Retiring from running #UKRunChat
Yep it’s true, I’m hanging up the cape and utility belt. When your support at home finally ends for the running you do rather than continue limping on with it I think I’d rather bow out now.
My partner has slowly but surely been reducing her support for my running both in training and racing terms over the last year and so I finally put my hands up and say ‘you’ve won – sort of’.
Why ‘sort of’? Well the answer to that is easy because you don’t know what’s going to happen when I stop running. It’s a bit like Brexit – it won’t all be plain sailing.
So I retire, effective immediate – no High Weald 50km, no Haria Extreme, no more RunCommute.
The challenging thing is what to do now? I don’t have any other real hobbies and running greatly aided both my physical and mental wellbeing, I’m not sure how to replace that – will I just go back to being uber angry and decidedly unfit?
The sad thing is that the mental wellbeing will probably be the first to deteriorate and might remind me how little I wanted to be a parent or how unfocused on my career and work I have been for example. Retiring from running will certainly draw into sharp focus my life because there will be a void to fill and I think a lot when I’m not busy and time to think for someone like me is never a good thing.
Perhaps I’ll take up drinking? Mash my brain to reduce the thinking? It’s something I gave up around 6 years ago but I could give it a go again or perhaps reinvigorate all those real life social connections I’ve let drift away or create new non running related ones. I wonder how many hours a week that will take up? I wonder if that will eat into ‘time at home’. I wonder if the cost of Central London nights out is comparable to the time and financial cost of my running? I guess we’ll find out.
So giving up running might well pave the way for a lifestyle reset – let’s hope she enjoys what she gets.
PS. I realise I’m a selfish prick – you don’t need to tell me
UltraBoyRuns 
sorry to hear that dude, not tempted to keep the run commute going then? Good for your mental health as you say and can just be for fun with no end goal. Whatever you do, hope it makes you both happy.
I’ll be honest it’s going to make me suicidal but I always thought I’d be dead by 40 😀
What about fun events like Ranscombe where all the family could come?
They have attended Ranscombe and I did consider asking Traviss if the baby could enter but I couldn’t just do ‘family friendly’ events-it was the variety I enjoyed. I genuinely would rather stop and do something else rather than do running half heartedly
I understand. I go to events completely untrained lately, come out frustrated and speak about quitting. I haven’t yet but am running considerably less and have found a new love for at home DVDs (mostly from beachbody, high intensity and good fun. I am becoming a bit obsessed with them…). I hope you find something else to replace the void from running. Maybe a break will help and when she grows up your daughter night ask you to take her to parkrun 🙂
She can ask her mother for parkrun I intend to have died of s chocolate/fast food related heart attack soon
Is there not some kind of compromise to be had here? Like perhaps backing off the ultras/marathons in favour of 10ks and half marathons? Or perhaps only doing one race a month? Then you can still run and reap the benefits and have more free time to spend with your family. I’m sure an adult conversation and a bit of compromise on both parts can reach a happy resolution. Does it really have to be all or nothing?
I only run for endurance and I don’t want to be told what I can and can’t do. I’d rather give it up
Looks to me like a unsustainable decision. I’ll bet there will be a drama in few weeks/month from now. Sorry to read this.
Weeks? Ha! The drama started the moment I posted. Ultimately it’s a decision I can learn to live with and my partner gets lots of new hours to fill with whatever it is she believes we are missing out on. It’s true there is a risk of my mental wellbeing taking a serious hit but I’m hoping I can control the loss of running and come out of the other side a new person, well either that or I’ll end up as another suicide statistic. But you gotta do what you gotta do! 😀