I made what I thought was a throwaway comment about running on Twitter last week and ended up being interviewed for a book someone was writing. Fame at last

Back in February I was running a huge mileage every week training for my 3rd ultra marathon. The last weekend of the month saw me complete a long run of 30 miles with over 1300ft of elevation. Then that race was cancelled, then another went, then another and suddenly there was nothing to aim for. I signed up for the rearranged Edinburgh marathon that was set for this month but my training was half hearted because I guessed, correctly as it turned out, it wasn't happening. I generally run alone but always enjoyed my Saturday morning at Parkrun. I wasn't someone who attended religiously every week but I was there frequently and the social aspect was huge. It was little more than a few nods and exchanging a few words but it was a steady interaction and hearing people talk about races they had done, applauding people who reached one of the milestones or whatever created a bit of a sense of community.

I was asked to explain how the loss of motivation and loss of the social aspect had affected me. I've not put on a huge amount of weight, just under a stone, but I've gone from the fittest I have ever been to struggling to run a half arsed sub 30 5K. It's a mixture of physical and mental. The book is exploring the impact of the cancellation of Parkrun on physical and mental health. In England it was being officially 'prescribed' for those with certain mental health conditions as well as those with type 2 diabetes or obesity and the like. There are various studies that paint a pretty grim picture.

I think a loss of routine and a loss of discipline is to be expected when something so unexpected happens. No one could have imagined we would have a year like this. Unfortunately the open ended nature of it means I'm struggling to get out and run with an eye on next years races. Two I had planned to run have already cancelled so I think next year, or the early part of it, is already a write off.