Run Casey Run

The headline is an homage to Run Lola Run, one of my favourite films. I ran a 5K today--the first time since my accident in 2008 that I’ve run competitively. But competitively may not be the right word. Parkrun is a volunteer organisation that hosts 5K runs at 9:30 a.m. every Saturday morning in 385 parks in the U.K. More than 800,000 runners have participated in 58,121 runs so far. It’s meant to encourage people of all abilities to get off their duff and run. There are no medals or ceremonies--just an opportunity to get an official time and run with a lot of other people.

My result at Stormont Park today: I was 69th out of 142 people and 22nd out of 64 women. I was second in my age category. My time was 00:26:50. I believe I have gotten under or very near 22:00 in the past, so it’s a slow pace for me. However, I’ve got a benchmark to beat now and a choice of 22 parks in Northern Ireland where I can run on Saturday mornings. And I’m still able to run. Not something I take for granted. I am a happy camper.
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