Still Running (weakly). Issue 01

PAST – inspiration – on 22nd May 2023, Rick Hoyt died. You may not have heard of him. When he was in the womb, the umbilical cord got twisted around his neck, and he was born with cerebral palsy. Doctors called him “a vegetable” and urged his parents to institutionalise him. But Judy and Dick Hoyt had noticed that his eyes followed them around the room.

Judy spent hours teaching him the alphabet, he caught on quickly, and eventually graduated with a degree from Boston University.

But that is not what made him famous. In 1977, Rick asked Dick if they could run a race together (Dick pushing Rick in his wheelchair.) It was 5 miles. They were next to last. But Rick said, “Dad, when I’m running, it feels like I’m not handicapped.”

Team Hoyt, as Dick and Rick became known, went on to compete in over 1,000 endurance races, including 6 Ironman triathlons, as well as running and biking across America. If you would like to learn more, there is inspirational footage online.

PRESENT – perspiration – on 20th May 2023, I attended the Night of the 10,000m PBs at Parliament Hill Field track. What an amazing occasion! If you ever thought watching 25-lap race after 25-lap race was boring, think again. Paul Chelimo ran 27:12, and Mizab Alem Adane 29:59, and then there was the noise, the drama, the fireworks, the beer! I even got to chat to Dave Bedford, who set a 10,000m world record back in 1973 – “50 years ago,” he sighed. Make a point to go next year!

FUTURE – suggestion – in my humble opinion, the recovery you take between speed-work or hill-session efforts is more important than the intensity of the effort itself. The discipline to keep your recovery to its prescribed length is vital to the overall value of the session.

That’s why you hear coaches shout things like, “Don’t dawdle at the top, turn straight round and jog back down” and “10 seconds to go, move up to the line.”