B is for Bracknell and a running legend Bayle
My mid September parkrun was at a local venue that I could cycle to — at Great Hollands park — in Bracknell. The 17th September dawned bright and chilly, with the first real autumnal nip in the air.
The course is contained within the park grounds and is a figure of eight, partly a wiggly route through trees and undergrowth. Very good practice for the forthcoming cross country series.
Compared to Australia it was well attended with over 200 participants. My finish position was 48, and age group position 4 — which is a much more realistic outcome. I definitely peaked in Australia!
What I like so far about the Alphabet Challenge is the flexibility to pick and chose where I run. In the UK there are over 1,100 events each week — that’s a lot of dots on the events map. The only fixed element is the start time, so there’s only one chance per week to participate. My challenge of 25 events within an eleven month period (as I started a month after my birthday) boils down to completing a minimum of two letters each month, and ideally three, so there’s a bit of contingency in the case of injury, weather cancellation over the winter etc. Where the event is within a 10 mile radius of my home then I’ll plan to cycle, given that there’s a strong ethos of sustainability around the parkrun culture — minimal paper, plastic and waste etc. Just turn up 10 minutes before the start, ready to run, do it and then leave the venue in the state you found it. It’s really that simple.
Going back to Bracknell, what made the day memorable was meeting up with David Bayle who is a local running legend. I first met David some 20+ years ago when we were both riding motorbikes as part of the local IAM advanced group. And then in 2005 I discovered the sport of triathlon, and a year later I did more miles on a bicycle than I did on a motorbike. It was time to sell the bike, and so I thought that would end contact with my fellow instructor riders.
However, at local running events David was there as a member of Bracknell Forest Runners, whilst I was there with the triathlon club. A friendly rivalry developed between us across 10k, 10 mile, HM and cross country events, and I was always in awe of David’s performance as 20 years my senior.
Then earlier this year I saw a social media post celebrating David’s 80th birthday.
I was about to make my way to the start and David spotted me, and we chatted away about my alphabet challenge and my recent trip to Australia to kicks things off. He was as engaged and enthusiastic as ever. And when I checked the results he had crossed the line in a 31 minutes finish time. He’s still turning the legs over at 9 mins per mile pace — that seriously impressive.
What a role model David is for running into older years — a true legend.
That’s one of things that I like about the community of parkrun, as you strike up conversations with people that you know from different environments. That’s even more true when volunteering. Back in the summer when I had a finish line job at Dinton, I was partnered by a lady that I recognised from Body Balance classes at the local gym. Well 30 minutes of chat later and I worked out how Sandiya knew my wife.
The social connections between participants and volunteers are many and varied. Just what parkrun is all about!
