Meet the R4R Runners: Revisited #4
Ingrid
Welcome to the 4th edition of the Meet the R4R Runners, revisited. This week, we get to re-meet Ingrid, who’s an R4R OG! Despite being a Kiwi, Ingrid is a great person, who’s a pillar of our community… and puts up with our poor trans-Tasman banter… and poor international rugby team… All jokes aside, every run that Ingrid attends is better for it, and what R4R has become is in part due to her efforts, turning up week in and week out. So, without further ado, let’s re-meet Ingrid!
How have you been?
Good! Life’s exciting and it’s snow season, so it’s all good for me :). I’m also looking forward to heading to City2Surf with the R4R crew!
Normally we'd ask if you'd knocked off any running events recently... but I want to ask about the half marathon you did in Antarctica a while back. What was that like?
Very cold… and I didn’t train. So maybe I’ve learned a thing or two over the years.
Running on ice & snow was definitely a bit different but the race atmosphere was awesome!
What's been your highlight in the past two years?
Getting back to NZ to spend time with family, I don’t do it often enough!
What's been your favourite thing about R4R since we met you the first time?
Watching R4R grow has been awesome, from less than a dozen people going for a jog to seeing over a hundred turn up on a Wednesday night shows the message is spreading and people are being impacted by what we are doing as a community
Your original answer to "What does resilience mean to you?" was "The ability to just keep getting back up. It's fine to struggle, to have shitty times or a bad day, but resilience to me is saying, "that sucked, but let's crack on and move forward" Do you still think it is? Would you change it at all?
I think my definition is still similar, although I’d add that it’s ok to spend some time processing difficult emotions or events, the bounce back doesn’t have to be fast
You also mentioned that when you were in the New Zealand Army, you had to rely on your ability to be resilient. Did you want to elaborate on that and share how you view that suffering in hindsight?
In hindsight, it’s made me who I am today. Without shared suffering and being tested over and over I don’t think I would be who I am today. That being said, we don’t need to suffer to build resilience!
You're an R4R OG and you've helped make R4R what it is. How do you think we can achieve our goal of making Canberra suicide-free?
Keep spreading the message and checking on your mates. Most of us are terrible at asking for help and put on a brave face when things are rough- someone reaching out can be a game changer for those who are struggling.
Good to meet you again, Ingrid!
Reboot in Bermagui
If you’re looking to book a trip down the coast, look no further than Reboot in Bermagui; A weekend based around community and exercise. There are already a few runners booked in, so you’ll be sure to see some friendly faces down there!
Arc de Resilience: Honour list
If you’d like to honour someone who’s passed away, but putting their name on the arc, please use the link below to add their name to the list. Then we’ll go away and figure out how to do it!