What's an All-Season Runner? That's what we call runners who don't let the wet, cold, wind or heat stop them from hitting their strides.
Here, we catch up with Peter James from Melbourne, Australia.
What motivates you? And what pushes you to get outdoors in all types of weather?
That old saying of train for any conditions on race day originally kept me getting out no matter what. These days, I don't want to miss an opportunity to get out and chase that runners high – it's character building and makes stronger runners.
What do you feel has been your greatest achievement as a runner?
Marathon personal bests mean a lot to me but I would say my consistency, year round running and backing it up year-on-year. I'm not a runner who needs huge miles each month, I just want good consistent running with a goal in mind.
You've run 12 marathons. Which races stand out as some favourites, and which were some of the more challenging ones? Are you training for any upcoming races?
The most challenging ones are my favourites, they are the most rewarding, The Great Ocean Road 44km Marathon, it is one filled with fun and gruelling memories, its 44km of road along the coast, amazing views and vibe but the running part has rolling hills, twists and turns and depending on the weather can be warm and sunny or windy with rain. I also really enjoy the Surf Coast Trail Marathon. It's in the same area however this is on the trails and sand, and if the tide is in get ready to get wet! This race like many trail runs here has an awesome vibe and great people that makes it stand out.
This year all my races have been cancelled, I look forward to a big 2021 and a new road marathon PB.
Melbourne's had some progress and regression fighting COVID-19. How has the lockdown changed your outdoor lifestyle?
Lockdown has taken almost all our events this year, including my hometown marathon - Melbourne Marathon. It sucks as I have ran Melbourne the past 7 years, training outside was limited to 1 hour during stage 4 of lockdown, but I have kept positive and kept as active as I can, we will get through this, our running community is strong.
Tell us about the Insta community you run, @melbourne.runners -- when did you start it, and what makes it special?
I actually started this years ago just to link up about 15 runners from different parts of Melbourne and meet up at some parkruns. The page took off and did its own thing. We quickly passed a few hundred followers and I realised it was linking up runners from all over Melbourne and Australia. It now haas thousands of followers, and we continue to share peoples journeys, share what's happening in our running community, and we hold social runs/events to link up more runners. It's been great to see friendships grow from this page and the encouragement people share.Running communities are a great thing to be involved in, I always encourage people to join a club or crew, it's amazing what you get out of it. We welcome everybody, nobody has to run alone.
Follow Peter's running adventures on Instagram, or via the Melbourne Runners community.
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