HUMAN( )RACE
NEWS, VIEWS, TRENDS and ORDINARY RUNNERS doing EXTRAORDINARY THINGS
How Colin Renton combined his love of running and wine to create the adventure of a lifetime
EMPOWERING YOUTH p22 GOING ON A JOLLY p28
‘I GOT SOME INTERESTING LOOKS
when I told people my plan. But no one told me, “You’re completely off your head.” So I took that as a positive.’
Colin Renton is talking about a running challenge that he began in October 2021, finished last September and became a book in May. While most tales of large sporting undertakings seem to involve major suffering, the Edinburgh-based writer would have found it difficult to convince anyone he deserved sponsorship, sympathy or gasps of disbelief for this one. The Wine Runner: My Year Of Hard Yards And Vineyards tells the story of his travels to 12 races in 12 different European countries – all connected with wine in some way. Some involved tasting sessions afterwards, while others actually required stopping for a glass mid-run. Of course, France, Spain, Italy and Germany were all on the agenda, but there were wild cards, too – Hungary, Belgium and Slovenia, to name a few. The grand finale was his first-ever marathon in Wachau, Austria.
It’s a hard-knock life, as Annie once said. But Colin had served his time as a writer in the less glamorous world of finance. As his 60th birthday closed in, and the pandemic permitted more time for taking stock of priorities, he felt that it was now or never for an adventure and went freelance.
‘Doing a marathon had been there in the background for a really long time,’ Colin says. Over 30 years ago, he was a middle-distance track runner with Gala Harriers in the Scottish Borders, and competed on the Highland Games circuit – a series of Scottish sports days that include running races, as well as the caber toss you’re probably picturing. At that time, he did the Falkirk half marathon for pre-season training in 1:15, which inspired him to enter and try for a sub-3:00 marathon. But an injury prevented him from taking part and after that, he says, ‘Work, family, all that kind of stuff, meant I didn’t get round to doing another and drifted out of athletics. More recently, I’d been going to the gym and running occasionally, but the marathon was still this weight on my shoulders.’
The project allowed him to combine not two but four unfulfilled ambitions. As well as completing a marathon and learning more about wine, he wanted to travel more and become a published author. What was off the table, however, was the idea of PBs. ‘If you decide that time is not the most important thing, you can actually have a good laugh with some of these events,��
