Staying upright in a stampede my blog has primary focused on my health and the passion for fitness that I have. This one has a ntenuous link to fitness but it reflects on a fairly significant event that certainly tested my core inner strength both physically and mentally.

Last week I was caught up in the Oxford Street panic.
I commute to Oxford Street tube station almost daily. Last Friday I returned to it en route to the theatre. I was with a friend and colleague, Karen. 

The station was closed. It often closes due to overcrowding and it was Black Friday. I also noticed that there were a lot of police about. Again not unusual. We decided to walk to the theatre. And then all hell broke loose. People started screaming and running towards us.  
Now according to many commentators over the next couple of days I should have evaluated what was happening and concluded that it was just social media generated panic. Well I didn’t. My first reaction was ‘oh s**t ‘ followed by ‘I need to get out of here’ and ‘what are we running from’. Not that there was much running involved. I was simply swept along by the ‘stampede’. I didn’t have any choice in the matter. Karen and I got separated. 

The swarm I was in ended up in H&M on the corner of Oxford Street/Regent Street. As I was pushed through the doors I noticed a number of people falling over behind me. For a nano second I thought ‘have they been shot’ but they had just succumbed to the force of the crowd. It wasn’t surprising that a number of people were injured. I’m surprised it wasn’t more. 

So we sought refuge in a shop but I did think fleetingly whether we were making ourselves sitting ducks. The doors were shut and we weren’t allowed to leave until the police gave permission for us to be set free.

The whole experience was terrifying. My poor mechanical valve certainly felt the effect. 

During my time in the shop I tried to contact Karen but the networks were down. I tried again after I left but had the same problem. I was finally contacted by a colleague who asked me if I was safe and told me that she had heard from Karen. Over an hour later Karen and I found each other. And we were off to the theatre and a very large drink. 

Compared to many caught up in the panic we emerged unscathed. As I was walking away I spoke to a young girl who had lost her phone and didn’t know where she was. All I could do was point her in the right direction.

 My work colleagues offered refuge to over 40 people. Many were shocked and upset. They had just run for their lives. A hot drink, a bit of TLC and for one woman who had lost her shoes, a pair of shoes was found. I think they belonged to our HR Advisor. She returned them a couple of days later. 

Many people lost their shopping. It is very difficult to hold onto anything in a scrum.

Over the next couple of days I thought of little else. I kept replaying the moment when I thought something dreadful was happening. It was little consolation that it was just an overreaction to a fight on a tube platform. 

But I also speculated as to how I managed to stay upright in the ‘stampede’ when so many people around me got pushed over. And I concluded that my training has made me very robust. I have great lower body and core strength. I am like a Wheeble but with a normal bmi and waist circumference. 

Training should always be functional. It should focus on living and enjoying life. This becomes even more important the older you get. Maintaining strength could save your life. Falls are the most common cause of death from injury in the over 65s and costs the NHS over £2bn per year. But how many over 60s do you see in the weights area of a gym.

A couple days later and everything was back to normal. I didn’t give it a second thought on my Monday evening commute home. But I will never forget the fear I felt. I hope I never feel it again.