I love a new challenge, the thrill of finding, deciding and organising the next great event that will test me, that will ‘challenge’ me in a way I haven’t been previously tested.
It’s always exciting. Firstly I find a challenge that suits what I am trying to do; I feel the thrill of the challenge kick in, and then the excitement mounts as I go through the process of filling in the forms, buying the tickets, booking accommodation and sorting out the other necessary initial logistic issues.
The hard part is finding the challenge. To qualify as a 'thrilling' challenge there needs to be the right combination of good timing combined with a new way to test myself. The event needs to be held in a new, or at least, interesting location and it needs to have something of interest to do at the end of the challenge to add to the all-important post-event celebrations. I hear of lots of events and people tell me of many opportunities and many of them sound initially exciting. And when all the factors align, and the excitement factor – the thrill- suddenly kicks in, that’s when I know there is a new challenge to be faced.
It happened this week.
As I said in my first post in this blog, my goal is to complete my second marathon, do it in this calendar year, and finish in a time of under 4 hour 40 minutes. I’ve been looking but haven’t been able to find the ‘right’ one, the one that gets the excitement flowing. But now I have…..
In 140 days from last Sunday, on November 3 2013, I will participate in the Auckland Marathon. The entry form has been completed, fees paid and airfares booked and paid.
Auckland is a wonderful city in a gorgeous country and the course will no doubt be picturesque. To add to the challenge there is a hill climb. As the official website says ‘The main feature of the event is the crossing of the Auckland Harbour Bridge, which involves a climb of 33 metres to the highest point’.
Shirl and I will spend just over a week there. Our plan is for the post-event celebrations to include a few days of ‘recovery’ in the Bay of Islands at the top of the North Island, so that’s another box ticked.
Most importantly, our good friends Cheryl, Pete and Chrissie live in the area so we can add ‘friends catch-up’ to the other critical selection factors. These three wonderful kiwis are some of my all-time favourite people and I can’t wait to spend some more time with them.
Yep, the old thrill is back . The Auckland Marathon will be a huge challenge for me, it’s in a wonderful location, we get to spend time with friends, and then have a great few days of holidays.
I'm excited. Its what this journey is all about.
Until next time……. 'keep living, laughing, lovin' and runnin'
‘Wandering James’, the Slow Runner
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