Your World

Your views

In response to Steve Crowley’s letter ( Priced Out, RW July), London Marathon charity places can be had for a lot less than the £2,075 he quoted. The charity I ran for this year wanted £1,200 plus £50 registration fee. For many charities, it’s their biggest fundraising event of the year and costs them £330+VAT for each golden bond place. When I joined our club about six years ago, I was probably the only charity runner, but now it's common to see members in charity tops. I’ve met many wonderful people and had experiences I wouldn’t have had if I’d not started fundraising. Lining up at Greenwich, surrounded by a sea of humanity all there to help make the world a better place, is a life-affirming experience.

John Freeman, via email

It can certainly be difficult to secure a ballot place for the London Marathon, with so many people entering; letters like this one are a reminder of why it’s so worthwhile to go via the charity route instead.

GREEN LIGHT AHEAD

I’m writing to highlight the increasing good work being carried out by runners and event organisers to combat that scourge of the environment: single-use plastic and litter. Many events have begun to seriously consider ways in which they can reduce their environmental impact. I recently attended the Grimsthorpe Gallop (23 June) and was pleased by the variety of measures they had adopted. These included ample recycling bins, the encouragement of reusable cups at the water stations, and paper bags in lieu of plastic bags. Ideally, I’d rather there be no litter at all in the countryside, with everyone adopting the mantra ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’.

Lieutenant Phil Boak, Cranwell

RUNNING LATE

I am 68 years old and, until recently, had never run in my life. However, last year our daughter started passing on your magazine to me and I found the articles in RW both inspiring and encouraging. Then, last December, our daughter suggested my wife and I try parkruns – we have now done 14, though in my case it is

RUNNERSWORLD.COM/UK

parkjog/walk! As a by-product of this, my heart consultant is pleased because I have lost weight and am now fitter than I have ever been.

Iain Yule, via email

TREAD CAREFULLY

We love running and Runner’s World, and we also walk, hike and scramble so we have been over Crib Goch [Snowdonia National Park, Wales] in our travels. However, some skills are needed to tackle this ridge, including navigation and mountain safety, and people do fall from this area of the Snowdon horseshoe. Without being all nanny state about it, can you make clear that this ridge is not without risk? We both think that including it as a Rave Run [ RW August] may be misleading. More runner-/walkerfriendly routes are available or guides can be found for the area operating out of Llanberis. Tony and Hazel Thorp, via email

Point taken. Our Rave Run images are designed chiefly to inspire and excite our readers, but Crib Goch, though spectacular, is one that should only be attempted by the most experienced of mountain runners.

LETTER OF THE MONTH YOUR WORLD Phil was delighted by the environmental awareness at the Grimsthorpe Gallop SNAP CHAT

RW’S BALANCING ACT

My wife, Marion, and I have always found RW a great magazine for tips and hints, but recently it surpassed itself…it was just the right size to level up our cooker on a slope outside our tent when we were on holiday in France. We always knew it was important to pack it!

Peter O’grady, Preston

Glad to help out. We pride ourselves on the magazine's versatility.

RUNNING FREE

I wanted to thank Sam Murphy for her excellent column in the July 2019 issue ( Normal Life Resumes…). I have been running for seven years and will turn 57 later this year. But I realised at the end of 2013 that something was missing. I realised that what I valued was running as an end in itself, not as a means to an end. Training, goals, objectives and races all get in the way of this. They make you run for other reasons. All of this detracts from the pleasure running gives every single day. My world is full of targets and tasks. Why not make running different?

Kenny Fraser, via email

SPELL CHECK

Really enjoyed your article Chasing the Dragon ( RW July). But I just HAD to point out that ‘Peats Eats’ is in fact ‘Pete’s Eats’. I am sure that lots of people will have pointed this out, as it has successfully been so since 1978! I am, however, inspired.

Pam Tunstall, via email

JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED

I was interested to read Can Running Save the NHS? ( RW July), which referred to many comforting links between exercise and health. What I do know from my own experience is that no matter how stressed I feel before a run, I always feel better afterwards (often having a renewed perspective on some particular challenge or problem I have at the time). Running also helps me control my weight without particularly limiting my food intake. There are social benefits, too – join a club and you’ll make many new friends, which is surely good for mental wellbeing.

Nick Maryon, Wiltshire

HAPPY READER

It took me until I had completed the Couch to 5K programme before I first bought a copy of Runner’s World, because I felt I would not be a proper enough runner to read the magazine. How wrong I was, as it’s for everyone. I have found out so much, like how important it is to buy the right type of trainers for my feet, as well as giving me the motivation to keep on running the miles even when the days are hot or it’s raining outside. Thank you, RW.

Charlotte Marion, Reading

OUR WORLD

RW’S

Jane Mcguire gave it full gas in the Strava Media Mile at the Night of the 10,000m PBS in north London.