My first experience with running in Oxford came on a cold Michaelmas night last October. I was in the midst of my first ever essay crisis. At 11:30pm I put on my shoes and fled the cosy Regent’s library. Little did I know that this run would not only be incredibly eventful, but would also lead me to start running at ridiculous hours during term.
I originally picked up running as a hobby during the pandemic. Cut off from school life and missing my fencing training, I began running three times a week, usually in the morning, purely as a way to exercise. It was almost the perfect pandemic sport – all you needed was a pair of running shoes and a place to run..
But the frenetic pace and excitement of Freshers’ week and the delightful workload of a law degree left me without the time or energy to run in the first week of Michaelmas. Which brings me to the midst of a rather fiddly constitutional law essay in week 2. I was frustrated and tired, and naturally decided to go for a run. Whether it was purely procrastination, muscle memory of happy endorphins, or quite literally me running away from my essay problem, my very first run in Oxford had a major impact on me.
It was only as I stepped out of my college that it struck me that University Parks was probably shut, and I wasn’t really sure what to do. I ended up simply bolting down St Giles, past the kebab vans, all the way down to Iffley Road. This was fitting especially given the storied history of the track at Iffley, where Sir Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four-minute mile. The highlight of the night was when I ran into an incredibly drunk man named Jeff outside the Four Candles. Merry Jeff saw me running, and, being in very high spirits (pun fully intended), attempted to race me. Naturally, Jeff was in no state to run, but the fact that he attempted the impossible despite faltering steps gave me the confidence to shake off my writer’s block and finish my essay.
In a fast-paced environment like Oxford, it is difficult to ever truly feel in control of what’s going on around you. Running puts you in a completely different world; one where you are almost totally in control of everything you do. The pace, the direction and even the playlist are all under your control. The first 15 minutes of a run are generally the worst part, the one where you question why you ever bothered to put yourself through this, but the second you get into a groove, you achieve a sense of quiet. It is this level of peace and control that sets running apart from most sports. The only person you’re truly competing with is yourself.
Now maybe I’ve overromanticised what running it truly is. Maybe it really is just a ridiculous sport that leaves you sweaty, gifts you sprained ankles and shin splints. But there’s probably a reason why over 6000 people ran the Oxford Town and Gown 10K this year. It was not for a participation certificate, it was for the love of the game, the peace it brings them and the sense of community that binds runners together. More importantly, they ran for charity, and raised over £300,000 for Muscle Dystrophy UK.
Whether you are a person who wakes up at 5am or someone who is willing to run past midnight, if you ever need your world to slow down just a little bit and find a sense of control in this chaotic world, running might just be what you need.
