sorry. Please feel free to console yourself with doner kebabs and Dairy Milk. We won't tell Mrs RfJ, or Garmin, about any of it. 😜
Oh blimey Cmoi, that's a very good question! I don't think I can divide it up at the moment. Running and I are definitely going through a sticky patch at the moment. However I'm hoping we're getting through it.
Body has been causing arguments and acting like a spoilt teenager since the late summer which is causing all sorts of tension in our relationship. Every time I go out it complains it doesn't want to do it. But being the annoying parent, I drag it out and eventually it realises it was a good thing after all.
This weekend I think body and I may have turned a corner. I think it's realised it's not going to win (not yet anyway 🤣) and has let me go faster again and not thrown it's toys out of the window after I've made it go a longer distance.
Unfortunately, it is going to get beaten up by a very tiny lady with very strong hands today though as it's the monthly massage. Wish me luck! 😝
So with you with "run for fun" GoGo_JoJo . I'm constantly struggling to keep running from becoming a "pass-fail, must perform" activity. I'd much rather pretend to be a ✈️
Great question... I'm still deeply infatuated with running......snog is definitely a run on the coast followed by a dip in the sea, that's the very best.....Marry? Hmm, I'm in for the long haul....hope to have years of enjoying this relationship tho a late starter.....avoid? Any type of fall that puts a spoke in this beautiful relationship....worry about Ms Garmin raising my fitness age, becoming a running bore by going on about the benefits to the wrong people!
What I love most about your reply, Mormor1 , is the being in it for the long haul. While I'm a bit younger than you, I also hope to be running for a good few years yet. 👍😁
Snog: Running in terrible weather. Wouldn’t want it all the time but wow, what a high!
Marry: just going out and doing it, like Mormor1 this is a long term, committed relationship. There are ups and there are downs but I couldn’t be without it.
Avoid: organised races and events. Dogs who try to attack my canine running companion (who I considered putting as the marry category as he is a great running mate and makes me feel safe. However I decided it sounded weird😂) and I am ashamed to say; big hills!
I adore my dog Hidden , but he definitely doesn't make me feel safer if I run with him - I'm more likely to go flat on my face! Also, while most local dogs are fine, there's one German Shepherd that came racing out of its garden and got very snappy with me the other day, so no way would I take my dog along that path.
I've never (yet) succumbed to the charms of Sweaty Betty, even in the sale. Just can't bring myself to shell out on clothes that are all too likely to get muddy and torn on the trails.
But they last for years Cmoi and still keep their shape. I fell on a tree root once wearing a pair and although I had a cut on my knee, there was no hole or tear in the SB leggings!
See, I've only been running for 21 months, so am still working my way through my stock of Lidl gear. Latest acquisition, as of yesterday, a pair of black softshell leggings for one euro. I am such a cheap date!
It was by chance that I found the top years ago. My husband had gone in to look at their wine (apparently the bubbly had just been voted the best in Which?) and I had gone in for a potter. Then, I spied the most gorgeous top…. my only regret is that I didn't buy the other colour too ☹️
There are two Lidls and one Aldi within a 25km drive, but I don't think our Aldi has ever had merino running stuff in, boo.
French and British Lidl and Aldi also have their "specials" in at different times. The softshell leggings came in a few weeks ago, then disappeared completely, then came back with 30% off. Bought a pair, then yesterday I spotted another in one of their random boxes with no price tag at all. Checkout assistant informed me they were one euro so I grabbed them!
The same branch has heaps of the Lidl branded sweatshirts and sweatpants that they're evidently failing to shift!
I run in remote, muddy and woody places. Dog makes me feel secure and Sweaty Betty is great quality gym wear that is (imho) good value. Washes well and lasts for years.Just keep me away from the sale…
Given your recommendation Hidden I just tried to look at the Sweaty Betty site. Infuriatingly it's refusing to load properly - must be trying to tell me something! Ah well, sales finished here last week anyway.
For me Snog is running on the trails especially in the quiet mornings with the sun shining. But the rain is lovely too. And the potential of seeing wildlife.
Marry: 3-4 runs per week no matter the weather. We are in a very committed relationship.
Avoid: it was going to be a trail focused year, avoiding the big busy road races, but I’ve decided one last hurrah in Berlin this year and then back to trails next year. Injury is also a real threat this year with 3 back to back long races in September due to my poor planning, so will be trying hard to avoid that scenario. Have been avoiding strength work too but will need to move that into another category soon!
i'm so impressed that you do canicross Maddee_6333 . While I'll occasionally go out with our dog I just haven't found the knack of running properly with him. Admittedly I've not tried wth a proper canicross lead - we do have one, bought by my husband for no good reason years ago. Think I'll be sticking to forest walks, as they're lots of fun, and keeping running separate.
I don't let Jedi pull on a normal lead because he's a powerful 35kg Border Collie - Bernese Mountain Dog cross, and I'm a 53kg shortarse. My easy pace on gentle gradients is pretty much his trot, which is OK, but if I go any faster he starts to run. Unsurprisingly he's way, way faster than I am!
Here's a photo of the speed demon chilling out two months ago.
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here are my answers:
