Scribbles From John Ford

My running journey started with a couch to 5k. But not your average one. Picture the scene; two months into Covid Lockdown 2020, I'm sitting on my sofa with a beer and takeaway pizza in hand, feeling very unhealthy, unable to go for my usual Tuesday evening swim and suddenly, out of nowhere, I get the urge to stand up and see how far I can run. 

Needless to say although successful, it took a few weeks for my legs to recover from the ordeal! But it did prove one thing I kind of already knew. When it comes to exercise, fitness or anything like that, YOU  decide what you want to do - no matter how spontaneous - because no-one else can or should force it upon you. 

Over the following year or so I went out for a few more solo runs. And gradually the recovery periods got shorter and shorter. I didn't care how far or fast I was going but in hindsight, not having anyone else as a baseline or sounding board probably contributed to trying to run for too long, too quickly and either my knees gave up or my aerobic limit was reached (much like years earlier when I transitioned into a goalkeeper after my football team got fed up of shouting at me to track back and defend when I ran out of legs and puff upfield). 

By the start of 2022, I hadn't been for a run in close to six months. I was back out enjoying the beers and food Bristol has to offer but at least I wasn't on my sofa the whole time! 

However I was keen to make up for the lost Covid epoch and to expand my social circles was looking for opportunities to meet new people in the city. But I was hesitant about throwing myself in the deep end and walking up or into a brand new club or group, especially anything exercise related, as I always enjoyed sports up until the point it got "too serious" in terms of level or commitment. 

So naturally I booked up a beer tasting event at Alpha (a non-alcoholic evening I will add - it was January after all). 

I rocked up solo and was seated on a table with who I assumed were four other beer enthusiasts, all either doing Dry January or just pretending to drink less than usual like me. What I discovered very quickly, was that my table companions were in fact a group of pals already. In fact they were a bunch of longtime LHG runclub members - including the founder, Jay. 

I told them my lockdown couch to 5k story, we enjoyed Alpha's 0% offerings (if you've not discovered Lowtide Brewery yet, you really should have a taste!) and by the end of the night I had been invited along to the following Tuesday's club run. 

I don't know exactly if Jay or the rest of the gang really expected me to turn up. But I did. And I enjoyed it. It was a totally different experience running with people compared to my solo lockdown runs. And the other runners were super friendly and would happily chat away to me even when all I could manage was a gasping semi-sentence in reply! 

I probably ran alongside half a dozen or so people that first time. All who were plodding along at different paces. Some moving on ahead, some dropping back. It was almost like speed dating the number of short five minute chats I had. 

The beers at the end were great too. I stopped short of ordering a pizza but had already decided by that point I was coming again the following week and that was going to be my reward! 

And so over the next weeks and months I did the Tuesday 6k loop again and again, constantly meeting and chatting with those running and drinking beside me, some of who were also new to the club and/or running themselves and some of who were, in my mind, crazy long distance ultra pros just on a warm down run after a weekend adventure out on some trails! That said, irrespective of running "ability" or history, I noticed how everyone was always welcomed and treated the same, all with the joint aim of having a social run with no egos. 

The only parts that were taken "too seriously" were the club socials which came regularly and from what I can remember, were great fun, hic.

There was even one with no running at all! I did wonder if anyone would recognise me without my trademark red face and sweaty hair!! 

So obviously I was lucky to bump into Jay and the others on that evening in Alpha. I was clearly looking for a club like LHG even if I didn't really know it. To be honest, I'm not sure if I would have taken that huge leap in turning up to something brand new without the "soft" intro of meeting at the beer tasting but I can say it was the best decision / stroke of serendipity. Any concerns I (or anyone) may have about running, joining a new club or whatever was (and is) not something anyone should worry about when it comes to LHG Runclub. It really is for everyone. 

Towards the end of summer 2022, I was getting "encouraged" to sign up for something I was previously dead against. Paying to run was, to me, frankly quite a silly idea. Anyway, the gentle peer pressure of my new running pals and their own run event stories lead to a drunken agreement when I got super FOMO and signed up for the Bristol 10k (with the promise of beer at the end of course!). 

I was nervous but excited when the day came and as I walked through Millennium Square with thousands of other people it really hit me how much of a community I had joined into. And the support and love from the people who came out on a Sunday morning to cheer so many strangers was (to this old night owl) rather staggering. 

I had progressed to running the 8.5k loop fairly regularly by the end of September and was keeping an eye out for Scott who, like me, was running his first 10k and was someone who I had got used to pacing myself with over the previous months. 

I had been warned not to sprint out too fast or get too swept along with the occasion but I'll admit that the first kilometer was mostly me weaving in and out of people I was overtaking (I figured I had signed up to the wrong colour wave so didn't panic too much!). 

Suddenly I spot Scott up ahead, gave him a tap on the shoulder and we settle into our weekly run pace as we chatted away and waved to those standing alongside the Cumberland Basin. 

On we go through Queens Square, around Redcliffe Way and back towards Castle Park. By the time we hit the 8k marker we are quite surprised at how much energy we still have! "This must be what getting swept along by the crowd means", I thought, as we actually picked up the pace down Baldwin Street speeding past the 9k marker. And then, after one quick check of Scott's watch, we powered on past the Hippodrome and sprinted over the finish line each hitting just either side of the hour mark. 

Picking up the finishers goodie bag, taking on some water and catching up with other runclub-ers went by in a flash as we positioned ourselves to cheer on the Half Marathon runners. Maybe it was a morning thing, maybe it was the sun, maybe it was the atmosphere of the event or maybe it was just the progression of eight months with my newly discovered "fun run" attitude, I'm not sure. But it was a great experience and honestly not as hard as I had feared. 

So fast forward another four months and after a couple of beer miles, some Alpha runs and loads more Tuesday runs over 6k and 8.5k, often now finding myself being the one to chat at and run with a new person as they bravely gasp around the harbour for the first time, I'm about to tackle my first half marathon at the weekend. Again, it's a pretty daunting thing but knowing that there's going to be hundreds of other runners and possibly thousands of supporters makes me super keen to get to that start line and enjoy the day.

You only have to look at the LHG Instagram posts after a club run to see the popularity and community that has been built locally. And if like me you are waiting for fate to point you in the right direction, wherever you are, near or far, know there is likely to be a similar gang out there who you can join too. 

Little over a year ago I felt a 5k was a struggle and running probably wasn't for me and my knees. But I've been proved wrong and thanks to the huge, diverse and awesome group that call themselves LHG Run Club I am happier, healthier and finally brave enough to make more of those decisions that enrich life in ways that I could have only dreamt of on that sofa in 2020.