What a contradiction

Our government are constantly pushing the agenda for healthy active living.  Increased exercise, eating less sugar and having a more balanced lifestyle are apparently the perfect ingredients for living longer and relieving the ever stretched National Health Service. I wholeheartedly agree with all of those factors and do my best to live by them for my own benefit. So you can imagine I was outraged when I heard the news that a Westcountry Town Council have decided to charge runners taking part in the weekly free ParkRun.

For those of you who are unaware ParkRun is an event organised by volunteers every Saturday morning in public parks around the world. It is a marked 5K route that participants can enter for free online, printout their barcode and turn up to join hundreds of likeminded individuals for a run, walk or jog.

It was us, the UK that lead the way with this initiative, originating in Bushy Park, London. Countries across the world have followed suit and totally embraced this regular mass participation event. In February I had the opportunity to join a Parkrun in Johannesburg, South Africa, I was blown away by the sheer numbers  on that start line, a total of 1060 runners completed the 5K. Just think the concept started right here in the UK, we should be proud.

What example are we setting to the rest of the world, if we, a country spending billions of taxpayers money promoting the increase in physical activity , start to charge participants for the opportunity to get out and run? Think back to the “thisgirlcan” campaign, Sport England threw money at this in the hope of getting us out doing more exercise. Surely all those efforts are being contradicted if we can no longer join likeminded people for a free 5k run once a week.

Staycation

Unless you are a teacher or parent the only warning of any upcoming school holidays is the dramatic hike in flight and holiday prices. If you live in the Westcountry the first physical sign is often the increase in traffic jams often caused by the number of slow moving caravans blocking up the roads. The early arrival of this years Easter and the poorer than average weather forecast did not deter British tourists from packing up their cars and heading to various UK destinations. The appeal of keeping it local has been significantly increased as a result of the recent terror threats in Europe, at least that is having a positive impact on local businesses.

It is usually the appeal of some “guaranteed” sunshine that lures me back to the airport to catch a flight for a foreign holiday. After the busy travel fuelled past few months my own bed and home cooking had a much stronger appeal than a sandy beach. I embraced a “staycation” and actually unpacked my wash bag for the first time since the beginning of February, it was the most uplifting and refreshing experience.

The challenge of holidaying at home is switching off. Two separate trips with family and friends to a local spa for some indulgence significantly helped with this, complimented by a mini shopping spree and plenty of spring fresh air. We are so absorbed in our day to day lives with the constant bombardment of jobs to do, social media to be distracted by and friends to keep up with that it is easy to ignore what we have on our doorstep. Previously I struggled to understand the thinking behind a staycation, now I am already looking to book my summer holiday, at home.

Cote d'Azur

The British seasons feel less distinct than I remember; they have started to mould into each other with our temperamental weather and more frequent storms. According to the clock change we are now officially in springtime, the flowers and my hay fever confirm that too, but sadly the temperature is yet to follow. As my friends and I get older it also seems that the wedding season has become less defined. Until recently I had never been to a winter or foreign wedding, now these invites have become the norm.

The most recent was only a short flight down to the South of France, no harder to travel for than the next wedding up in Scotland. Having never experienced the Cote d’Azur I could not pass the opportunity to make the most of this trip and extend the stay, it was the Easter holidays after all. The wedding itself was further inland set amongst stunning vineyards, so the days prior I chose to make the most of the famous Mediterranean coastline.

As you probably know, I love to incorporate sport into my travels. Hiring a road bike was the perfect opportunity to explore this part of Europe. Day one consisted of a coffee stop in Monaco followed by lunch in the Italian town of Ventimiglia. Three countries in one ride sounds impressive but I have to admit it was only two hours of cycling. To compensate for the frequent stops and large quantities of food and coffee I ambitiously set off up Col de la Madon, a mountain just shy of 1000m in height. Comparing this to home it sounded impossible, a hill three times the height of anything on Dartmoor with no let ups. The smooth road surface, lack of traffic and continuous yet gentle incline made it surprisingly enjoyable. I found my steady pace provided plenty of time to absorb the incredible scenery and views. As for the descent - I am still dreaming about that now.

It's not fair

How do you define fair? This question has been behind numerous headlines recently from sport through to politics. I have found myself digging deeper to understand exactly how I feel over the proposed changes to disability benefit, the incoming sugar tax and in sport the continuous debate over equal prize money. The aforementioned issues do not affect me directly and initially I was certain as to which side of the fence I sat, that is until hearing the convincing counter arguments.

The introduction of the sugar tax has been the only debate that has not once caused me to question my initial instinct. It has infuriated me listening to the soft drink companies complaining about the injustice of a tax increase, fighting the Government’s decision to the bitter end. I find it sad that they do not care for the health of our young people and am baffled that they ignore the worrying statistics of obesity due to sugary soft drinks. The sugar tax is only a small step but it is at least one in the right direction.

The prize money in sport debate has been revisited as a result of some strong opinions from within the sport of tennis; Indian Wells (now former) CEO inferred that the women’s game would be nowhere today without the male stars such as Federer and Nadal. World number one Novak Djokovic added spice to the topic by questioning the fairness of equal prize money. There are so many pieces to this jigsaw which sadly I do not have space to address. The women’s game is continually growing in participation numbers and popularity, however the elephant in the room remains – in a grand slam they only play three sets compared to the men’s five. I will leave you to ponder that one. I am just glad that my sport of Modern Pentathlon appears, on the surface at least, to be equal.

Two wheels to four legs

In the weeks prior to flying out to Brazil the UK press were continually debating the dangers of the mosquito-born Zika virus. All GB athletes heading out for test events or pre Olympic training have been given comprehensive instructions to cover up and religiously use repellent. I arrived slightly concerned about this risk and naively expected to see immediate warnings or evidence or this disease.

Speaking to locals it is certainly something they are aware of, and naturally concerned about, yet in their opinion it seems to pose a much lower a risk than our press have lead us to believe. I spoke to several Brazilians and most of them were not even aware of any friends or relatives who had experienced the virus. In their view Dengue fever is still equally dangerous, the only difference being the danger of Zika for pregnant women. Despite my religious use of repellent I frustratingly came home with a handful of bites, I now have to wait for the incubation time to pass and hope I am safe.

Last week saw one of the largest meetings in national hunt racing calendar which culminated in Gold Cup day. The Cheltenham festival saw a record number of cameras and journalists attend the final day; largely thanks to an Olympic cyclist. The headlines were stolen by Victoria Pendleton who after less than a year of riding managed to complete the Foxhunter race and finish a respectable fifth. She proved her critics wrong and with it has brought new fans and followers to the world of horse racing. I can understand the cross over from cycling to riding, the equal need for strong leg and back muscles, a stable core and some serious guts. I know this from the reverse experience when I moved from horse riding to cycling. Sadly though, I think I might have left it a little late in my career to reach the top of the two wheeled sport.