RUNNING... A CONTACT SPORT?

Running is an incredibly simplistic sport. All you need is a pair of trainers, or in some cases just your bare feet. In running all you have to do is get from A to B in the shortest amount of time possible by putting one foot in front of another.

Sounds easy but somewhere between point A and point B you might encounter a few obstacles. It takes me to the point of this blog which revolves around the question of running being a contact sport. Staying with the family over the Christmas period I wanted to keep up my training and on Christmas Eve I decided to go for a steady 10 mile run around the picturesque Virginia Water Lake. Rounding a corner I saw that the water from a drainage ditch had over flown onto the tarmac path and due to the recent drop in temperature had frozen solid.

Hurtling around the corner came a young girl of around 6 years old on a brand spanking new pink bike. She was swerving manically in an attempt to master the art of cycling in a straight line. Cautious of this young child I moved over to one side giving her room to pass. Before I knew it she decided to steer directly at me. Out of control she slammed on the breaks, skidding on the ice towards my legs. Just in time I jumped over her to avoid the collision before helping her to her feet and back on the bike. The thing about this incident is that it not the first time I’ve nearly been badly injured while running.

In the two years since I started this project I have encountered more dangers through running than any other sport that I have taken part in including Skiing and Rugby. The worst offenders are children and animals. Children on scooters are a serial menace to runners, swerving unpredictably without even contemplating look around they can strike at anytime. I have also been chased my rabid dogs in Lanzarote, attacked by a man while running down the side of Hyde Park who tried to punch me in the face (possibly hired by the posters on the lets run forum), had food thrown at me, been spat at, verbally abused, nearly run over numerous times by over eager drivers, had a old woman throw herself in front of me during a marathon (long story... not dissimilar though to suffragette Emily Wilding Davison, but it’s got to be children who are the biggest danger of the lot. Running in my experience can be a sport fraught with danger.