TUNING OUT
Our annoyingly cheerful ultrarunner Damian Hall ponders if running makes us like crap music
TOKEN BLOKE
© DAMIAN HALL
As planned, November was a rest month for me. I first raced in February, a six-day multistage race in Costa Rica, and my season finale was in late October in Portugal. I’m probably not getting much sympathy here, but it’s been a long season, especially with a 630-mile jaunt along the South West Coast Path in May. So now’s a good time for a rest. At the top of ultra running – and I’m nowhere near the apex – most of the people on podiums five years ago have disappeared. Ultrarunners tend to be obsessive. Burn out is disconcertingly common.
However, when I say rest, I don’t mean no running. That wouldn’t work. I couldn’t possibly go more than two days without a run. I’ve tried it before. I get so grumpy my wife kicks me out the house anyway. So I’ve been going out perhaps three times a week, for fun, easy bimbles, just when I feel like it.