(with apologies to Rudyard Kipling)
For a lot of my friends, this Saturday is something that they have been waiting over a year for. July 24th 2021 marks the re-start of parkrun. At one point in my life it was the highlight of my week and for many people it still is. Parkrun, for those who are yet to experience it, is a 5km run, jog or walk around your local park, every Saturday morning at 9am. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you are, your only competition is yourself and your goal whatever you set yourself. We can be hard taskmasters though and I have frequently hear people bemoaning the fact that they are never going to get any quicker. I’ve been running for 45 years and in that time I think I’ve only known one person who I reckon has come close to realising their potential. I wrote this a couple of years ago to encourage people to realise that there are lots of opportunities to improve (though with a coaches head on I should point out that you should only try and improve one or two things at a time). And for those friends who don’t run, I’m sure the principle applies to most aspects of life. We can be better than we ever thought possible.
If you can’t run 40 miles a week, or your pace is the wrong combination; If you don’t breathe with your belly, to improve your inspiration; If you can’t match supple hips with a rock solid core; If you don’t do sprint drills, and then do some more; If you lean to far forward, or else to far back; If your strides are too long, or your jaw isn’t slack; If you haven’t get your body fat down to twelve per cent; Or you won’t take a day’s rest before the big event; If you can’t fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds of distance run; Then don’t tell me you’ve reached your potential, my son.
Raven on the Wing 