Having to admit that my marriage failed is one of the bitterest pills I’ve had to swallow in my life. That’s 10 years of marriage, not including the courtship years. The course of separation was an extended one that dragged on longer than it should, thus affecting me a great deal.

I kept it to myself and it was very tough because I still had to go to work, I still had to see my friends, I still had to clock in the mileage for the marathons I was taking part in. Thankfully, the ordeal is finally over and the worst of the pain is past me.

Throughout it all, it was running that helped to keep my sanity in check and I am now training for various marathons (both local and overseas).

I didn’t always like running though.

I remember being one of the biggest in school and I hated my body so much. I wanted to be slim like the other girls so I took up sports but it made me bigger, so I started to take slimming pills, on top of suppressing my appetite and eating only one meal a day.

When I went out to the workforce, I got so busy I didn’t have time for exercise and my weight ballooned. From size M, I progressively grew to XL and I got to a point where I was wearing oversized clothes to hide my body. People were asking if I was pregnant and that upset me greatly.

I sought solace in alcohol almost every day and was partying every other night. Being intoxicated helped me momentarily forget my troubles and I led my life this way for two years. My career was affected and I was putting on more weight!

One sober day I freaked out at my reflection in the mirror. I dragged my sister out of bed for a run and we struggled very badly, which was pretty embarrassing as we both used to be athletic in school! We cleaned our lives up – started eating healthily, started exercising more and cut out the booze and partying. We also found ROCKrunners and they helped to keep me on track.

Today, I am amazed at what my body can do, especially with each marathon that I complete. No matter how hard life knocks you down, or how painful an experience is, believe that you can emerge stronger.