Run: Fitness
The run
Running, lost and clawed back. Lockdown 5Ks to a 50K ultra, three years of injury, London 2026, and a negative-split half round Onondaga Lake.
A 3D recreation of the places where I’ve raced or reached a milestone, from Manchester and London to Florida, Kashmir, the Peak District, Cornell and Syracuse.
Running begins
2019. Manchester, 2019. I started running.
Lockdown miles
2020. Alone, sunny, music. 5Ks became 10Ks. A good time, honestly.
First 10K
2020. Lockdown miles adding up: the 5Ks became 10Ks.
Media City 10K
2021. First race
- Result
- TODO_YAMIN
London Landmarks Half
2021. First half marathon
- Result
- TODO_YAMIN
Sub-20 5K
2021. One week before leaving for Florida
- Time
- TODO_YAMIN (19:xx)
University of Florida run club
Jerseys on. Trips to Tallahassee and North Carolina.
LifeSouth Half
2022.
- Result
- TODO_YAMIN
Tomoka Marathon
2022. First marathon
- Time
- 3:58
Great Manchester Half
2022. The half, then the 10K an hour later
- Result
- TODO_YAMIN
Great Manchester 10K
2022.
- Result
- TODO_YAMIN
Srinagar, summer
2022. Home. Learned to swim. A summer in the water.
Manchester Half
2022.
- Result
- TODO_YAMIN
Ladybower Reservoir Ultra 50K
2022. First ultra, on my birthday. Rain, then sun, then rainbows.
- Distance
- 50K
Manchester 24hr Run
2022. 120km. Against homelessness. Most 5K laps of anyone: 24.
- Distance
- 120km in 24hrs
Wilmslow Festive 10K
2022. Sub-40 10K. 10K PB
- Time
- 38:46
Training for Manchester Marathon
Steady 4:30/km, tempos at 3:50, long runs 35km+. Twice, 42km for a Sunday long run. The peak: faster and with more endurance than ever before, or since.
Track sprints
Sprint sessions on the track at the Etihad, that winter.
Injury
2023. Posterior tibial tendonitis, left ankle. A niggle, then a tempo run through pain, then a 21km through worse. Then stop. My friends kept running into the distance. That's fine, I always catch up.
Manchester Marathon
2023. The tape the winter was pointed at. Never reached.
Physio
Posterior tibial tendonitis
Still him
I reach out to grab my old self, but my hand closes on empty air as he pulls away. I fall again and strike the ground with a fist. It's fine, I'll catch up.
Ibiza Marathon
2023. The club trip happened. My friends raced. I did not run at all.
Manchester Marathon
2023. First time back. Last in my group. The pain returned.
Manchester Marathon
2024. Booked it, trained for it, broke again. Another fall and a firmer strike against the ground. It's fine, I'll catch up.
Back with the club
Welcomed back. New faces. The slow group now, having once led the fastest.
The verdict
Calisthenics
Staying in motion while I could not run. Upper body, bars, physio.
The drop
As 2025 comes into view, colour begins to return. Finally I am bac- The line holds until another fall takes the colour away. Both hands on the ground, a pause, then two violent smashes with both fists.
London Marathon
2025. Will I ever catch up again
Deferral
Stop, properly
Light
2026. Strength returning. Running alone, sometimes with a couple of friends.
21km, again
2026. First 21km since the injury. It held.
- Date
- February 2026
The old me
London Marathon
2026. Run, walk, run. The heat. The hardest race of my life.
- Time
- TODO_YAMIN
- Approximate time
- Around 5h 40m
Past the line
My friends were waiting.
The road on
Back to the grind. Legs, runs, 5-a-side again. Not as fast yet. The colour has not fully returned. He is out there ahead, waiting.
Cornell
2026. An exchange semester at Cornell's SC Johnson College of Business.
New York State Half Marathon
2026. 1 hr 46 min. Once round Onondaga Lake on a cold, very sunny morning. Negative splits the whole way, and my first sprint finish in three years. One of the best races of my life, and finally close to my best again.
- Time
- 1:46
Caught up
All those years of injury were worth it. I didn't give up, because I knew I had to fight for it.
