What is "Elderly" please?!

What is "Elderly" please?

When Fliss asked me if I would like to contribute a short article concerning my experiences, during lockdown, 2020, I thought, I'm not in a position to write about how being in self-isolation has  affected my actual running, as I have run hardly at all in the last six years.

But I have been a member of SRC, since November 1985 - a mind-boggling 35 years!  

I started running in 1985, because I was approaching the age at which life is reputed to start - 40! I felt it to be quite a significant milestone and I needed to mark it somehow.

Luckily for me, the 1980's saw the start of the worldwide, "jogging boom", which grew following the staging of the large city marathons - New York, London and so on.  

I had been very keen on all sports, way back from when I was a teenager to training as a Specialist PE Teacher. Sport, however, to me always meant team games: hockey, cricket, tennis etc, never running as a solo activity. As youngsters, running always meant getting from A to B as fast as possible and I was never built for speed!

In early 1985, I was sitting in the dentist's waiting room, idly browsing a tatty magazine when I came across a piece advertising a basic running training programme for women, enabling them, hopefully, to be able to take part in a 10k race, in Hyde Park, in 4 months' time.

It was a partnership between "Woman's Own" magazine and Nike. 

It looked very straightforward and easy to follow. It comprised sessions on three days a week, building up from running continuously, for just 5 minutes, to eventually, 12 weeks later being able to run continuously for 45 minutes.

No mention of any distances anywhere which appealed to me - a time goal seemed far less intimidating than a specific distance!

A friend and I religiously followed the programme, running three times a week. I had always considered myself to be fairly fit, having regularly played tough 60minute games of Club & County hockey, but this running continuously, was a whole different challenge! 

We, did however, find ourselves, 3 months later, at the start of the Hyde Park 10k, along with hundreds of other women, most looking as nervous as us!

I could only do about 4 miles in 45 minutes, but I fervently hoped, as I'm sure did scores of other females, that I'd somehow, manage the extra couple of miles, encouraged by being amongst a packed crowd of runners and vociferous spectators!

Luckily, I did finish in one piece, in about 70minutes. At the finish, fortuitously for us, there were some Serpentine members who were handing out leaflets containing details of the Club's activities.

We tentatively went along to meet the friendly members a few weeks later and the rest is history!

As I said in my introduction, 35 years have just flown by. No one ever talked about age, we were all starting out on a new journey together. It turned out that the large majority of us were either in, or approaching, so-called "middle age", our forties! 

During the last three decades, I have spent an inordinate amount of my time, when not working, either actually running or involving myself in running-related activities/events.

One's body, inevitably, complains a bit sometimes and one's times become slower, but the great camaraderie shared and friendships formed, have never waned.

About 6 years ago, both my knees became too painful to continue running as much. I had both joints, successfully, replaced by a brilliant surgeon who regrettably, said that he had to advise me not to continue with my running activities. I was very disappointed, but was delighted that I was completely mobile again and for the most part, pain free.

I really look forward to helping at Club events, such as the Handicap, LFOM 5k and Vets' T & F and many others throughout the year.

Serpentine is a wonderful eclectic mix of people, of differing ages, nationalities and cultures. It is so good to be surrounded by people for whom age is not an issue. I'm afraid that society, in general, does tend to suffer an ageist slant. Every news item, makes a point of including the subject's age, often followed or preceded by a title like "grandma" or "granddad "!!

In general, I do not dwell on being 75, it's just a number over which one has no control. As long as my body holds up, I'm a great believer in just getting on with life. This lockdown period has, however, focussed my attention on being a member of the Government's "at risk group". Anyone over the age of 70 was advised to lock themselves away from any social contact. This, initially caused me to wonder what the immediate future held, I hated the idea of being locked away! However, I soon realised that one could still remain independent as long as one treated this serious Covid virus with respect. 

It does have some advantages though, as I queue up at 7am, on a Monday morning, as the Supermarket opens and I am able whiz round the store, in record time, without any hassle from loads of people.

However, back to the title of this piece, "What is Elderly"? As I stand, in a very short queue, waiting to be let in to shop, the doorman walks up and down the line, "Are you all elderly or vulnerable?" If you're not, you must come back after 8am. There are always a couple of people who slink away, looking a bit embarrassed!  

It's the only time in my life when I have owned up to being classed as "elderly" in order to gain admission anywhere! I certainly feel that under normal circumstances, being 70 should not be classed as having joined "clan elderly"!  

I cannot wait for all this to end, so that I can resume my regular weekly visits to my Primary age children, as a Literacy Support Volunteer. These children are always delighted to lap up the individual attention of an interested adult, of any age, for a whole 45minutes!

I am also looking forward, very much, to being able to spend time again in the lovely London Parks amongst my wonderful, ageless friends who will be wearing the red and gold!

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