From the NHS to Lycra and back again.

My posts are becoming like buses...nothing for nearly a month and now two in as many days! I wanted to blog as a reaction to some twittering about medical certificates. For those that don't know, some countries require runners wanting to enter races to submit a medical certificate certifying that they are fit to run. Some GPs charge for these and some people don't think that they should. I won't cover the same ground as the wonderful GoldilocksRuns has done, short of saying that I think being able to race abroad is essentially a luxury and I don't believe that the NHS should subsidize that. Speaking bluntly, it also frustrates me to see people who can afford to go on what are essentially running holidays moaning about the service that provides free healthcare to everyone, including people who would not be able to afford to get basic medical care if it did not exist.

Moving on from my first mini political rant as a blogger, it also made me think that there are lots of things associated with running that people pay for, lots of which aren't necessary. Personally I don't really care how other people want to spend their money and I'm as much a kit junkie as the next person (I really am - I can't stop buying the stuff), but I don't want newbie runners to see all the sponsored blog posts, matching kit and tweets about everything you can buy and think that that's what it's all about, because it's not. Ultimately for me the joy of running isn't in the fancy kit, or the big corporate races (though they do do the best medals...) but instead it's in parkrun, or a hard club session, or a long slow run where everything just clicks and you feel lucky to be able to run. When I wax lyrical about running to my ever-suffering friends and colleagues I'm generally not going on about my new leggings, or any of the other "stuff" associated with running - I'm talking about how much I enjoyed myself. 

There are some things that I would consider essential now, for my running but that doesn't mean they will be everyone's essentials. I'm not going to list items and brands as I'm not an expert - go shopping - it's fun - and buy what you like, not what everyone else says you should! 

This post has been a bit of a hastily put together ramble, but in summary - running is good, enjoy it and be grateful that you can run safe in the knowledge that if you fall over the NHS will pick you up.