For the last two Saturday’s I have braced the cold weather to join 130 others to run 5k round a local park. Parkrun has been described as a sporting revolution. Its origin goes back to 2004 in London but is now a fixture in parks across the world. It is free to join. You just need to register which gets you a barcode that is scanned at the end of your run. A couple of hours later you receive your time and other interesting data. Although it is called a run many walk/run (that would be me) and a few just walk. One or two are accompanied by their four-legged friends. In the UK nearly 75,000 of us are doing it.

I decided to do it as I want to improve my running. It was the thing that nearly killed me before I found out I had a heart condition and I have to admit that I have never really got it. I find it a bit boring. But surely thousands of people can’t be wrong. One of the attractions is its portability. Wherever you are in the world running is usually possible. The same can’t be said for dead lifting and flipping tyres. And as I now have to maintain a fairly consistent level of exercise (the joys of being a Warfarin user ) it make sense that I become fairly competent at it and hopefully I will  get it in time.

I came 119th out of 131  with a time of 37:17 on my maiden outing progressing to 118th out of 132 with a time of 35.56 the following Saturday. Paula Radcliffe’s record is safe.  I was impressed that I was third in the female 55-59 group but not so much when I realised that there were only four of us. Out of 132 runners only 16 were over 55 years of age.

So why so few of us?  As someone of a certain age who loves exercise I can tell you it is a fairly lonely place to be. Most of the people I train with are years younger than me. I could be their mother or even their grandmother. In fact I do train a couple of times a week with my daughter but her motivation is very different to mine. Something about her derrière.

Could it be that there remains something not quite nice about a Lycra clad 60-year-old? And as a 56 (nearly 57) year old woman maybe I should be taking up knitting or trying to be the next bake-off contender.

The benefits of exercise in middle age are well documented but the advice often focuses on maintaining motor skills (not falling over) and staying healthy and independent into old age. Admirable but pretty boring. What about the 101 year old marathon runner and the 84 year old Ironman. The oldest female body builder is 77.

So what is my motivation for training the way I do? I think it has changed slightly since my heart surgery. Whilst before it was all about looking and feeling good I am now more focused on staying out of the operating theatre and making the most of the second chance I have been given. I want to achieve something. I am not sure what although I have a few ideas. 

The main thing that limits what I do is Warfarin. I have to avoid activity that could cause injury although I could trip over getting off a sunbed. I have signed up for a Tough Mudder to celebrate my one year OHS anniversary. A Tough Mudder is a five-mile course with 15+ obstacles. As expected most involve mud. I know that I will have to skip one or two of the obstacles but as long as I do the majority of them and get my finisher t-shirt I will be happy.

Now I am off to Parkrun No. 3. Maybe I will see you there.