Jog On: How Running Saved My Life by Bella Mackie

Author:Bella Mackie [Mackie, Bella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 0008241759
Google: iCteDwAAQBAJ
Amazon: B07DFMP3TJ
Goodreads: 41590092
Publisher: William Collins
Published: 2018-12-27T00:00:00+00:00

7K – WHY DO WE RUN?

I ran around Edinburgh today. Leaving my friend and my phone at the hotel, I decided to wing it. I set off directionless down the main shopping street, gawping at the castle, which was bathed in red light. Cobbles felt wobbly under my feet and I could sense my ankles were in danger of rolling. But I focused on the road, and got into a rhythm. This was the first run without my phone – my safety net. I’d never even been to the shops without it – just in case, just in case, just in case of what? I didn’t know the city, and normally that would have made me more nervous, but today I felt freed by that knowledge. I was all alone and it felt fine. Maybe more than fine. I felt giddy abandon. Edinburgh is hilly, and my lungs protested by burning as I went, but the beauty of the place strengthened my resolve. I found a road which seemed to promise a gentler pace, and swerved off the main stretch. After half an hour, I found myself in Leith, the port district in the north of the city. Everything was quieter out here, and I could see seagulls buffeting on the winds in the distance. I decided they were the way to the water, and I tried to track their movements as I ran. I rounded a corner and came upon the docks, screeching gulls and all, and gasped. In front of me was a ship painted in glorious technicolour – a ‘Dazzle’ ship, designed to commemorate the Battle of Jutland. These brightly painted vessels originated during the First World War, and were covered in disorientating shapes and bright colours to prevent the enemy from figuring out their speed or direction of travel. The artist who designed this one named it Every Woman, as a tribute to those who helped create the original Dazzle ships. It’s glorious and mesmerising, every line and curve feels like a tribute to strength and resilience. I stood and stared at it for longer than I meant to, wanting to absorb those things, wanting to keep it in my mind.

On the way back, I tracked down the royal yacht Britannia, which is considerably less grand, with access to it found through a shopping centre – the lack of majesty here amused me so much I got the giggles and for a moment I didn’t feel I could run home.

Why do people decide to run? I’m not talking about the brilliant early adopters who picked up sports at school and continued to make time for physical activity into adulthood. I am in awe of those people but I’ll never be like them. I left exercise for decades, often resent it, and only still do it because I have to grudgingly admit how much good it does me. Those people always knew how good exercise was for them. They might say it’s just a part of everyday life, like lunch, or having your card declined (just nod and reassure me).

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