Why I run marathons

What is it about running long distances that appeals to midife mums?

This piece is by journalist and TV producer, Emma Sturgess who I have had the privilege of helping train for two marathons this year. She has just started training for her third, and I asked her to write a piece on what it is about marathon training that keeps her coming back for more.

---

In a big pile of abandoned paperwork, I’ve got a little bit of card. “Do you need a jacket?” it asks, “because you look cool!”. Made to be pulled out of a sweaty pocket at mile 6 of the 2023 Manchester Marathon, it’s one of a set of homemade motivational messages, written in handwriting that would make their teachers weep, by my two children. Those cards made me laugh (sadly, not in a cool way) all the way round my first marathon and if I can find that one, I’d like to be buried with it.  

However, much as I’d never take their support for granted, I haven’t, so far, been compelled to train for marathons (Manchester and Chester last year, and hopefully Manchester and Berlin in 2024) to inspire my kids. I haven’t run them for charity or to support a friend or even to make my husband proud. It is a totally non-altruistic pursuit, the time-sucking preserve of the truly selfish. The marathons I have run have been marathons for me. 

Having done five halves, a handful of 10ks and a LOT of tootling since I started running off and on in my 20s, it’s probably not a coincidence that my interest in marathons hit in midlife. I’m a 45 year old woman with two kids and a full-time job. I needed to get out of the house. On a long run, no-one can ask you for snacks.