On Saturday 14th February, Adrian crossed the line at Hilly Fields parkrun some distance ahead of Tommy and I. What's more, he had achieved a significant milestone, and one that was worth celebrating.
Adrian celebrating, in the only appropriate way |
All will become clear, but first, let me take you back a couple of steps.
Anyone who has spent any extended period of time in my company will know that I am a fan of cricket. However, like most other sports that I try my hand at, I can, at best, be described as an enthusiastic amateur. In spite of this, I've kept at it for more than 20 years with highs (a handful of game changing bowling spells) and lows (being beaten by a kitten in the captaincy election for my club). In fact, my life through my twenties could be described as the quest for three sporting achievements:
- Completing a round of golf in less than 100 shots (achieved - last year after an imperious 94)
- Running a 5k in less than 20 minutes (not achieved - as this blog will testify)
- Scoring 50 runs in a cricket match (not achieved - despite a few close efforts)
As far as I am concerned, I cannot depart this Earth until all three of these have been ticked off.
In a sense, Adrian mixed a couple of these achievements into one on Valentine's day, by completing his 50th parkrun. He had been holding off on running parkruns, until he could do it his spiritual running home (the aforementioned Hilly Fields - which, incidentally, is both hilly and muddy).
To use cricketing terminology, he made his half century, raised his bat, acknowledged applause from the crowd, re-marked his guard, and set about patiently building a big score.
Fittingly, he beat Tommy and I, with all three of us struggling with the underfoot conditions. But even he could only manage 23.08.
A long way to go until the sub 20 promised land, but Adrian's domination continues.