I’ve been urged to run when walking many times from triathlons to Parkrun. I call it walk shaming – and I really don’t like it.
It’s 2022 for goodness sake. We want to encourage people to get active any way they can.
Cut-off times are not just for ironman and long distance triathlon. Those of us at the back of the pack need to know how much time we have for any race.
As someone who happily plods round their triathlons, I hesitate to call my competitions “races”. Let’s face it, the only person I’m racing is myself (and possibly the handful of others vying for last place).
So I prefer to call them “events”. And I love them. For me, events are my reward for putting in all that training. The atmosphere, excitement and the buzz. I’d happily do one every weekend if only the body and budget would allow.
Let’s face it – I’m a very unlikely triathlete.
I’ve always loved sport – as a spectator.
As a child, attempts at taking part usually ended in misery. At my school we played hockey and netball – both particularly unpleasant when you’re short, slow and with poor hand eye coordination (at least netball was mainly inside). My years as a horse riding teenager ended when I was splatted against a tree, forcing me to realise that actually, I didn’t like horses.
I dabbled in other sports over the years. I was always willing to try things in the hope that I might find something I could manage reasonably competently.
But as I got older I became more and more inactive.
In the lead up to my first triathlon I had lots of concerns. Can I swim 400m in open water without drowning? What do I eat for breakfast? Will my dodgy hip get through the 5k run (or rather walk, in my case).
But the one thing that worried me most was the all important question – What am I going to wear!
It’s almost exactly 4 years since my first triathlon. What was meant to be a one-off has now become a way of life. In the last 3 years I’ve completed 9 more – mostly sprints with a couple of Olympic distance. Plus some open water swims and an aquathlon.
One thing hasn’t changed – I’m still slow. Slightly faster than that first time but I won’t be troubling the podium any time soon.
Luckily you don’t have to be fast to enjoy triathlon. But life at the back of the pack has it’s own quirks……
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