Running Through Lockdown(s)

It’s hard to imagine what we would have thought back at the start of the year, if anyone had suggested so many of the freedoms we take for granted would be taken away from us for such long periods this year. As I write, Wales has not long come out of a second lockdown, while England is just a week into theirs, nor can we make any assumptions that we won’t be back in one again before this whole situation is properly under control.

In a world where so much has changed you could be forgiven for thinking that worrying about something inherently self-focused is narrow minded, given the challenges so many of us have faced to work, finances, relationships, and not least health. But these are precisely the reasons why running, for me and many others, has been more important than ever. When the world shrinks to only those places you can access from your front door, running takes you further, to explore unknown places or find new variations on familiar routes. When we had no option other than to run alone, there was camaraderie to be found in seeing other runners out at the same time, and joy to be found in a friendly wave from across the road. And then we came home restored and refreshed, better able to cope with the exceptional challenges this period has thrown at us.

Lockdown running opened my eyes to the benefits of an online community. For the first time in my life, I joined an online running challenge, in this case to run, walk or cycle 19k a week throughout lockdown. There were additional weekly challenges on top, to post photos of different coloured objects or scenery, different clothing items or to aim for specific route distances. So every time I went out I logged my run and found myself planning routes that would include whatever I needed each week, and then I posted them on the group’s facebook page. There were people there from all over the world, all of whom were unfailing positive and encouraging about the posts we all put up, supporting each other to get through this crisis.

There was also a wonderful virtual community created from my usual running group. Our highlight was entering a virtual relay during the summer, the aim being to run as far as we could over the course of 15 hours, with one runner out at all times. We all put ourselves forward for a timed slot, from 30 minutes to two hours, with each runner starting as the last one finished. There was no requirement to pass a physical baton, only a virtual one through the clock watching, but we managed to see some of the runners in and out, and the Whatsapp group was on overdrive that day. We were in an event, all pulling together to do our best and with the most incredible sense of being part of a team even in those most unlikely of times.

This is what I’m going to try and take away from this strangest of years. Not the trauma of missing family, the stress and anxiety of so much fear and uncertainty, but the sense of togetherness I found in my running community. I have always said that I run for my sanity, but this year I learnt that it’s about more than just lacing up my shoes and going out of the door. It’s also about the people, the support we give each other, the encouragement, and the knowledge that there are people out there with whom we belong, who understand this slightly crazy fixation we have with putting one foot in front of the other and smiling while we do it.