Dom Harvey - Running: A Love Story: How an overweight radio DJ got hooked on running marathons

First published in 2017. This edition published in 2018.

Copyright Dominic Harvey, 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Allen & Unwin

Level 3, 228 Queen Street

Auckland 1010, New Zealand

Phone: (64 9) 377 3800

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Web: www.allenandunwin.co.nz

83 Alexander Street

Crows Nest NSW 2065, Australia

Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100

A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of New Zealand.

ISBN 978 1 98854 703 9

eISBN 978 1 76063 909 9

Design by Kate Barraclough

Printed and bound in Australia by Griffin Press

Cover photograph: Running the Waterfront Half Marathon on

Aucklands Tamaki Drive in April 2018.

Cover design: Kate Barraclough

Front cover photo: Photos4sale

For my mum, Sue Harveyif it wasnt for you being a runner, I may never have become one myself.

And for the late Arthur Lydiardif it wasnt for this incredible New Zealander, none of us would run.

CONTENTS

WHEN THIS BOOK WAS first published, I had recently run the Berlin Marathon: a course of 42.2 kilometres through the citys streets that ends under the world-famous landmark, the Brandenburg Gate. Berlin is one of the six World Marathon Majors, and at that time was the fifth I had been fortunate enough to run. Id done Berlin, New York, Chicago, London and Boston; the only Major I had left to tick off was Tokyo. Now this book is in its second edition, and Ive since completed Tokyo as well.

I have the finisher medals from all six of the Major runs Ive done hanging on the wall right next to where I sit in my home office. A bit show-boaty? Yeah, maybe but I dont care. I worked bloody hard for every one of them, so Im not going to keep them in a box or out of sight. Every time I look at them, they take me right back to that city on that dayeach medal reminds me of the sights, sounds and smells from each run.

There was a sort of void in my life in the wake of finishing the Berlin Marathon. For almost a whole year, it was my main focus and I worked my arse off to train for it. I took a decent break after it, although that didnt mean I stopped running altogether. I just didnt do anything too serious, and I focused on getting out running for the sheer love of it.

One afternoon, not long after Id returned from Berlin, my then thirteen-year-old son, Sev, got home from school just as I was putting on my running gear. As I always do when Im heading out for a jog, I asked if he wanted to join me. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred he says no, but on this day he said yes. I love jogging with Sev. Its a time when we are both totally in the moment with each other. No screens, no devices, no Wi-Fi. We went out for a 5-kilometre jog, and less than 2 kilometres in Sev got the stitch and had to stop. We walked and talked for a bit, and he asked about Berlin. He seemed in awe of the fact I was able to run that far without stopping. For a moment, I was like a Marvel hero in his eyesnot a common thing, as most of the time he thinks Im the lamest, most embarrassing adult on earth.

As we chatted, I realised that this is one of the reasons you run marathons: for respect. From others, sure, but mainly for yourself. It takes a lot of self-respect to put all that effort into training your body to run a distance that isnt really all that natural and maybe just a bit of self-loathing, as well!

YOU MIGHT ALREADY KNOW of me, but I bet its because of my job rather than because Im a runner. Im a radio broadcaster on The Edges morning show, and I guess Im a little bit famous. Not famous famous like an All Blackthose guys are A-listers. Im probably more of an E- or F-lister. You might even call me a shit-lebrity. Ive done my job for the past sixteen years, and even after all this time I still bloody love it.

I also happen to run marathons. Im not a bad runner, and Im not a good runner. Im just a runner. There will always be people in front of me, and there will always be people behind me. And, actually, I wouldnt even give a shit if there was nobody behind me. I love running so much that Id rather be dead-last than not doing it at all. Running is when I am at my happiest, and the feeling of contentment I get after a run is unreal.

NOW I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT I THINK RUNNING IS FUN. YEP, THATS RIGHT. I LOVE IT.

I come from a bit of a running family. My parents both ran marathons, and Mum, whos in her sixties, still does them now. I ran long distances as a kid, and even completed my first full marathon at the age of fourteen. Then I stopped and didnt run for over a decade. I only took it up again when, in my late twenties, I tipped the scales at 115 kilos. My motivation then was simply to be able to stand naked in front of a full-length mirror and not be grossed out by what I saw. (I once read in one of those fun facts lists somewhere that running is the second-best form of exercise for weight-loss. What was number one, you ask? The rather inconvenient cross-country skiing.)

When I started running again in my late twenties I hated it. Every step hurt. It sucked! But somewhere along the way something pretty cool happened. I stopped hating it. Even after I had reached a weight I was happy with, I kept doing it. Now I can honestly say that I think running is fun. Yep, thats right. I love it. If I go for more than two or three days without running, I start to get a bit irritable and feel as though something is missing from my life. Is running the most fun thing to do in the world? No. I can probably think of 50 activities that would be way more fun than going for a runand none of them involve exercising. But not one of those things would give me the health benefits or the same outstanding feeling of calm, clarity and wellbeing. The feeling of being alive.

I am not some running expert, so this is not a how-to book full of pro-tips and advice (there are plenty of those out there already, not to mention hundreds of great articles online). Im not qualified to teach anyone anything. I am just a regular guy who drank too much alcohol and ate too much shitty food, then fell in love with running and turned his life around. Also, lets face it, the majority of people have a strong dislike of running, so reading a book about it probably sounds about as appealing as getting stuck in a lift with Donald Trump.

What you will read in this book is a sort of love story about running. Its about how I got back into running, and my love affair with marathons in particular. Its also the story of my mission to break the three-hour mark in a marathon, first in Berlin then, later, in Tokyo.

When I first started writing this book, I was busy training for Berlin. I had no idea if I would achieve my goal or notand I knew it was a big-balls goal that I really had no business setting. Before I set my sights on Berlin, I used to follow marathon training programmes that I had found on the internet, and my times were always around 3 hours and 20-something minutes. Different training programme each time, but pretty much the same outcome. So I teamed up with a coach, and with his expert advice I managed to run a personal best time of 3 hours and 10 minutes in the 2015 Chicago Marathon. I was blown away. I was 42 years old and had just run the fastest marathon of my life! Thats what made me wonder if I was capable of going even faster. If I wanted to run under the mouth-watering three-hour mark in Berlin, I would need to shave another ten minutes off my personal best.