I wanted to give a race report for the Scotia Bank Half Marathon. Firstly, I didn’t know prior to running how much I had from an endurance perspective how much I had to give that was needed to run a race. This is important, as this is the first time in my own life that I had to sustain actual effort to complete a goal. Always previously, slowing down when reaching a pain point or a level of discomfort meant I had the option to “dial it back” This denied me the opportunity to push boundaries and to challenge what I was actually capable of. When I am out on the course, and the running is difficult, reaching into myself to find the reserve needed to keep going is a new experience. The act is deliberate and specific because there is nothing but you and the time. It all is honest. There are no shortcuts to performance but the hard line of the time. Options narrow, you either rise to the occasion or you do not. Actions and intentions are specific. The feeling of being close to a personal best out on the course can either spur motivation or drive you down. Finding the reserve to achieve can unlock the mystical.

When I knew that I was close to a personal best, I increased effort to a flagging second half run. During the race, I do not want to know the minutia of my run. My body tells me what I am capable of; but within some space, my body can grant me the space to achieve and to excel. By achieving a personal best I was granted the privilege of without knowing in advance I could. But indeed achieve, showing that I could.

By writing this, I want others to know that it is ‘ok’ to reach within that well of yourself and extract the best you can offer as a person. To push boundaries, to reach forward as an individual. It is a uniquely human and important experience. It would be my wish that others whom are Achilles athletes know and experience this opportunity because each person has more to give to achieve then they believe themselves possible.

Grant Robinson