Friday 12 June 2015

Relentlessly moving forward! Portumna bound.

'If you take the M7 it's Limerick to Nenagh' was my response when asked for the umptieth time how far my next Marathon was. They are all 42Km195, except for Ultra Marathons, Mini Marathons, Half Marathons and 3/4 Marathons. :) A full Marathon is the distance from Limerick Centre to Nenagh Centre over the M7.

Tomorrow morning the 12 Marathons in 12 months Challenge moves it's HQ to Portumna Co. Galway for the http://www.forestmarathon.com/ , number 7 this year!

2km195 from Portumna town to the Forest and then 8 loops of 5K. It's on at Noon so this is a drive through Marathon. Drive up, run the race and drive back to Limerick same day.

I am getting lots of learning from this challenge and running in general that is applicable to life and business. I used to adhere to the common knowledge that humans need regular breaks from what they do. To be able to relax, to chill out. To reload the batteries.

I have now learned to challenge this. If what I do is true to who I am, true to my purpose and my core then how would it serve me to take a break from that? What good will come from ceasing all my beloved activities and taking a break?

Instead rest is purposeful, done at the right times in order to make my indefatigable, relentless forward movement more efficient.

Because that's what life is. A relentless forward motion. Stillness is part of that motion. Enforced stillness is the arrest of that motion.


In a Marathon regardless of tiredness levels, the worst thing to do is stop. It stiffens you up nearly immediately and requires extra energy to restart the engine. Energy you might already be short off. Instead keep moving forward, speed is of no importance here, just a relentless movement forward.

That's the life lesson. Regardless of where you are at energy wise, just keep moving forward. Standing still is akin to regressing.

It's all forward for me as my next Marathon after Portumna is exactly 14 days later in the Déise at the http://www.waterfordvikingmarathon.com/

You can sponsor me during this challenge on http://www.mycharity.ie/event/patrick_mercies_12marathonsin12monthsin2015

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