How long have you been a member of QPH?
I joined QPH in the fall of 2019. Some of my earliest memories of the club were the beer mile race where I watched some strange people chugging cans, running loops and giggling uncontrollably. As somebody who was completely new to the running club scene, this felt welcoming in a weird way.
What was your main reason for joining?
I have been an off-and-on runner for the last decade or so. But I never trained properly for anything. My idea of a run was to put on a pair of Nike Flats and zip across at the fastest pace in the neighbourhood for years with zero warmups and training. Joining QPH was the best decision I ever made. Not only I finally dived headlong into a community with which I had flirted around the edges for years but I have also met some incredibly amazing and kind-hearted people who I am proud to know. A big shout out to Susan and Rich who persuaded me to join the committee (Yeah, I am that pesky guy who sends annoying emails on memberships). I am amazed by the people who give up so much of their time to make such QPH such a warm and friendly club. Of course, drawing strava art designs at the crack of dawn with fellow loons calls for a certain degree of maturity.
What do you do apart from running?
I am a writer in my day job and write about boring financial markets. If I am not gallivanting around Gladstone Park at unearthly hours, I am running after two kids or busy planning the next concert or trip.
What would you say is your greatest running achievement?
Beating a dinosaur to the finish at the London Marathon in 2018. There is a certain degree of contempt with respect to somebody in a stuffed animal overtaking you in a race. If that doesn't spur you on, nothing will. On a more prosaic note, finishing the London virtual marathon in 2020 was a personal high for multiple reasons and I once ran with Jackie Chan in a fun race in Hong Kong.
What is next for you?
I am running the London Marathon in October and quite looking forward to it. Though my training hasn't exactly followed the carefully crafted spreadsheet (when does it?), I am quite excited to be running for the Brent mental health charity. If you see me crawling on the streets of London on October. 2, do shout out #upthepark