I run every day bar Friday, I train every, well when I say run, the speed I go, I wouldn’t really call it running, but it’s, it’s a plod. But then I used to go with the club this Tuesday, Thursday’s and Saturday morning, but I’ve just had to give up Tuesday for my Pilates. But what I do, is I do what I do at club, I do in the afternoon, then go to Pilates in the evening. So, I’ve been told not to, not to exert myself too much. The Chairman of the Club keeps onto me, don’t exert yourself too much But it’s very very difficult when you’ve, you’ve been up there, you’ve done it all and you want to try and get back to that, and you know you can’t. And it’s very very difficult.

And it’s annoying when you’re getting people that used to beat you, that you used to beat, are now beating me. And it’s very, very heartbreaking. And I am one of those people that won’t give in but I think, I think in about a years, a year or twos time I’m going to have to give in. Which I’m hoping that then he’ll find me a slot within the team that I can carry on being a team member, but not do the running, but do the website or something like that you know. I’ve been doing it since 1994 so, you know, I’m not prepared now to give it up.

Well, from the word, basically from the word go, I was working at BMW at the time. Which I’d been there 30 odd years, well not for BMW, but Rover, British Leyland etc etc etc, and I started noticing that my arm was shaking and I was dropping tools and things like that and then, at the same time I was running, I used to be a fast runner, and all of a sudden, virtually overnight I just decreased and decreased, and they were sort of telling me to move my arms and I just couldn’t. So I knew something was wrong then, and about a week or two later I went to my doctor who then referred me to the hospital.

Then about a month, a month or two later, I got the appointment through and I went down there and I didn’t, when he actually told me that I was, had mild Parkinson’s I didn’t sort of, I didn’t sort of grasp on me, until I got home and I told the wife, and she said, well I knew, I suspected it anyway So did all my running colleagues.

Well,…Surprised, because I honestly thought well the idea of me taking up running was to keep fit, and I thought, great I’ve hit a, hit a level, I mean, if I told you my times it wouldn’t mean anything to you, because, you probably don’t understand times regarding running. But, I was on a, I was on a peak, every race I did, I was hitting Pbs[personal best’s],and all of a sudden I go from that down to being last for the team, you know, and although I was shocked, I was also surprised that a fit person like myself could, could get it. You know you take up something like that to, you think well okay, end of all my troubles, the only injuries I’m going to get is running related injuries, like you do. And at my age I expect it anyway, but not, not to be diagnosed with something that I’ve got for the rest of my life.