Running is what makes me tick . . .

Running is what makes me tick - literally! Although I am limited to shorter distances and have to run more slowly nowadays, it continues to be a hugely important part of my life. Without running life feels flat - also literally! 

As a child I remember running around the garden lawn. At school in Lancashire, poor eyesight meant that I was never much good at field games and I enjoyed running on nearby Longridge Fell instead, though I only ever made the 2nd team. At university in Sussex I ran numerous cross-country races on the South Downs and surrounds. At one stage we had an Olympic gold medal winner (Adrian Parker) and a national record holder for the half mile (Chris Carter) on our team, so I usually felt very much an also-ran! I also ran a 1500m race against another Olympic gold medal winner (Steve Ovett) without being lapped! One year I was proud to be captain of the university team, though was usually happy to finish in the top half of any race. When I ran the National cross-country champs at Luton in 1979 I didn’t even manage that, but was very pleased to make the first thousand. I did a couple of 10 mile road races at Hampstead and Horsham, but cheap shoes and lack of proper stretching often led to injuries.

Over the next 20 years, work and family took priority. I’d sometimes head off for a run in the forest with colleagues at lunchtime and managed a couple of half marathons as a New Forest Runner. By 2000 I was in my late 40s working in Portsmouth and joined a group of university staff doing the Great South Run. The buzz of doing that race made me want to improve and after a few more half marathons I did the club Wilverley Challenge to convince myself that I could complete 26.2 miles. It was at this stage that the benefits of regular training with the New Forest Runners started to kick in properly. The enthusiasm of others for running is more infectious than any virus, but I still had much to learn from other club runners. Joining a club is unquestionably the best way for runners of all ages and abilities to improve.

My first London marathon entry in 2002 was disastrous and I had to withdraw with a lower back injury. My second marathon entry for the Isle of Wight was even more disastrous because I burst a blood vessel in my leg on my last long training run. I came very close to giving up marathon running. At the time I was visiting Athens for work several times a year and thought that I’d put in a third marathon entry and give it a go on the classic course. When I finished that historic race from Marathon to Athens in 3:44 I was ecstatic. Runners should never give up, however many times they fail!

Running is a wonderful sport because you can do it on your own covering a few miles in the beauty of the New Forest or amongst more than 30,000 runners in a marathon and everything in between. Like so many runners, my goal now was to achieve PBs and my training became regular, varied and above all, fun! Occasionally there were prizes to add extra motivation, such as an age group win in the Great South Run when I improved my time by 20 minutes! As my marathon times approached 3 hours, I began to wonder if I could reach that goal, but it proved elusive. By the age of 56 I had run 20 marathons and my times were slowing. In a last gasp attempt, I managed to complete London 2010 in 2:58:55 and was on cloud 9 for weeks afterwards! I never managed it again, despite running another twelve, but it still gives me great pleasure to know that I did it. The New Forest Runners helped me achieve a lifetime goal and enjoy every moment of getting there. In 2015, over 40 years since I’d run my first county cross-country champs at university, I was chuffed to win my first and only ever county age group title.

In the following year of 2016 my life was almost ended suddenly by a serious autoimmune condition, which left me with 20% kidney function and in a wheelchair. I thought I would never run again, but after two years of struggle gradually got back on my feet. Becoming President of the New Forest Runners on the same night that President Trump was inaugurated in 2017 might have been inauspicious. In reality, it helped me recover from illness and motivated me to encourage and cheer on club runners more vociferously. Above all it was a huge honour amongst a club of so many wonderfully friendly and motivated people.

These days I run with the Mudlarks, a happy bunch of NFR oldies. Parkruns have become my new marathon distance and a 10k has became my ultra distance! As my limited recovery progressed I was delighted with a Parkrun under 30 minutes. Perhaps I can do it again post-lockdown and reach 50 ... maybe 100 Parkruns ... and keep going! For inspiration I need look no further than the extraordinary New Forest Runner Bruce Davidson, who reached his final finishing line last year aged 98 and was still running events at 95. The word “legend” is overused, but Bruce truly deserves it!

I owe a great deal to New Forest Runners not just for helping me to achieve my running dreams, but for all your friendship and encouragement over the years, especially through recent illness. Huge thanks!

Whether you are new to the club or a seasoned veteran, keep on running through our present troubles! Wishing you all a lifetime of happy running amongst friends

Michael McCabe

ps The picture above shows me (right) with Club Chairman Steve Hull, just before we took on the Bransgore 10K.