Ingrid Kristiansen: ‘I want to be a counterbalance to the training frenzy’
I have to admit, my heart warmed a little when I spotted her on the streets the other day. There’s something about that calm gaze, that particular stillness that only someone who has won it all, yet lost a bit of themselves along the way, possesses. Ingrid Kristiansen. For many of us who grew up in the eighties, she’s more than a former runner. She’s the very symbol of that Norwegian will to suffer, the one who would run from Moscow to London without batting an eyelid.
Now she’s back in the public eye, and I have to say, the message she’s bringing couldn’t be more timely. Because this isn’t about chasing new personal bests or dissecting your resting heart rate to the last decimal point. Instead, Ingrid Kristiansen is positioning herself as a clear counterbalance to what she herself calls the “training frenzy.” And let me tell you straight up: it’s about time.
I’ve followed Norwegian sport for years, and I’ve never seen a sharper divide between those who train to live and those who live to train. Especially in the running community here, a culture has emerged in recent years that sometimes feels more like a career pursuit than a hobby. Heart rate monitors beeping, algorithms dictating your rest week, and a constant undercurrent of performance anxiety lurking beneath every pair of joggers.
Ingrid Kristiansen knows what she’s talking about. When she set the world marathon record in 1985, it was with a level of pain tolerance few of us can imagine. But she’s also felt the flip side of the coin. In a candid moment, she’s spoken before about the feeling of being misrepresented, of being reduced to just a machine that churned out races. Maybe that’s why she comes across so genuine today. She’s been up there, and she’s seen that it’s not necessarily where most of us should be striving to go.
Let enjoyment take the lead
It’s easy to get swept up when the whole Instagram scene is shouting “just do it!” and showing off perfectly timed interval sessions at sunset. But what Ingrid Kristiansen reminds us of is something simple: exercise should be a source of energy, not a source of stress. She talks about listening to your body, not just your watch. About daring to take a day off without feeling guilty. About remembering that we started running because it gave us freedom, not because it was meant to be another line on our CV.
To be honest, I think this message hits even harder because it’s coming from her. If it were anyone else, you could dismiss it as whinging from someone who can’t keep up. But Ingrid Kristiansen has credibility. She holds the world record. She can afford to say “enough is enough” without anyone accusing her of being lazy.
- Listen to your body: Are you in pain? Are you tired? Maybe the smartest thing you can do today is go for a gentle walk, not force yourself through a session.
- Ditch the heart rate monitor sometimes: Feel what it’s like to run without being measured. It can be an incredibly liberating experience.
- Remember why you started: For most of us, it’s about health, wellbeing, and feeling the wind in your hair. Don’t let it become another demanding job.
There’s something refreshing about the way she conveys this. She doesn’t come across as a moralist pointing a finger, but like an older, wiser sister who’s seen it all. She doesn’t want us to stop running. She just wants us to stop ruining the joy of running.
A voice we need
In a time when young people struggle to find balance, and when more are dropping out of sport because it’s becoming too “serious,” a voice like Ingrid Kristiansen’s is worth its weight in gold. She represents what’s real, what’s down-to-earth. She reminds us that behind all the records and all the titles, there’s a person who has also felt the pressure, who has known what it’s like to feel left out when the shoes had to be put on the shelf.
So the next time you tie your laces and feel that anxiety about not performing well enough creeping in, think about what the queen of the marathon herself says. It’s okay to take it easy. It’s okay to enjoy yourself. And it’s okay to be a counterbalance, even if the whole world around you seems to have forgotten that.