Keep on running

Errol Parker wanted to show his students that even in a pandemic, planning and achieving a goal can be done, despite the challenging enviornments around us.

It was also a chance for Errol to raise money for PARC (Essex), a charity which provides play and recreational facilities for children and young adults with additional needs. 

As Errol explains: “My daughter has Global Development Delay and PARC has been great in providing facilities and events for her to attend over the last few years.  This was a way I could give back to them so I’m really grateful for everyone who sponsored me.”

Although Errol already had a good level of fitness, since January to prepare for the half marathon he has been training 4-5 times a week, mixing endurance sessions with long runs and speed runs to help him improve his pace. 

The hard work paid off because Errol finished the race in a very impressive 1 hour 34 minutes and 25 seconds. That put him in 19^th place out of 298 runners!

Errol continues: “Because it was a virtual race, which meant we weren’t all running together, I had no idea how quick my time was or if I had done well until I received the results from the race organisers.  When I got the notification I was really pleased.  I’ve found the training process a great way to de-stress and I am now considering running the next half marathon in October, which will hopefully be a face to face event rather than virtual, so I can try and beat my current race time.”