As I got into Leeds station this morning, there was an unusual amount of public hanging around which wouldn't normally be here on a Sunday. I was volunteering for the LIFF (Leeds International Film Festival) today, so made my way up to the venue. Streams of people everywhere. It was only when I got onto the main street did I release that there was a big running event on - the Leeds Abbey Run!

My work at LIFF involved getting shots for the Anime day which had several exclusives showing throughout the day. During one of the screenings I headed out into town to see if I could chat to one of the runners and find out more about the race.

I caught Brian hobbling along, shivering slightly. I asked him how it had gone and he replied overjoyed, "I beat my personal best by 3 mins!"

I congratulated him and asked about how he felt and what other races he was planned to run this/next year.

"I feel great! I can tell that my body is ready for the longer races now, I'm not getting as tired after these things - I'm ready"

He asked me if I was into running and I said I enjoyed it, as a mild form of keeping fit, but ultimately I found it boring. Which led to my inevitable question to Brian:

"How do you keep yourself going during long races?"
"Well, I sing to myself! I get lots of strange looks from fellow runners but I don't mind, some even join in"
"And what about mental techniques? Do you have any?"
"A few, I read a good book about those, written by this American runner. One is the rubber band technique, which makes you visualise throwing a large rubber band around the person in front and pulling yourself forward. It sounds daft but it really works!"

Brian runs for both worthy charities - Help the Aged and Yorkshire Cancer Research. There is a running event in my home town, which Brian will be partaking in next year, so I said I'd catch up with him then.


Humans of Leeds