Don’t worry this IS a blog about running and not a cheap shot about North London being red in 2024. Although by the time you read this the Gooners may have taken another step closer to their first Premier League title since 2004.

Instead I’m writing about being 3 days into May, having run on each of those days in pursuit of achieving 150 miles in May.

In started as a throw away comment in a team meeting. At work we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Walsall Arboretum and to mark that occasion we have a series of planned events happening over the bank holiday weekend. No, not the 150th parkrun event (yes, we host parkrun every Saturday) but it’s actual 150th birthday.

So it doesn’t take a huge leap to see how my colleagues encouraged and cajoled me into marking that number with matching miles.

Technically there is no reason I have to run every day (RED) in May. I just have to commit to 150 miles or put another way 5.7 marathons. But I’m setting out with the aim of running as many consecutive days as possible before tiredness or life says have a rest day, and therefore I need to be thinking about 5 miles a day for 30 of the 31 days of May.

Now lots of you probably already commit to a RED month each year, probably in January as a way of kick starting some consistent miles during dark, winter months. And as it happens I did achieve RED January on 2024.

So why am I looking at another RED month so soon. Well, the obvious answer is because of the Arbo celebrations but that’s not the whole truth.

Despite running several half marathons, a few 10k races and numerous parkruns I still don’t feel like I’ve hit any kind of consistency. Yet while typing I just checked on Strava and I’ve run through 469 miles so far in 2024 so that’s not too shabby.

The problem comes from not having a big ‘A’ race in 2024 at the moment. I don’t feel fit enough to target any kind of PB at any distance and the 30 day cough I picked up in Prague is still lingering 30 days later.

So it feels like I’m drifting through 2024.

When you look at the calendar for the second half of 2024 I have some awesome races already booked. The reality clearly doesn’t match the perception.

And my anxiety-induced brain is struggling to see the benefits of just lacing up and enjoying being outside, experiencing the British spring (read, that as wintery 🥶), and working on my wider well-being as the primary reason for RED May.

Three days in and it all feels good. I’m ‘only’ 2 miles behind schedule but have 16 miles planned for this weekend so I will hit Monday slightly ahead against the plan of 5 a day!

By this time next week it could’ve gone one of two ways. I could be approaching a third of the way through the month feeling enthused, motivated and strong. Or I could be thinking about how to grind out nearly another 3 weeks of RED May.

I have some crazy running adventures to come – we have extreme parkrun, episode 7 in mid May, and I have one of my favourite races – the Hatfield Broad Oak 10k – at the end of the month. So it feels like I have a chance.

But if you see me running and struggling in between please give me a cheer and a ‘shout out’ of encouragement. I may just need that little bit of encouragement to drag my weary and tired legs back around the block so my Garmin tips over another ‘5 mile day’.

Cool Runnings

Coach Al

This blog normally tries to steer clear of politics as it’s a sure way to lose friends. But sometimes you feel so impassioned you need to stand up and speak out.

And as it’s a Saturday the blog has to be parkrun focused. But don’t worry this isn’t gonna be a rehearsal of the arguments for and against parkrun ‘stats’. Don’t get me wrong I have a view and maybe I will share those views on a different post.

Instead I want to set out the case specifically for parkrun tourism.

Today it was a trip across town to Crystal Palace. Last week was a drive down to the beautiful setting of Wakehurst (Gardens) and the week before that saw a crazy gang of fellow tourists take an overnight bus to Exmouth, in Devon – before returning home the same day. I could go on because I’ve attended 97 different parkrun locations and my current tourist streak (visting different locations consecutively without a repeat) is now 38.

I mention these numbers, not out of a sense of bragging. Lots of hard core parkrunners can blow me out of the water with even more impressive statistics. But because they come with a sense of guilt. Let me explain.

I keep threatening to calculate my total parkrun ‘mileage’ now I’ve just had my 6th anniversary as a parkrunner. And to some those total miles will be impressive as I’ve parkran (if that’s even a word) in Florida, USA, in Copenhagen, in Amsterdam, in Warsaw and across 8 different countries in total. But the guilt comes from thinking and worrying about my carbon footprint in pursuit of yet another milestone or completed challenge.

I try to travel responsibly, and where possible sustainably but many locations are not easily accessed by public transport ( although many tourists do make this a ‘thing’). A parkrun day is already the earliest alarm of the week and to simply ditch the car would inevitably lead to fewer excursions and fewer experiences. Like most folks I like my convenience.

From an environmental point of view I should just keep turning up at my ‘local’, enjoying the same experience with the same shared community each week, and being grateful that I’ve done something that enhances my physical well-being to boot.

But I think this misses a big part of the mental and emotional benefits I’ve gained from being a parkrun tourist.

97 locations means I visited 97 different parkrun places. I’ve visited 97 different physical locations – some urban, many rural, some hilly, some beachside. I’ve interacted with people from different countries, different counties and different communities.

I’ve explored parts of the UK I’ve had no reason to visit other than to grab a Q, or a K, or a Fibonacci. It means I’ve spent time exploring life in a place I don’t call home. It means I’ve been out of my comfort zone trying to find the Flixbus to Halle or the tram to Krakow.

I’ve shared these journeys with hundreds of fellow travellers (literally when we shared a train back from Sweden to Denmark) across the many journeys to a parkrun first timers briefing . And some of those have become new friends too.

I’ve spent pounds, euros, zloty and dollars in local shops and with local businesses – mainly on parkrun breakfast!

Why do I reference all this. Simple. I can look back on my parkrun travels and can now see that it has helped me grow as a person. That is and never was the intention, and is not a factor when Wednesday discussions turn to “where next”. But looking back and piecing those threads together parkrun has played a really important part of my personal development.

And so whatever the rights and wrongs of ‘first for age’ and gender ‘best times’ I will always be thankful for finding parkrun and the people that make parkrun so special every single weekend.

Cool Runnings

Coach Al

ps. Come to Yarborough Leisure Centre on 18th May and help me celebrate becoming a member of the Cowell Club (100 different parkrun locations).

Full disclosure. I didn’t run London 2024 but I was an official volunteer and joined my running club at mile 18 for the best cheer squad in town.

I’ve now entered the ballot for 2025 and only have to wait until June for my annual ‘Dear Alan’ rejection letter.

On a more positive note I’ve seen a significant uptake in the number of enquiries for my coaching services as a direct result of The Greatest Show On Earth. This week (for running) is probably like January for the gym sector. People get inspired by what they’ve seen on TV and then get motivated to do something about it.

As it happens Facebook has today also thrown up a memory relating to my own running journey. On this day in 2018 I changed my FB profile picture. It had me running past the Tower of London on my way to finishing my first ever race. I’m guessing at the time I felt that I could now call my myself a ‘proper runner’ as I had a medal and DOMs.

Fast forward six years and I still have to stop and reflect on what has happened in the intervening years (and many miles) that allows me now to refer to myself as Coach Al.

I’ve never raced at a championship level. I’m a ‘middle of the pack’ parkrunner, I’m carrying too much midlife midriff. And everything I’ve learnt has been because of hard work and not talent.

And I guess that IS why clients come to me.

As I once read – no one expects Usain Bolt’s coach to be able to run 100 meters in under 10 seconds – erm, no! But he does have the skills to coach a GOAT.

Now ChatGPT lists the following as key characteristics of a good coach:

supportive, trusting, focused, goal-oriented, knowledgeable, observant, respectful, patient and a clear communicator

I’d like to think I possess a lot of these. And guess what, they are pretty good life skills too. Nothing in there about knowing the science of VO2 Max, or the bodies reaction to lactate acid. (NB. Technically lactate ‘acid’ is the build up of positive hydrogen ions in the blood).

Couple those skills with all my running failures, my lonely tears, sometimes public tantrums, and frustrations, and I think I’m very well placed to talk about how to achieve that sub30 minute parkrun, how to fit in interval sessions around a night shift job, and how to balance eating for well-being and eating for pleasure. Having those shared experiences counts.

And so when, not if, I get my ballot rejection I will rejoice in the knowledge that I will be working with clients, like me, to make the London marathon 2025 an awesome, and never to be forgotten experience.

Roll on that rejection.

Cool Runnings

Coach Al