THE SAME…BUT DIFFERENT

A few months ago, many of us were happily in the midst of our marathon training. As part of my training, I lined up on March 1 with thousands of others in London for the Big

Half. Two weeks later, we were in lockdown. Races cancelled one by one, no more running with buddies, no meeting of clubs. No postrun coffees and chats about injuries. No more parkrun. We no longer run in straight lines; we’ve had to learn the quick swerve as we meet others going round a corner, and how to safely negotiate the pavement and road to ensure the two-metre distance is observed at all times. Even wiping the sweat from our foreheads has become a challenge, as we’re told not to touch our faces

when we are outdoors. But the truth is that running remains the simple, wonderful, straightforward activity it always has been: one foot in front of the other and repeat. In times of change, thank goodness for running.

Lindsay Alger, via email