I love meeting up with my Parkrun Pal, my little sister Rosy.
As is often the way with rituals and rhythms, I am not quite sure how our regular Parkrun journeying began.
But it did!
And it has continued now for well over a year…
‘Where to now’? We say, after the run is done… And so the months have gone by, travelling to a venue, running the laps and then enjoying the aftermath of coffee and brunch.
We’ve extended our sister running rituals to meeting up for 10k’s and half marathons too…
In truth the ritual began many years ago when Rosy would accompany me to my X country races in the 70’s…
We would clamber into my car – A Triumph Spitfire! Madness at nineteen years old, but I just went out and bought it one day! – And off we would journey to a remote muddy field, somewhere in the UK, where hundreds of girls and women would gather to race.
She was there when I was selected to represent England in my first international race…
The year was 1979.
A few years later in 1981 – the face of running was to change… The first London marathon brought with it the awareness that we can all run.
Running – so simple and natural – just one foot in front of the other.
Our ancestors ran to survive, to catch food, to run from predators.
We were all born to run
And Chris Brasher’s intention in creating the race was to provide ‘some happiness and sense of achievement in a troubled world’.
There’s no question that the simple act of running has done just that.
It has been incredible to see the sport I have always loved, become a bigger part of life, bringing community spirit, friendship, accomplishment and joy to so many…
And so it is, that over forty years later, Rosy and I find ourselves meeting in fields and parks all around the UK still…
But the wonderful thing now, is that Rosy is running in the races too…