Lace up; from adversity to opportunity - Burgess parkrun #576 - 23/08/25

Last week was a reminder that even the most joyful moments can take an unexpected turn. It all started with me energetically playing with my daughter, throwing her up in the air as she laughed, giggling and shouting ‘more more’!  I agreed to one final lift, caught up in the moment with her smile lighting up the room. I overextended, and I felt something ‘shift’ in my lower back. I caught my daughter putting her down as the pain exploded. The pressure on my lower back had triggered my sciatic nerve with resulting lava-like pain travelling down my buttock, thigh and left calf. I slumped onto the bed. Playtime was well and truly over; adversity had struck. 

My Tuesday run was out of the question; walking was a struggle. Thursday was a non-starter. It wasn’t looking good for parkrun on Saturday.

But you don’t have to run to do parkrun. So slathered in Deep Heat*, I gratefully laced up my shoes, happy to be heading out not to run but to walk as today’s official tail walker.

The Tail Walker role is to encourage others who might be walking, to ensure no one is left behind, and acts as the final marker for the event. It’s also a great opportunity to meet and connect with other people 🙂 

Halfway around the one-lap course, I met Emily, who was marshalling and proceeded to walk the rest of the course with her and learned about ‘& laces’! 

Emily started her parkrun journey in February 2013, but it was due to the adversity of COVID-19 and lockdown that she became a Run Leader of the running crew called & Laces. & Laces is a women’s running group based in Burgess Park focused on improver sessions, aimed at building community and fun. They also have a 6-week programme, which is a fast-track NHS couch to 5k for women who have had a break and want to return to running.  

With Emily and the rest of the & laces running club.

Emily and the whole of her running crew had decided to volunteer at parkrun. Doing different volunteer roles and wearing their & laces running tops, they showed exactly why you don’t have to run at parkrun to have a great time. 

It had been observed that I was doing more tail limping than tail walking, so I was advised to visit the former British School of Osteopathy now called UCO School of Osteopathy. It offers diagnosis and treatment plans.

UCO, previously the British School of Osteopathy.

I’m going to use this to build a strength and conditioning program that will enable me to continue playing with my daughter for many years without causing injuries. I hope that this painful but short-term adversity will be my opportunity to come back stronger. 

I need to keep in shape to keep up with this one!

Stay safe, happy running or walking, rain or shine.

www.nuhorizons.uk

*The clinician at the clinic said I could continue to use deep heat products which have really helped me.

You can read about how parkrun was created by the founder, Paul Sinton-Hewitt, a care leaver, in his book ‘One Small Step’ The Definitive Account of how a run become a Global Movement by clicking here