Mission accomplished - 400 miles in three weeks

As of Tuesday, July 18, personal trainer Patrice White has run 400 miles in her quest to run 380 miles in a month to celebrate her 38th birthday. Her journey started on June 24 and her 380-mile target was almost twice what she normally runs in a month.

White did not do it on her own. She invited her clients and fellow Jamaicans to get moving and see how much they could do. The adage that it takes a village, was definitely applicable in White's case. "My village comprises my husband, Don. He's been my rock - always there for me, cheering me on, pushing me and supporting me with all the crazy ideas I come up with!" she said. "I'm out on the road running from as early as 2:30 a.m. and I end the day running - no days off. There are times when it hurts to sit down, to walk, to stand. The only time it didn't hurt was when I was running. Without him and that support I don't know if I would have been able to complete the challenge as early as I did."

'RUNPANIONS'

There were also those she calls her 'runpanions'- Jeniel Answer and Wayne Maxwell. "When Jen isn't running with me, she's my ear as I moan about the different body parts that hurt, the parts that have stopped working. Wayne drops everything whenever I call him at the last-minute - and, boy, he got a lot of those calls! My 'runnpanions' Jorge Steven Kerr and Javauni Garwood. One does the morning shift runs, the other the night shift; my Dynamic Lifestylers; and everyone who participated in the challenge became my motivators on those days when I just didn't want to move."

But outside of getting a feeling of accomplishment, White learnt some valuable skills she admits she was lacking. She told Outlook that proper planning was one of them. "In order to complete the challenge I had to plan everything. I had to sit down and work out how I was going to attack this challenge. I had to run an average of 13.5 miles per day. I had to plan everything around my runs. In addition to becoming a planner, the challenge also taught me patience, something those closest to me know I lack. I'm a very disorganised and last-minute person. This challenge taught me how to plan and be patient."

MENTAL CHALLENGE

For White, the most challenging part was not physical but mental - that of worrying. "I have two tears in my left knee that I got in 2014, and I was told I would never be able to do long-distance runs unless I did surgery. Anytime I run 200 miles, it starts acting up. I worried if I would be able to complete the challenge putting so much stress on my knee. My challenge wasn't physical it was mental. With that in mind, I listened to my body. I will say I'm doing 20 miles today, but if I feel my body not cooperating, I listen to it and rest. I know how far I could push it and when not to."

White hopes that others will learn to never doubt themselves. "If there is something you want to do, once your instinct tells you can't, you start to second guess yourself. If someone told me three years ago I would be doing marathons, I would tell them that's rubbish. Back then, a 5K was a challenge for me. Now I'm dong marathons, obstacle races, and a challenge where I can run 380 miles in one month. If I listen to myself that I can't do it, I would never have tested myself and proven it can be done."