Running For Class President

In the last year running has taken me on some strange journeys. I did my first marathon in Rio, ended up racing a complete stranger in Central Park, New York and found myself naked in Amsterdam. I've embraced all the weird and wonderful things that have happened as part of runnings rich tapestry but now a new adventure has started that this time last year (before my marathon life) I would have never anticipated.

I am now trying to get people to vote for me.

No I'm not running for political office. Instead  I entered a competition by Runners World Magazine to win professional coaching for the Paris marathon (I've written and audioboo'ed about it before). The first stage was straight forward, around two thousand people entered of all different abilities writing why they deserved to receive the training. This 1,700 runners was whittled down to about fifty who had to attend a runners bootcamp in Birmingham last week. At the bootcamp the organisers met the fifty in person, saw how they ran, what running potential they had and I'm guessing who would benefit most from professional training. This fifty was then further whittled down to twenty odd.

Which is where my bizarre voting story comes in. I am one of those twenty odd runners still left in the competition hoping to get expert coaching. But the next stage is for other readers of runners world to vote for you online.

In the last year of running I have learnt so much about myself, I've been not just on a physical journey but a mental, emotional and at times even philosophical journey (listen to the other audioboos). But now I'm going to learn what it's like to actually try and get people to vote for me, to try and be popular.

I was never class president or anything like that so acually trying to get people to pick me will be weird.

I'm trying to say this experience will enrich my life but I'm slightly worried I'll discover no one really likes me.

Whatever happens it proves running is changing my life in ways I'd never imagined. Oh by the way for anyone reading this please go on the runners world website and vote for me. 

As they would say in Britain; "that is the end of the party political broadcast" or as they would say in America "I am Marcus Ryder and I approve this message".

(Original version of this blog post can be heard at audioboo.fm/thesoundofrunning)

UPDATE:
Since writing this post the votes have been cast and the count is in. Unfortunately I wasn't picked but it was a lot of fun while it lasted.