When I was a kid in elementary school, track and field day was the worst day of the year for me. I dreaded it.

I was never overly athletic, and the concept of doing the 100-metre dash, throwing shot put, and attempting the high jump felt daunting and embarrassing. I knew I was always going to come in last and it almost felt cruel that I was forced to participate in something I wanted no part of. Now, as an almost 30-year-old, I have the insight to look back and see that it wasn’t embarrassing to come in last; I was trying, and at the end of the day, that’s what mattered. It took me years to develop this mindset, though, and for all those years in between, I was traumatized by even just the idea of running.

Fast forward to around this time last year. A glitch in the simulation found me on ‘running TikTok’ and for the first time in my life, I felt inspired to run. The creators I was watching didn’t make the sport look easy, but they did make it seem accessible. A month later (on December 31, 2024, to be exact), after some humming and hawing, I realized I wanted to work up to a goal. I ambitiously signed up for the Hamilton Road2Hope Half Marathon. At this point, I hadn’t even run 2km!

I spoke to a couple of my running friends to ask them if this goal was realistic as a new runner (my main goal was to finish the race without any injuries). They assured me it was, and thus, my training began.

When I started, it was the dead of winter and frigid cold so a lot of my runs at the beginning were inside at the gym with a pair of running shoes (not actual running shoes but they were all I had) and it took me almost an hour to get through 5km; but this was further than I had ever gone before so I was proud. After another couple of weeks, I decided to stick with my goal and visited a proper running store, where I bought my first pair of official running shoes. I also started training outside. Now, I’m not going to lie … obviously, those new shoes didn’t instantly turn me into a speedy runner, but my feet and body overall felt much better after my runs, which in turn left me feeling more motivated. It was nice to start feeling refreshed after runs as opposed to defeated.

The summer was tough because it was disgustingly hot, and as a result I probably didn’t train as hard as I could have (or should have), but once the weather started cooling down (or if we had some fluky cooler weeks), my goal was to do one easy run, one long run, and one pace-focused run a week. I didn’t use an official plan for this strategy; I was just going off of some research (TikTok videos) I did, and felt this was the best routine for me. It worked, and I felt myself physically and mentally improving.

A couple of weeks out from the race, I was getting nervous about the date approaching while simultaneously feeling motivated; my longest run was 18km, and I had gone from doing 5km in almost an hour to just 42 minutes (I was also doing kickboxing in between). Even though I was nervous (and I probably could have trained more … some weeks I didn’t hit all three runs), I did feel prepared. I was as ready as I was going to be.

The week and day before the race (the race was on November 2, 2025) I was incredibly nervous and could barely sleep; however, weirdly enough on the day of I felt calm. I trained near the location of the race, so I was (roughly) familiar with the route, and just seeing all the other runners was inspiring and motivating. It also felt very inclusive; everyone was so nice and kind. At this point, the only thing I was nervous about was potentially taking walking breaks and whether other runners would judge me. Spoiler alert, they did not. One of my biggest takeaways from the race was that even though you’re running with thousands of other people, everyone is on their own journey. People walked when they needed to, slowed down when they needed to, and pushed themselves that extra kilometre when they felt they could; myself included.

Even though crossing the finish line was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done, I am so incredibly proud of myself for getting to that point. I wasn’t really going for a goal time … I was going to celebrate the finish line, not the finish time. That said, I estimated it would take me roughly three-and-a-half hours. It took me two hours and 57 minutes!

I don’t know where my running journey will take me next, but I am excited for the road ahead! For now, though, we rest.

Lifestyle fitness Half marathon Hamilton marathon Road 2 Hope Running Training