THE FINISH LINE
JUNIOR MIDDLE-DISTANCE RUNNER LYDIA BLYTHE RELATES THE FEELING OF COMPETING IN HER FIRST MAJOR EVENT ALONGSIDE HER INSPIRATIONS
LYDIA BLYTHE
Proud and excited: Lydia Blythe relished her national junior championship experience in Bedford
AGREAT long distance runner once said: “An athlete must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.”
Elation – the dominant feeling upon crossing the finish line. Pain-face in all its glory, lactic acid overwhelming, relief. Equally however, a burning desire for more.
Crossing the finish line is not the end. In my opinion, it is merely the start. Something new is learned in every finishing surge and dip for the line. Personal battles, each and every one, fought and subsequently won. I had the privilege of lining up at the England Athletics U23/U20 Championships in Bedford earlier this month, a finish line I never imagined I would be crossing. To simply be there was an honour in itself, my hard work having come to fruition.
This is the build-up to perhaps the biggest race of my life so far, through my eyes.
I am a second-year under-20 at Reading AC, in the middle of A-levels and using athletics as a rest and escape from the pressures of school. I have always enjoyed running, encouraged to pursue it at primary school by my dad, a 3:13 marathoner. Aged 12, I joined the athletics club, attending training twice a week and making lots of new friends in the process. I loved it and still do. I would race and enjoy competing, however never really impressing or moving up in the world of Power of 10. Barely able to run a 2:27 800m this time last year, running for me was not a question of being the best or winning races, instead I gloried in taking part.