How I got into ultra-running
I have always been into sports but only got to know about ultra-running in recent years, completely by chance.
Having grown up in a small village, where most of my peers were always out running and playing on the streets, it was only natural that I developed a love for the sports and the outdoors. My favourite childhood memories are helping out in my grandparents’ fields, playing hide and seek with the neighbours’ kids, and at the beach on hot afternoons.
Moving my body had always been a big part of my life until my later university years - a period of high stress where I mostly neglected the importance of exercise. This changed when I was living in London and feeling quite lonely. One weekend I decided to while away some time, put on a pair of running shoes (the only one I had) and head out for a short run in the park. The park was a mere five minutes away from my flat-share and the run only lasted a few kilometers. Soon enough, this became a regular occurrence. I would lace up and head out the door for a few kilometres whenever I needed to decompress from a long day or clear my head.
My first unofficial half marathon
One day I was running in the park on a fine Sunday morning as had become customary. I spotted a guy running ahead of me, at a similar pace and decided to see how long I can keep up with him. Soon enough, I looked at my watch. To my surprise, I had run for over ten kilometers, away from my house! That only meant one thing. I must run the same distance back home. I got back home and my watch congratulated me - I had run my first half marathon distance. Hooray!
The sense of achievement was strong and so I decided to repeat the task the following weekend and for many weekends thereafter until I returned back to Malta.
My first ultra
A few months into my return to Malta, my brother planted a seed. A local 50k trail race was being organised and how about we take part? I had not been running consistently since my return, and I had no experience with distances over 21k, let alone ultra trail experience. But the challenge was enticing and I find it hard to back down from one, so I said yes. We signed up and a couple of weeks later (after a short period of improvised training), we had run our first 50k, having never run either an official half marathon or the full marathon distance (official or unofficial).
The experience was truly captivating. I chatted to many people on the trails, some of which are still friends today. The atmosphere was vibrant and friendly, and crossing the finish line felt like a proud moment.
The ultra bug
As is true for many people who run one of these races, I caught the ultra bug. I was hooked by the beauty of running far (and slow) in the great outdoors and I was fascinated by how resilient the human body is, how far our own two feet can take us. It’s a curiousity drives my passion for endurance running even today, despite the time, effort, discipline and money required.