We love Steph’s “fun first” approach to running, and once you read her story, you will, too: “I moved to Afghanistan in 2012 [as a human rights attorney] and I was living in an armed compound and wasn’t allowed to walk outside, let alone run.
So my space for training was inside this compound where the longest stretch of road was about 800 metres.
I think it was when I didn’t have the ability to train in any kind of good conditions, it was the worst training conditions I’ve ever had, that I really started to appreciate running for what it is – that very basic act of just being able to move – and I began to love that tiny bit of freedom that I could hold on to.
It’s given me a much deeper sense of appreciation for how privileged we are and how privileged I feel to be able to go out in nature and run for hours on end without hitting a wall, without hitting the end of the compound, without having to turn around. It’s something I think we take for granted.
To have the physical ability to move, to have the freedom to be able to move through nature, these are things that can be taken away at any time and many people don’t have those freedoms.
I think it’s quite important to appreciate them.
If that sounds like fun, join Suva Marathon Club at https://www.strava.com/clubs/182573, and get the app at the App Store or Google Play.
Share the real, uncurated you with #AthletesUnfiltered. The more haggard you look, the better.
Directed by Mike Brett & Steve Jamison
Produced by Archer’s Mark
