Readers’ Blog: 7 marathons on 7 continents

The training

I did three runs a week, two “commute” runs into work, with a longer run on a Saturday, In early March 2013, I started training with David Arnot at Reach Fitness Gym in Clapham, London. David is a former Scottish rugby player so I thought he would understand what others considered a “suicide mission”, but he did give me a dubious look when I told him what I was planning! I trained there twice a week, sometimes within less than an inch of my life.

There were plenty savage training runs and even more savage training sessions but I was lucky that I managed to do them all relatively uninjured, bar a hip niggle towards the end.

Training twice a week with David Arnot helped enormously. Although gruelling at the time, the mix of punishing intervals on the bike, rower and versaclimber sprints really helped, as well as a mix of weights and prehab. There were times that I just couldn’t face another long run when I woke up on a Saturday. However, I knew that by the time I had a coffee, got my trainers on and got out the house, I’d be fine.

What have I learned?

I think the key to everything is not being afraid to fail. No one ever gets anywhere if they sit in their comfort zone. It’s also important to find a goal you’re passionate about and commit to it. Life is not linear and the chances are you’ll have a lot of rough times too, but so does everyone. I have learned to be more patient and flexible, you have to be in order to deal with injury, setback, mid race cramps and nausea! Stubbornness, or I prefer to call it determination, is also critical if you want to do something. Most of all, the ability to handle pain and just keep going!

I’m incredibly passionate about encouraging children and women get into physical activity, and this experience hasn’t just been about running in some amazing places, challenging myself in cold, heat, humidity and altitude, it’s about inspiring others. Some of the people I have met along the way have overcome some truly remarkable feats and it has genuinely been an extremely humbling experience.

I feel lucky to have the amazing support of my family and friends, and been able to run all the races I had wanted to do. As for what’s next, I am planning to run the North Pole marathon in April!

If you want to hear more from Shona, why not follow her on Twitter @shona_d_thomson.

Shona Douglas-Thomson, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine