"Each step forward has a sacred meaning of its own"   Sri Chinmoy

Joy Day 2 Mile Race - June 2025 - West Lynton, Edinburgh

Usually the Joy Day 2 miler is a chance for me to really stretch my legs and my lungs and find out what kind of shape I'm in. Last summer I ran 12:26 for 2 miles and dipped under 6 for the Mile, but since October of 2024 I've not really been able to run to my capacity. A combination of illness and injury conspired to put running totally off the menu through the Autumn and after a brief respite in Turkey in January/February the same happened again. That was dispiriting in some ways as I had fought my way back to running up to 10 miles and doing a few short races, but when your body is frank with you the way mine was you kind of have to listen. A combination of TCM, physio and Osteo had got me on track to resume running, but a 2 mile race was not the place to start, so I decided to speed-walk it. After all that is probably my most successful sport (the only one where I've had a significant victory) and I had 2 walking events on the horizon (one ultra-distance, the other ultra-short).

The race came on a fresh morning in West Lynton on the edge of the Pentland Hills, south of Edinburgh. I warmed up out on the course just as I would have done if running the race, drinking in the views and the serenity. Quite a bunch of us gathered for the start, everyone willing to give it a go despite the various challenges (I've described mine in detail but everyone has something they need to overcome).

Gianluca was off like a rocket, the others jogging or running at varying speeds behind him and me tucked in at the back of the guys, a bit behind Balavan.

The course took in a lap of the centre where we were staying, through woodland and field, before heading out on to road and pavement into the village. While warming up I had grabbed this shot of the view. Nothing more needs to be said about the course really!

I kept up a steady pace, gaining on Balavan at times but not able to close the gap (it widened considerably in the second half) even though I was race-walking flat out. I drove with my hips and had a big arm swing but I'm not trained in the technique of the sport, just a chancer who has a go. When I crossed the line my average pace was 10:05 per mile and I was more than happy with that.

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