Michelle Lewis was part of World Cancer Research Fund’s 2023 London Marathon team. She’s now run an amazing 20 marathons and shares how she reached this milestone – and how you can achieve your running ambitions.They say pride comes before a fall.
It’s a phrase that’s all too true when it comes to running. Over my time as a runner, I’ve learned not dragging your feet is a vital component of success!
But I’m hoping the pride I’m feeling while writing my first blog as an ambassador for World Cancer Research Fund will do the opposite and lift up any potential runners by encouraging them to try this sport, which I’ve grown to love so much.
Today, I’m going to talk about milestones, my running story and why running could transform your life …
Celebrating YOUR milestone
When it comes to running, what is a milestone?
Completing your first 10k? A marathon? Raising thousands of pounds for charity?
Or, like me, completing an ultra marathon across 106km of mud and hills.
If you’re rolling your eyes at the “big shot runner” planting a humble brag in the first few paragraphs of her blog post, then good for you.
A running milestone doesn’t have to be about completing some crazy Instagrammable challenge. It can be being brave enough to put your trainers on and head out the door for the first time, running to the end of the road when your whole body aches, or feeling the elation of completing your first 5k.
Your achievements and milestones when it comes to running are exactly that: YOURS. Setting, achieving and celebrating whatever is a huge accomplishment for you is what makes a milestone.
Over my years of running, I have celebrated all these goals. I was the person who couldn’t run to the top of the road, who battled against the onset of menopause, and who has never been the fastest or the best.
But by ticking off each small milestone, I have managed to celebrate some running success along the way.
I am incredibly proud of finishing the 106km Isle of Wight Challenge this year. To finish a race of that length, one which tested my mind as well as my body, gave me a huge boost.
That run was my first ultra, but it also represented a 20th race over that head-spinning 26.2-mile mark which so many of us covet. When I started running, I wanted – like so many people – to run the London Marathon. I’d watched my Dad finish the race several times when I was growing up, so I guess the running bug was always in me somewhere.
Of course, getting a place in the London race is as challenging – if not more challenging – than the run itself! As ballot after ballot left me disappointed, I took to racing abroad. My first marathon came in Seville and was followed by races in Paris, Barcelona and even Seattle.
Make your running enjoyable
Running and travel became happy bedfellows for me. I’ve run in New York, Las Vegas and at Zuiderpark in The Hague – parkrunners, you know why! These runs weren’t marathons – some of them weren’t even races. But they were all great fun. Making your running enjoyable is a milestone we can all get behind.
Eventually, thanks to a charity place with World Cancer Research Fund, I embraced my London Marathon goal, completing that iconic race in 2023.
But I wasn’t always a runner – although running is probably in my genes.
I grew up in a household where running was a constant companion. My Dad was a member of a local running club and clocked up some serious times, finishing his fastest marathons in around 3 hours 15 minutes.
Watching him as a youngster, it wasn’t so much the times that I noticed, but the happiness I found in being part of my Dad’s running, watching him finish events and being part of the joy that is the London Marathon.
Despite that, I didn’t start running myself until I was in my late 30s. My husband was training for the Milton Keynes Marathon, and I started to join him on training runs.
Running was an escape from the busyness of life, a chance to leave work and whatever was going on in the house behind and just be me. That freedom became even more important when, despite going through IVF treatment, we were unable to have children.
I was left with an empty feeling about what should come next in my life. It was a feeling that was suddenly filled when a friend asked me what I really wanted to do. Before I knew it, I’d told him: “I want to run a marathon!”
And that was how it started.
Running was not only a friend that allowed me to escape on my own, but also the most social buddy I’ve ever had. I became a run director at parkrun and loved being part of that running community. I set up my own running club, ran in an array of weird and wonderful costumes from a dinosaur to Where’s Wally, and am privileged to have raised money for some fantastic charities.
If you’re not sure if you want to be a runner, lose the label. Just be the child running to see their Dad at the end of a race, or who enjoys playing with their friends. Have fun with it and embrace it – you may just find yourself.
Top tips for people looking to get into running
Running has changed my life for the best, and I honestly believe that can be the case for anyone. Running came into its own for me at a dark time – but it helped me to find myself again.
I am fitter, happier and more fulfilled because of running, I have met scores of wonderful people and travelled to places I wouldn’t otherwise have visited, and I’ve gained a support group that both lifts me up and makes me smile.
If you want to get into running, it’s worth finding a local group to be a part of or head to your nearest parkrun, where you’ll be assured of a warm welcome. Don’t be scared to share your feelings – running groups can be the biggest therapy sessions and most people have their own story.
That’s not to say everything is incredibly serious. I’ve had loads of fun while running, particular on those long, slow chatty runs where the world is set to rights or you laugh about everything from your pets to having to pee when there are no toilets around!
Maybe you’ll never fall in love with running the way I have, but you could definitely love the feeling it gives you after each run and what it does to your body and mind. Running teaches you so many life skills, from resilience to communication – and occasionally outright survival skills!
> Got the running bug? Check out all the events you could run for World Cancer Research Fund