OK
– let’s try again…
…I
tried to write a brief season’s greetings post. It’s over two-thousand words
long. I spent a little longer than planned reviewing 2014 and looking ahead to
2015. So I’ll leave that in my drafts for now: there’s still time for a
self-congratulatory post between now and the end of the year. But, for now…
MERRY
CHRISTMAS AND
A HAPPY 2015!!!
A HAPPY 2015!!!
I hope your 2014’s been good. Mine has. It’s been…
…the
year I’ve come out. As a gay runner.
Remember
when we first met? If in my early days as a runner, it was when my blog was
called “I Can’t Stand
Running”. And I couldn’t, for reasons I covered time and again. But, over
time, over miles, something changed. I started to enjoy my runs. Some are still
harder to enjoy than others, and to get me through those (typically those
4:30am wintery twenty-milers) I hang on to that sense of satisfaction I know
I’ll feel when I step back into the house. But otherwise… yeah, I smile more
now. Look!
 |
| Santa Gia, Scrooge Dom, Santa Rich... and Tim |
And
for that I thank the runners I’ve met out there over the past two and a half
years. Those who, without blunting my competitive edge, have helped me to smile
mid-pursuit. Pursuit of happiness, of a goal, of a PR… but all pursuits about
and around my little self. All competition is against myself and my Garmin. There’s
the occasional Strava CR pursuit, but even those are fewer than before, and not
just because there are some faster kids on the block around here..!
So
yes, these days I’m a gay runner. I run with a smile on my face, albeit race
photos reveal it to not be quite as broad as I imagine it to be. But, in the
words of Scottish balladeer (and fellow Ultra runner) William Robertson, I “smile
every mile”. Fellow Little Stoke parkrunner Bob Cox yesterday referred to my “trademark
tutu” – which is great! I’ve only worn it three times, and never for longer
than 10k – I’m hardly in Mike’s
league. But still… it’s cool!
Running
makes me happy. Family and friends make me happy. It’s been a good year. Yes,
it’s featured three epileptic seizures: but, as I’ve always said, we all have
our cross to bear and, all in all, mine’s lighter than most. It’s also featured
over three-thousand miles, or least it will (OK, ‘should’) have done by Monday
morning – and that’s a lot of smiles. If not necessarily on Monday morning
itself…
 |
| Thanks Jonathan Pearce for spending his Saturday morning photographing Santas, Elves, reindeer et al - parkrun volunteers are the best! You rarely see me as gay as this! |
And
so with another shot from today’s Little
Stoke parkrun I leave you, friends. My time today wasn’t great, not least
because I didn’t hear the countdown and the go! (too busy yakking to Rich) – and running to and fro local business park
Aztec West with a laptop-ladened backpack on Monday, having run 39 miles four days prior
to that, probably didn’t help, either. So more than happy with 20’22”. But far,
far happier with the Christmas atmosphere, the fancy dress, with seeing not
just Tim and Simon but also Dom, Bob, Rich, Kate, Ben and others – and having a
nice, Saturday morning chat. Because otherwise I’d stick to my old routine and
just run 5k along nearby Down Road, without all the faffing that goes with
getting to a park some fifteen miles away. Because it’s not just about the
running. It never is.
This
time last year, Mike (one of two guys I often cross when heading back after
morning runs) labelled me in a Christmas card as “the friendly runner”. High
praise indeed. I’m still friendly: I’m just gay, too. Whatever next?
Indeed,
whatever next? What might 2015 hold? Er… I’ll tell you next time. Or this will
end up as “War And Peace”!
Just
one note on that: I was kindly told I’m missed at the local tennis club by
someone with whom I used to play. They’d like to see me back. And sure, part of
me misses the game. I was good at it, too: quite possibly better at it than I
am at running, although I had had far longer to hone my craft! But, because I
was good at it, I also took a confrontational approach. You can’t win at tennis
without whoever’s opposite you losing. It’s war – or, as I often called it, “boxing
without contact”. Whereas running… you can win at running without coming first
(just as well!), you can even win with the guy driving you home leaving you in
his wake. Just like three weeks ago, when I set a 5k PB but still trailed
behind Tim as well as Simon (I always
trail behind Simon – whereas it’s a more even contest with Tim!). Running
leaves me content, at peace with myself. And, right now, I’m happy to choose
peace over war. Sorry Sue / Mrs Ryan.
And
on that note, at sub-800 words, I’ll call it a wrap…
…Merry
Christmas, friends! Thanks for reading my ramblings and wafflings* – and stay
healthy and happy throughout 2015!
best,
g.o.s.
* sorry. I do waffling far, far better than wassailing. Even as a gay runner at Christmas.
p.s.: to be clear, I’ll try to #smileeverymile - but not every yard! I retain the right to grumpiness, as per the shot below from this year’s Highland Fling (Martin Hookway being the happy chuff)!
* sorry. I do waffling far, far better than wassailing. Even as a gay runner at Christmas.
p.s.: to be clear, I’ll try to #smileeverymile - but not every yard! I retain the right to grumpiness, as per the shot below from this year’s Highland Fling (Martin Hookway being the happy chuff)!
