Learning to run again, I must be MAD!!

Joshua Nuttall is part of the marketing team at Purple Group, a CN&CO client. He uses his IN THE SADDLE column on our blog to share the thoughts that pop into his head while he’s out riding his bicycle… or, in this case, while he’s not riding his bicycle.

“Joshua, are you sure you are going to be able to survive not riding a bike for a whole week?” A common question that many of my mates have asked me when I let on that I will be participating in MAD2Run 2018. I am confident that I will, the question is can I draw a similar energy from running to what I draw from cycling? My gut feeling is that this is a different journey and will provide a different kind of energy.

I used to be a runner, once upon a time, before I got stress fractures in my shins (probably because I did too much much mileage too quickly). Although this was three years ago, so running is a bit of a foreign concept to me now. Baby steps, though, and I have my mate Allan Bader as a coach… so we will be getting the miles in! The learning I have taken from this injury is that I need to plan so that my shins don’t play up.

This journey for me and my mates (Kurt and Allan) is far bigger than just getting fit. When I ride a bicycle, I get energy from watching the sunrise and being able to clear my head. I eagerly await to see where this journey’s energy will come from.

Many of my mates think I am a touch crazy to be up at 4.30am riding around Jozi’s still-sleepy suburbs. Both Allan and Carel have tried to get me back on the running train—throwing the odd chirps in and taking every opportunity to find “evidence” where running is proven to be better than cycling. They finally succeed and sure enough I was tagged on Facebook. Take a read of the article and let us know what you think! (Plenty of humour, I even managed to have a laugh).

So…

Having read the article, I do concede that there are a few positives to running. My favourite was number 37 “And finally: You don’t need training wheels to learn how to run. Anyone can do it!”

This journey is just beginning. We meet the entire MAD2Run team for 2018 later this week and our physical training is coming along slowly.

More updates to come, so stay tuned.