Hills suck, but they make you stronger
Hills suck, but they make you stronger
This past Sunday I participated in the Two Oceans Half-marathon alongside some 16,000 other runners from across the country and globe. It is a fantastic race, well organised with a very fun vibe and great support along the route. The route itself is tough – there are some big hills and winding roads. Rarely are you running on a flat stretch of road.
I had a plan, having mapped out my target times for each kilometre of the route, to complete the race in a personal best overall time. Everything was going well for the first half of the race until I got to the second big hill at 11 kilometres. The BIG one. How you manage this hill will make or break your race. You need to be very well prepared running uphill to deal with it successfully. I was not. It is very flat where I live. We drive to the next town to run up their hill, and I haven’t done this in a while…
Looking at hills from a different perspective:
Several people close to me or others I’ve recently spoken with are facing uphill battles of their own. In some cases severe, life-changing experiences, the things you always think only happen to others. It seems almost impossible to say anything that would comfort or help them. The best I can come up with is “Keep aiming up, don’t allow this hill to break you.” You could excuse any of them if they were to say “Screw it all, I give up!”, but yet they don’t. I find that incredibly admirable, inspiring and encouraging.
Running uphill sucks. It’s slow, demanding and relentless. But boy does it make you strong. If you approach it with the right spirit, it will prepare you for the road ahead and you will be better off having seen it through. It is often the most difficult experiences in life that make us more capable, empathetic and valuable to others. But for that to happen we need to see them through.
If you find yourself going uphill at this stage of life, I want to encourage you to not give up. Maintain your upward aim and keep going.
At the top of the big hill, I realized that I needed to adjust my aims towards a more realistic goal. It would still be challenging and satisfying to achieve, much more so than giving up and walking the rest of the way (which is what I felt like doing). I had to fight the thoughts telling me to give up and replace them with patience and encouragement. In the end, I got it done, happy that I gave it all I had on the day.
It served as a reminder for life and running: Flat roads do not make the strongest runners!
If you are standing at the foot of the hill and don’t know how to start climbing, get in touch. You can reach us at info@purposeworks.co.za.
At PurposeWorks we are all about Making You and Your Work Rock. Our focus is on Organisational Health and Design, Employee Centered Culture, Leadership Development and Performance Coaching. For more information on how we can help you create a work environment that rocks, develop a great team, become an inspiring leader or unlock your personal excellence talk to us at info@purposeworks.co.za.
