Elliot Hind
About
The Short Version
I'm a middle & long distance runner who loves to compete over 3,000m upto Marathon.
I live in the delightful Milton Keynes and represent Milton Keynes AC. I'm originally from Barnet in north London and still have a soft spot for my home club Barnet & District AC. I went to the University of Leeds and am a proud member of the alumni club Doss AC.
I'm not actually the best runner in my family, Owen Hind of Kent AC leads the way!
I'm not a great writer, but thought it would be a shame not to document my proudest races and others might enjoy reading too.
Power of 10 profile: http://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=102520
Personal Bests
Road:
Marathon - 2:32:35
Half Marathon - 1:10:38
10km - 31:30
5km - 15:23
Track
10,000m - 32:11
5,000m - 14:53
3,000m - 08.54
The Long Version
My dad was a runner, he set Hampshire records on the track and ran a 2.53 marathon, in all honesty I thought that was probably the best an amateur runner could be! Growing up I ran a lot, but never set the world alight. My finest achievement was probably anchoring the Christ Church primary school 4 x 1km cross country relay team to win the Barnet Schools Championships in 1999!
I ran a bit through my teenage years, but spent far more time on the football pitch. I was always slightly above average at every sport and didn't want to give anything up! At university I continued to focus on football, but never trained properly and my diet was poor, it wasn't until 3rd year that I joined the cross country club.
This turned out to be a great decision and I started getting results that I never thought would be possible (17.14 for 5,000m and 1.21 for the Leeds Half in 2009) as well as making some really good mates. It was also around then that parkrun launched and even though it was tough to get up at 9am I loved it! I didn't know how to train properly then and quickly picked up injuries whenever I started to try and increase mileage or intensity.
After a few years of still pretending to be a student I decided to get back in shape and try and hit the heights of 2009. I'd just moved to Leighton Buzzard (with my now wife to be closer to my office in Milton Keynes) and joined the local club LBAC. They have a great mix of runners and a really good social side. I was delighted to run 1.24 at the Berkhamstead Half Marathon in 2013 and it really gave me the buzz I needed to keep on going. I entered the Brighton Marathon for the following spring with the goal of breaking 3 hours, although this didn't go to plan within days I realised I was properly hooked.
I was only doing about 50km a week, but started to see some real improvements, as 2014 went on I smashed personal bests over almost every distance I raced. I was particuarly delighted to break 17 minutes for the first time over 5,000m and I ran 1.15 at the Gosport Half Marathon.
Unfortunately, disaster then struck. I was still playing football regularly and during in a standard 6 a side match in my work league a strong tackle left me with serious ankle ligament damage. I was devastated and my dream of a sub 3 hour marathon in 2015 was over. It really hit me hard and it took a good few months for me to pull myself together and start on rehab. I'm fortunate enough to have healthcare benefit through my employer and after numerous scans and physio sessions I was ready to start running again!
I was determined to give it everything and see how good a runner I could really be. I stopped playing all other sports to focus on running and have gradually improved my diet. I now regularly run around 100 miles (160km) a week and have enjoyed some brilliant results. I've really enjoyed the journey and will continue to try and fit running around a busy family and work life!