Fifty years ago today, I bought the album Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield, (well actually a cassette).
I was fourteen, with no idea where life would take me, how many miles I would run, or how much running would come to mean. I certainly couldn’t have imagined that, half a century later, I’d be listening to the same album on my journey to my 1251st, 52nd & 53rd marathons – aka The Druid Challenge.
There’s something powerful about music and memory. The opening notes always remind me of the boy who bought the album in 1976, but they also made me think about all the versions of myself who’ve followed: the dark times, the person who kept going when things were hard, and the coach who now helps other people find their own way.
You see, a marathon is more than 26.2 miles, and every runner arrives with a different story and a different reason for wanting to take on the challenge. My role is to listen, help them find a path, and stay alongside them as they discover what they can do.
I know how much those journeys matter because I’ve lived so many of my own. Reaching marathon 1,253 isn’t just a number to me. It holds years of experiences, lessons, friendships and moments I’ll carry with me forever. And now, through The Rory Coleman Method, I get to share what I’ve learned and help others create their own moments of pride.
On the drive, Tubular Bells felt like more than a soundtrack. It connected the person I was fifty years ago with the person I am today: still curious, still moving forward, and still believing that there’s more to discover.
And as the music ended, the road continued. And somewhere ahead there will be more start lines - and another reminder of why I love running, and why I love helping others find their own way into it.
