He was 2, I was a poorly constructed mass of suet held together in a clingfilm exoskeleton, I could only just get myself around Cross Flatts Park without needing resuscitation, never mind pushing him in his buggy whilst trying to run the distance!
Apart from the physical size and weight of a 2 year old, and my considerable girth, there is no way that I would have considered taking him running. I wasn't up to the job but then neither was his buggy. We live in a compact Victorian terrace, use public transport, and have a small car. Our buggy reflected these aspects of life. It was a compact, light weight, could turn on a sixpence, but had solid wheels and no suspension.
Perfect for our needs but not for running as I discovered recently. The 2 year old is now 6 and he has a little brother. I am 4 years healthier and, for one reason or another, decided to take the newest member of the family out for a run. I say run, it was the middle of the day, he needed a nap and I needed some fresh air, so we headed to the park for a walk. I knew that I had a one hour window so I thought I'd walk the parkrun route with him.
Dressed in civvies** we made our way to the start line, and for some reason, I decided to run. Neither of us were ready but we made it around the 5k route with some encouraging smiles and nods from other park users. I had taken it steady because I wasn't dressed for running. I was knackered, but I decided that I should do this on Saturday at parkrun and get an official time.
The problem with rocking up at parkrun (even a small one like ours) with a buggy is that they are an embuggerance on the start line. I headed towards the back of the grid and set off for another steady run. I was far from my usual parkrun pace but I was well aware of my buggy's limitations, especially on the pot-holed sections of the park path.
We crossed the finish line in a respectable 27+ minutes, but I was already trying to workout where I could save some time. I had walked a passed the worst of the pot-holes, and on the detour around the steps. If I could eliminate the walks then I would start seeing the times come down.
The following week we lined up again, ready to push through the up hill struggles and managed to claw back some time to set a buggy PB of 27:30. But I couldn't leave it there, I knew there was more I could do, I knew I could push a buggy (and it's precious cargo) around much faster, but I also knew that I couldn't do it with our buggy. I needed a decent set of wheels to really see some improvements.
Cut forward a month or two and I now have that new set of wheels. A second (or third) hand Red Castle Jogger which has better breaks than my bike. In comparison to our original buggy it is massive. It's so big, even collapsed, that it has to live in the cellar when not in use. But size is important, especially for the wheels. We can now cruse over the parkrun pot-holes as if they were not there.
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| Red is fast, right? |
At the first opportunity I took C and his massive wheels back to parkrun to see if the big wheel theory would work, and sure enough we crushed our time finishing with a new buggy PB of 25:59 a minute and a half faster that we had achieved with the city stroller. The improvements now will be down to me getting fitter and stronger. Sub 25 is beckoning me and my new running buddy in his new running buggy, I might just need to get scythes or a snow plough fitted to get through the crowds on the start line.
*hopefully that will change now that he's started going to junior parkrun.
**cotton t-shirt, jeans, converse, not running kit, you get the idea.
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