Still Running (weakly). Issue 10

PAST – inspiration – 10th August 1971 was the day I started running. That night, Dave Bedford of Great Britain led for 24 of the 25 laps of the European Championships 10,000 metres, before being overtaken by Juha Vaatainen of Finland and Jurgen Haase of East Germany. Those two ran the last lap in 53 seconds, the Finn just prevailing in front of his home crowd in Helsinki. It was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen, and I went straight out and ran up and down the hill outside our house, trying to emulate their incredible endurance and speed. I guess I’ve been trying to get closer to them for 52 years! Youtube that race!

PRESENT – perspiration – I did it, my friends! I got round Alice Holt parkrun on 5th August, completing 1,000 consecutive races or parkruns without giving up, since I had to DNF (did not finish) at the Barry 40 miles track race in March 1999.

Such resilience is not easy, but it can be learnt. It is a major theme – perhaps THE major theme – of my book, The Run of Life. The only sadness I have today is that this target, which has hung out there on the horizon for so long, seems bigger than any goal I have left……… in the rest of my running life………….unless of course it’s to show the world how fast a 65-year-old can go with a new knee……..! There’s a thought.

Never give up!

FUTURE – suggestion – don’t let rain put you off. It seems to be raining a lot at the moment. That is not an excuse not to go out! You will only be little uncomfortable for a few minutes until you warm up, and the rain then actually becomes a help rather than a hindrance, keeping you cool.

You’ll also be cool in its other sense, as you will be navigating the landscape under your own steam, whilst everyone else is struggling with umbrellas, losing their hats and losing their patience, or trying to peer out of foggy windscreens. You’ll feel good on your run, great when you finish, and just a little bit smug for the rest of the day!