From mad dashes to outpacing an eating disorder, running has always been a part of Ruby Tandoh’s life. But she still doesn’t consider herself a true runner. So why does she always decide to jog on?
I am not a runner. That’s not to say I don’t run: I’ve jogged back from nights out, cutting a weaving path down empty streets, phone in one hand, pilfered beer coaster in the other. On the last day of Year 6, I ran home through pouring rain, half crying, half gasping for breath. I’ve done a run-skip shuffle to the supermarket in pyjamas and a coat for a carton of milk. I’ve run cross-country races and pounded pavements. I even planned to run the London Marathon.
But still, I’m not a runner. A runner is a strange thing – a neon-lycra-clad, grilled-chicken-and a-salad type of person. They’re light-footed and competent; I recently discovered I’ve been incorrectly bending my knees my whole life. What kind of person can’t even bend their own knees? Running has been part of my life since I was 11 or 12. The reason I started was to be good at something. I was ungainly and lanky and I didn’t have many friends, so the more activities I could be good at, the less I had to worry about feeling good. I’d go running after school, slink into the gym at lunchtime and even do laps of the field. I was the only person sick with excitement, not dread, on cross-country days. I’d always finish with a ferrous tang of blood in my mouth and my lungs burning, but I’d still want more.
I wanted to win. I never did, of course, but I couldn’t stop myself from pulling on my trainers and setting off around the track. I loved the feeling of it, no matter how average I was. I’ll never forget turning up to a cross-country event after a summer of training and being effortlessly lapped by a girl called Naomi, who had not trained once. I hated her, but I was still proud of how far my body could take me, and how fast.
This story is from the October 2017 edition of ELLE Australia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 2017 edition of ELLE Australia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Books: Shelf-Care
Find a little respite in this season’s most exciting new reads
Men's Rites
Deciding to go through a gender transition isn’t easy for anyone. But the hardest person for journalist Daniel Mallory ortberg to convince was himself
Kick Start
In these uncertain times, louis vuitton’s artistic director nicolas ghesquière is looking to the past to help make sense of the future
Music: Everything Is Illuminated
Phoebe Bridgers is a musician who revels in the darkness, albeit having earned her place in the spotlight
SUPER NATURE ESCAPISM WILDERNESS BREATHING INFRESH AIR BATHING IN SUNSHINE
IN THE SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY AND NEW HORIZONS, MODEL GEORGIA FOWLER HEADS FOR THE GREAT OUTDOORS
THE big CLEANSE
WE’VE PURGED OUR KITCHEN CABINETS OF SUGAR AND CULLED THE CLOTHES THAT DON’T SPARK JOY, BUT WE MAY HAVE ARRIVED AT THE MOST BENEFICIAL (AND EASIEST) CLEANSE OF ALL
TALKING to strangers
SINCE THE EARLY 1900S, AN AGONY AUNT HAS BEEN A WILLING EAR. BUT AT A TIME OF DMS AND ASKME-ANYTHINGS, SEEKING ADVICE FROM SOMEONE YOU DON’T KNOW HAS BECOME RISKY BUSINESS
singled OUT
WE’VE ENTERED AN ERA OF MYRIAD RELATIONSHIP STATUSES – COUPLED, FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS, OPEN, POLYGAMOUS, THREE-DIGITALDATES-IN-BUT UNSURE-WHERE-THIS-IS-GOING. But is flying solo the last taboo?
GYPSY CREEK
INTERIOR DESIGNER LOUELLA BOÌTELGILL TAKES US INSIDE HER QUIRKY BYRON BAY HINTERLAND CREATION, WHICH OVERFLOWS WITH A BEACHY, HAPPY VIBE
DRIVE: DESIGN in motion
HOW THE HOTTEST INTERIOR TRENDS COULD DEFINE WHAT YOUR NEXT CAR LOOKS LIKE