Tag Archives: running goals

There’s one word runners need to stop using in 2025

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The one word we need to stop using is “just”.

I kept hearing it from a group of phenomenal women who were running a 5km race with me recently.

There was a 10km race, but all of us were (just) doing the half. Just the 5km. Nothing serious.

“I’m just running the 5km.” Just. Huh?

It softens the effort. Makes it less of a big deal. Diminishes the impact. Signals uncertainty.

And it’s way more common for women to slip this word in our narrative because we don’t want to appear forceful or assertive.

As runners, we’re always comparing ourselves to others. It’s one of the most damaging aspects of the sport.

▪️I’m just running the 10km. It’s a fun run.

▪️I’m just running the half. I’m not running marathons this year.

▪️I’m just doing a walk/run.

▪️I’m going to say it’s just a slow run on Strava so people don’t actually think I’m this slow.

It implies that a shorter distance or slower pace carries less weight. Nonsense!

The word screams limitation, fear and imposter syndrome. It signals that perhaps we’re not good enough.

I feel this to my core because I’m so guilty of using just when I speak about my running.

And for me, this is the worst part: It makes other runners who hear this feel as if their efforts aren’t as important either.

Stop using it in 2025.

How you speak about yourself matters more than you realise! How you speak about runs and running and races can either build or break someone down.

So if you hear another runner saying, “They’re just running X distance”, please stop them and remind them that it’s not just that. It’s amazing.

And encourage them to run it with all their heart and enjoy the run because isn’t that why we really do it?

By the way, I ran a seasons best (SB) in my 5km with this bunch of women and felt amazing the rest of the day.

Because nothing we do is just anything. My SB gets me into a headspace ready to tackle my training for next year’s races. You have no idea how important this is for me. It wasn’t JUST any old 5km to me.

Our goals are different. It’s never just a run but part of something bigger, and it’s all worth celebrating.

📸 credit: Jenny Smith & Michelle Coach Mee

Breaking down to heal

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I can’t remember why I stopped blogging…

It wasn’t because of the “busyness” of life. If you scroll through my social media feeds, you’ll see that I had lots of time for content creation.

But sharing on Instagram doesn’t have the same sense of intimacy as a blog post. My blog is mine. I don’t share the space with others and I’m not competing with algorithm updates. My stories belong to me.

My last blog entry was 4 years ago, just as the world was changing post COVID. I think in a way, we’re all still dealing with some parts of decisions that we made during that time.

I’m still running.

But if I thought I’d learnt all the lessons that running could ever teach me, I was mistaken.

I had both knees operated on during 2022 and couldn’t walk, nevermind run. It exposed just how big a role running played in my life.

Always time for content creation!

When I couldn’t run, I saw less of KK. Even though we don’t run together, it dominates our lives.

When I couldn’t run, there were no more weekly track sessions or running friends to bond with. I felt lonely.

When I didn’t run, my mental health suffered. I felt weak. And unfit. And old.

And then I broke my foot and my 8th Two Oceans half marathon was put on hold.

Falling off the box at gym!

That’s when not being able to run taught me my biggest lesson of all.

I started my blog in 2010 when I missed the 3 hour cutoff at my 2nd Two Oceans half marathon. In those days, my running speed was all that mattered. My runs focused on finishing my 21km races in under 3 hours!

I became obsessed with my pace and any race run at slower than 8mins per km felt like a failure to me.

The more I ran, the more I hated it. I changed coaches twice, thinking that the training would make a difference. I was disappointed in myself and didn’t even notice the kilometers clocking up.

But I had to break both knees and a foot to realise how much it hurt when my “slow” running was taken away from me.

What gap is left in your life when something or someone is removed?

Spending time at home made me yearn for the track sessions, the friendships, the feeling of achievement when I crossed that finish line.

I wasn’t missing the competitiveness or PBs at all. That wasn’t important. I was missing me.

Bron, the slow runner. Bron, the plain and simple average runner. Oh how I missed how running made me feel.

Strong. Fit. Capable.

To feel exhausted and pleasure at the same time.

Running bonds are strong!

To experience good and bad days and to keep going.

When you focus on the wrong things, it’s easy to get distracted. It feels like that with my blog.

I had forgotten why I had started blogging in the first place.

I started blogging to share the lessons that running teaches me about life.

I watch newbie runners and see their obsession with PBs and pace. I smile.

I watch experienced runners get disappointed with their performances. It happens.

Everyone is in a different season when it comes to running. Some are in seasons of abundance.

Others are stuck disappointed and disillusioned.

It’s taken a few years to dust off my blog and that’s okay. There’s no set time when you’re expected to work through your own personal seasons.

My 9th Two Oceans done & dusted

But hopefully when you get through them you gain clarity and can move on.

I know I’m ready to.

Journaling and running, for no one else but myself.

Yours in running, walking and loving all the rewards it brings me.

Bron xxx

Let lockdown anxiety run its course

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Lockdown anxiety finally broke me. It stole the last flicker of hope I was clinging on to and I’m not the only one who has just about had enough.

But I’m a denialist. I deny that COVID is out of control. I deny that my country is burning. I deny that things globally are in a real fucking mess. But they are.

I’m tired of hearing about the government. Of corruption. Of failure. I’m tired of not having answers. I’m tired of not knowing what to do or say. I’m sick of the negativity.

So my only escapism is to head to track twice a week and run laps around a dry grassy field. Alone with my thoughts and possibly the only hour I have without checking into social media.

And then this happened…

Chatting to my running coach on Saturday put things into perspective. We always start each new month discussing (negotiating) running goals. But this time was different.

Without asking, she said this:

“Bron, there is no need to push. There are no races to train for. All I want is for you to enjoy your running. Take it easy.

This isn’t about PBs. It’s not about the distance. It’s about getting out there and being consistent. Let’s get to September and then relook things.

But for now, all I want you to do is hang in there and do what you can. Don’t put anymore pressure on yourself.”

And that’s all I needed to hear…

Just hang in there. Ride this wave. Let it happen. Let it wash over me and move on.

There’s no need to put pressure on myself. We’re all struggling. There are no prizes. Even though just getting through the day deserves a medal.

And to control what I can. I can manage 3km runs and track twice a week, and that’s all that’s expected of me.

I can’t control what’s going on in my country, and no one is expecting me to. I can’t control how people react. I can’t change how others deal this pandemic. But I can run.

We’re a month away from Spring. Let’s ride this wave …

Instructions from my (new) running Coach

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“Take your shoes off and run barefoot. Then run on the balls of your feet and try to lift your legs as high as you can. And remember, the minute you want to walk, just stop, stand still and wait for the feeling to pass.” WTF! These were the instructions I received during the first session with my new running Coach, Michelle. 

Gosh, look at me go, go, go! It doesn’t look like it, but I’m sprinting my arse off here! LOL

I first met Michelle years ago when I trained with Coach Dave. She was part of what we called “The Illuminati.” The name, which was first coined by fellow Junkie Brenda, kinda says it all. 

Michelle will be the third coach to “fix” my head.

Coach Dave Coetzee taught me the ins and outs of track and how to value running friendships. Coach Neville Beeton showed me the ropes of trail running and sticking to a virtual training program.

A coach is meant to help get you through a specific problem; to get you from point A to B. And so when I heard that I was successful in bagging a Two Oceans half marathon entry, I considered chatting to Michelle. I knew immediately what I needed to get my 8th medal and one step closer to Blue Number club.

In a nutshell, I don’t want to struggle like I did this year running Two Oceans. I don’t want to be running up Union Avenue in a panic because I’m so close to the race cutoff. I want to enjoy the race. And getting old sucks because my whole body has slowed down massively since hitting my 40s. (Midlife crisis alert!)

Michelle is an old Running Junkie friend with running accolades longer than my arm. A gentle, kind person who you’ll find hanging out at Randburg Harriers coaching runners on Mondays and Saturdays, and then at RAC on Wednesdays.

It’s 10 years since I missed the cutoff gun in my 2010 Two Oceans attempt. This was what prompted me to start my blog & find a coach. And I’m back to square one. 

It feels like home.