Still Running (weakly). Issue 04

PAST – inspiration – “My father came in and I looked at his face and I didn’t have to ask.  It was terrible.”  That was the moment that Sir Ben Helfgott knew that his mother and nine-year-old sister had been murdered by the Nazis.  He was also to suffer personally: “You cannot imagine what hunger is until you get hungry like that.  The only possession we had was a tin plate.  You kept great care of the plate because, if you didn’t have it, you got no soup.”  He later learnt that his father was shot trying to escape a death march.

Helfgott himself managed to survive the Holocaust and come to Britain: “I’m steeped in English history and I love Britain.”  He took up weightlifting with such success that he competed for Britain in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games, captaining the weightlifting team on the latter occasion.  He also won a bronze medal in the Empire and Commonwealth Games of 1958.

What is particularly telling is that, during the Olympics, he made a point of making friends with the German athletes in the village: “The Olympics are not just a sporting event,” he said.  He continued lifting weights every morning until he died at the age of 93 on 16th June 2023.  RIP Sir Ben

PRESENT – perspiration – On Sunday 18th June, I marshalled at the Hampshire Hoppit Marathon and Half Marathon races, based near Kingsclere.  Although the courses are hilly and the day was very muggy (let’s just say that there was a certain amount of perspiration), it was great to see the runners enjoying themselves.

I was at the point where the half and full marathon runners go their separate ways, and there was much joking from the former that “thank goodness” they weren’t going “that way,” and light-hearted requests from the latter to be allowed a short cut!  My electric cattle prod soon put a stop to such nonsense!

Although I have been part of many races over the years, I was still reminded of so many things that are great about runners.  Many of the full marathon runners kept together in twos and threes, helping each other through the challenge.  Everyone was very grateful for the range of treats provided by the feeding station nearby.  And there was also great camaraderie, with many “halfers” wishing the full marathon runners well as they parted.

FUTURE – suggestion – it is important to be as disciplined on your rest or easy days as it is on your hard days.  Don’t do parkrun too fast if you are planning on completing a testing long run on the Sunday.  Don’t push your “easy 6” on the Monday if you’ve got that track session the next night.  And certainly don’t clear out the garage and the loft a day or so before your target race, “because you’ve got bags of energy because you’ve been resting up for it”!