‘A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step’

This will be the third, and final (for now!) part in my series about my development, and the evolution of my mind and life, in the last 13 years. 

I know these columns have been long, but hopefully you have found them enjoyable!

I travelled to Thailand to train at a professional Muay Thai camp after my match, and I soon realised that this was not the life I wanted. My coach told me I could get fights every month or so, but having my brain smashed around and suffering black eyes, and bleeding lips is not great for ones health!

I came back to the UK and whilst still loving the training, I decided I wanted to do something which didn’t involve violence to myself or others. I had proved I could handle myself in this situation, and was able to train to meet the standards to compete, but I needed more.

Enter running!

I decided once again to try something that I wasn’t used to, and so I started running around the block. What started as a struggle to reach 5km, soon became 10km, not because I particularly loved the activity of running, but instead because I loved the peace of mind it gave me.

I often describe true ‘free’ running (no music, no watch, no heart rate monitor etc) as being like a ‘moving meditation’.

Although I felt out of my comfort zone every time I ran, I was able to push myself further each time, and soon, I decided to sign up for a marathon. I was in no way, shape or form ready for this, but as I described previously - there is no growth to be found in a life of comfort, so this challenge was important to me, and to see if I could rise up when it was demanded of me was something I needed to know.

Needless to say - I finished the marathon, and was incredibly tired and sore! But most importantly, I loved the feeling of putting in the effort and feeling the satisfaction from it all working out. I was hardly able to walk up the stairs the next day, but I felt like a king in my own mind.

I immediately set out to find other races to challenge myself, but this time a marathon would not be enough.

I found a 50km two weeks later and decided this was the perfect way to push myself slightly further.

The race went great and I was hooked. I was officially an ‘ultra’ man. Any race of longer than a marathon is called an ‘ultra’ marathon, and I had completely my first one successfully. Whilst I was pleased with myself, I was still not content and so I searched even further for longer and more challenging races.

I decided to double this amount straight away, and signed up for 100km! Again this went very well, and after completing perhaps 10-12 more of these 100km races I found my ultimate challenge - 100 miles!

This was what I had been waiting for all along. 100 miles of running. It sounded impossible to me, but I knew I could achieve anything in life that I really put my mind to.

This was just over one month before I left the UK for Japan, and so whilst preparing my visa and everything that comes with travelling, I was also training for hours each day.

The race went great and despite it seeming like it took forever, I just tried to stop myself from getting overwhelmed with the thought of finishing, and instead focus on putting one front in front of the other, pushing on forwards. 

I came 7th in my first ever 100 mile race and was finally satisfied. 

I could now go to Japan with a sense of achievement......or could I?

I felt I was so close to coming in the top 5! I’m not a particularly competitive person at all, but I wanted to see what I was really capable of. I found one more 100 mile race, almost two weeks before we were leaving the UK. Maybe it wasn’t sensible to enter it, and my body was not even fully recovered from the last one. Friends and family warned me not too, and told me ‘you’re not even healed from the last one’. ‘What do you have to prove?’ And also ‘what if you get injured? You will have to cancel your plans to go to Japan!’

Around this time my Grandad died from cancer and I was very close to him. 

He was full of knowledge and wisdom and this was no fair way for him to die.

I decided to raise money for a small care home in his town that looked after him in his last few weeks, and make him proud. Whilst he was in this home during his last few days, my Dad told him about my run and he couldn’t believe it. 100 miles by foot. He was so proud but also very concerned about me.

After he passed away it just added to my determination to not only complete another 100 mile race for myself, but most importantly to dedicate it to my Grandad, who taught me so much in life and to raise as much money as I could for the home which looked after him in his dying days.

The race went perfectly, and despite a lot of pain and terrible weather over the 100 miles, I had managed to finish in 4th place. I completed it in 21 hours and had earned a ‘golden buckle’ which is awarded to anyone who can finish in under 24 hours.

I was happy in the knowledge that I had made my Grandad proud, and raised thousands of pounds for this small facility which put so much effort in to looking after him and making his final days comfortable.

Since coming to Japan I have hardly run at all, other than just on the streets and in nature for fitness. As for races like I had been doing previously - I don’t know if I will continue them. At least not the exact same ones, for the challenge and anticipation of whether I can finish is gone. As I mentioned yesterday - growth only comes when we push ourselves beyond our boundaries. 

So for now I will continue to live my life as an adventure.

Who knows what will come next? I certainly don’t. But I am excited at the prospect of what a life in which you continually push your boundaries can contain.

‘A journey of a thousand miles, begins with one step’

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I am a highly experienced professional English teacher, Yoga Instructor, Nutrition Consultant and Personal Trainer from London, UK. I recently left London to work and travel around Japan on a Working Holiday Visa with my girlfriend Ashley (who is also a teacher on Cafetalk : https://cafetalk.com/tutors/profile/?id=54542&lang=en ). We love sharing adventures travelling, teaching, exploring and understanding new cultures. We hope to speak with you soon!

Please check out my lessons if you are interested in learning real, authentic British English, or have an interest in Yoga, healthy eating or general health and fitness.

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions, or if you would like to schedule a lesson at a time in which my schedule is not open. I will always do my best to accomodate every student.