2011 Streak 79/365: Sunday Morning in the Park

2011 Streak 79/365:  Cycle - 19.1 miles, Time - 1hr 25min, Weather - slightly chilly, slightly misty

There is something about Sunday morning and the feeling of the world being at play. In parks you can see a whole range of recreation from a slow, gentle stroll to a lung bursting sprint during a competitive game of football.

This picture is of a couple of football games on nearby pitches but behind me was a netball tournament, a play area with young kids whooping and screeching , and further on, on an empty pitch, was someone running around it at great speed.

The man running was with is daughter (about 7), and whilst he ran his lap she ran up and down. They would meet back at a tree, where they would gulp for air and talk. Good training for both of them.

The netball match was on 4 courts, with the parents watching and waiting round the edges, reminding me of when our daughter played  badminton and we had to take her to the matches. I looked at them for a short time but realised it is game I do not understand. There was an awful lot of whistling-up of infringements.

As for the football, the match in the foreground is between fairly young boys and I thought it a little unfair that they use full sized goals. The poor goalkeepers just cannot cover them properly. When I was watching the team in green scored with a shot that would have been a fairly easy overhead catch for a taller lad but caused all sorts of problems for the poor young goalie.

Anyway, for me, standing in the park was a short interlude; a chance to directly feel the community of play. Back out on the road I passed more runners and more cyclist - although we were part of that community we were all on our own.

Sports News is Always About Football

I was going to start this post with: "I am in despair" before I realised I was 'in despair' only two posts ago. Damn, I really am turning into a grumpy old man. I must either try to control this and make a deliberate effort to see the sunny side or take my miserablist self outside for a walk and tell him he will only be allowed back if he is clear eyed and sharp, not at all if he is merely gloomy. As one of my core beliefs is that running lifts the spirits and helps you connect with the world in a more positive way, I cannot constantly be holding my head in my hands.

Anyway back to today's peeve and just like two posts ago it is not about running, or my own experiences; it is to do with the way sport and exercise is talked or written about. In this case the way football dominates the airways and sucks the oxygen away from other, more interesting, topics.

This morning the sports bulletin in the Today programme carried a piece about the UK Sport’s World Class Performance Conference, which brings together top coaches from all disciplines so they can exchange knowledge. Fair play to Today for picking up on this item but the interview with the representative was lamentable. He was allowed to state the purpose of the meeting but after that he was only asked about Rafa Benetiz and how it might help him with his bad string of results or what it would say about his decision to field a weakened team in one competition. It was very, very strange, as if the only purpose of the item was to make back-handed, and unrelated, digs at the Liverpool manager

All the time it was frustrating because I really wanted to hear what they would be talking about, what would be the focus of the presentations, and who would be talking. (It is now even more frustrating because the UK Sport website only provides the marketing blurb and no programme).

I am sure I am not unusual in being a back-pack runner who is interested in how the elite reach their high standards and the latest developments in coaching and sports science. There must be many of us who participate in all types of sport, who know how difficult they are to master and are in awe of the top performers. We are curious about how they became so good and want to know both about their methods and the capabilities of the human body. It is a far more fascinating subject than the endless speculation on the current status of a various football manager.