Runner Profile: Bryan Wybrow

The Spice Girls

Specifically, dressing up for charity at the Ipswich Half Marathon as Geri Halliwell in THAT dress is what done it. What got me into running that is. That charity event never happened, and as I’m here today writing this something else clearly got me into running. And no, it’s not hanging on to the thought that Andy Garnham was going to be Scary Spice.

Before this potential cross-dressing / fitness endeavour, I had dreaded running. Hated it in fact and thought it an activity just one better than golf for being the biggest waste of time. Perhaps a tell for dressing up in my spare time, but I had gone through a phase, like most, of joining the Lycra-brigade and spinning around the Suffolk countryside on my road bike. An earlier charity event through work saw me giving cycling a go when we did London to Paris in 2015. This was an incredible event and one that I would do again and totally recommend. It gave me the buzz for cycling and fitness, and being in my early 30s in 2015, I thought plenty youth left to do alright with this as a hobby.

By 2017, I was well into it and had my daughter, Ellie, on the way. Following a speed-wobble heading down the Ipswich Ski-slope hill which scared the proverbial out of me and also the prospect of missing out a quarter of my weekend’s family time from going on long rides I hung up the Lycra. It turns out for good.

Anyone want a 2016 Ribble Gran Fondo? One careful owner, low mileage?

Summer 2018 I begun running. Tough at first, but I felt energised and was enjoying it. I did run the Ipswich Half that year with Andy and really enjoyed it. We had a good ol’ natter around the whole course, at a steady pace and the weather was beautiful. It was a great experience, and I remember feeling like I wanted to do more whilst enjoying that Arcade Tavern post-run beer. (Arcade Tavern now a firm tradition post-runs). That year I nibbled in just under 2 hours in case anyone wants to know.

I continued running, but all very casual. Lunch time runs at work, the occasional evening run, a couple of Park Runs and no race events. And certainly, no fancy dress. A year flew by all too quickly and I took part in the Ipswich Half again. As I’d done it before and felt quite chipper about it, I just went for it without the previous “summer of 2018” training behind me. I’ve done it before, it’ll be fine. What an idiot. Humbled in 2 hours 15.

Covid came along and I got into running properly. Like a lot of other people did no doubt. Before long, running with friends was allowed. This is where things got better. Sunday runs with Steve Munnings and Barry Hawtin helped through 2020-2021 in so many ways. We had been friends for decades, but our Sunday runs (typically 10km, 10km, 15km then 21km each weekend each month) made us running buddies. Even better. This pattern over a year or so taught me real consistency and on one occasion I ran 21km around Felixstowe one sub-zero January morning in 2021 hitting just over 1hr 41minutes. On my own. Stopping to take pictures. Bonkers.

Getting back to normal life, work, having to socialise with family and in-laws again post-covid as well as actually catching “the cove” made consistency difficult over the last couple of years. And I have struggled since January 2022.

I joined FRR late in 2022 having had another bad Ipswich Half experience. It really rained that year. REALLY RAINED. Andy G, friend, work colleague and would-be Scary Spice had recently joined and got a huge PB at that 2022 Ipswich half which persuaded me to join FRR too. If he could do it in The Somme conditions, then so could I.

I’m really glad I joined. It has been great to see some real gains in my running and meet some really inspiring people along the way. It has also got me thinking about running in a bit more detail and looking for ways to improve. I have improved and have enjoyed the process of little gains and trying to remain consistent whilst life’s busy-ness continues unrelenting. A few PBs have crept in along the way, but more importantly, my friendship group has grown around running and we are all enjoying it.

In the 6 years of being a runner I’ve noticed that my better efforts have always been following an extended period of running with my mates or a good uninterrupted few weeks at FRR. When combined, the improvements have been great and my current half marathon PB was during a casual run with Steve in March last year. I say “current” as I fully intend to beat it at an actual event one day. Soon I hope, but my final lesson is not to go nuts about running.

Our second child, Alex arrived this year after a long gap since Ellie. A gap that was not intended but has been truly worth the wait has meant running has been on the backburner so far in 2024. Sporadic at best, I have not been pushing the running and know there’ll be time to get back into it again.

So, I am looking forward to a lot in 2025 and am excited to take part in some more running events. I’d say more routine Sunday running again with the guys is essential and I will continue my FRR journey (probably time for a new club vest actually) hopefully picking up more friends in the process.

So, my running profile; all started from an idea, never realised, to do a charity Ipswich Half Marathon in THAT dress with work colleagues back in 2018. So, keep a look out, I may be out in that dress hitting my target PB against my nemesis, Freston Hill sometime in the future!

Thanks to Dave Masters for the nomination and all the best to Dom Bareham, who I nominate for the next Runner Profile!