There's No 'I' in 'Frontrunner'

The ASICS frontrunners are a team - a team of like-minded and talented individuals in the pursuit of movement. Whether that’s running, cycling, walking, swimming or judo, the team pulls together the experiences and talents of others to share within the group and to inspire others into movement. Until this weekend, I thought I knew what it was to be an ASICS frontrunner but the past few days in Dublin have really opened my eyes.

The use of language is always very interesting and it’s important to note that race, move, blog and run (all big parts of a frontrunner’s life) do not include an ‘i.’ More interestingly, as soon as the race, move, blog and run turn into verbs (racing, moving, blogging and running), we notice the incorporation of the letter ‘i.’

‘To run’ - an action or ability which includes a multitude of different approaches. From nutrition, to psychology, ‘to run’ is a group effort however, the physical movement of ‘running’ ultimately is an individual effort. Only you are in control of how you move your legs, your pace and your mental state.

ASICS frontrunners are similar in some respect. With different strengths and weaknesses, the team pulls together in a holistic support approach to allow for individual (and team) progression. Within the team, you know that somebody has always experienced something similar to yourself (except maybe in my case regarding losing a leg) and people are often extremely willing to give a helping hand.

In Dublin, I saw this holistic approach to training and encouraging others. It was so inspiring to see Olympians talking with local runners about training tips and encouraging the performance of the slower runners, even running with them to ensure they achieved a PB at their local parkrun.

Although trying to keep up with the news of the frontrunners is sometimes challenging, simply because people are always racing and achieving PBs, support is both offered and given in equal value. This weekend has really made me appreciate the ‘team’ aspect of being a frontrunner. So many things go on in the background to achieve our meet-ups and events but we all pitch in where we can.

I’m so glad to be able to make it to my first frontrunner weekend. It was incredible to meet such an inspiring group of people, gaining so much enjoyment from movement.

There’s definitely no ‘i’ in frontrunner but I am certainly proud to be a frontrunner.