Pride, passion and donkeys...  

Today I toddled off to Graves Park taking Ailsa and Isla with me - not been there for a while so it made for a pleasant change. The first person I saw as we pulled into the car park was my work colleague Katy Nunn, one of the nicest people in the whole wide world. 

Before the start I got chatting to a young lady named Gill whose tee shirt rather grabbed my attention. After enquiring politely with Gill about the wording on her shirt, she proceeded to wax lyrical about her ladies football club, AFC Unity, describing how it was established a few years ago by a local couple, as well as the solid values of inclusion, fairness and respect upon which the club is based. Apparently everyone is welcome at AFC Unity regardless of age, ability, colour or creed, and the club prioritises fun, friendship and community over winning. Their sponsor CFM, a local Facilities Management and Building Maintenance company, shares these values, so it really does appear to a perfect partnership. 

After the run the conversation continued in the cafe with Corrine, another club member, who told me with great pride how they had recently won a FA Respect award, and about their latest initiative -  Solidarity Soccer - which shows how football can reflect life, that it can be a positive force for change, helping people to learn valuable life lessons and apply these lessons in other contexts.  

Later, on visiting the club's website, I discovered more about how they encourage players, management and supporters from both teams to bring donations of food to pass on to food banks in the city. Their goal is to raise awareness of the extent of food poverty, the reasons behind it and to tackle misconceptions and stigma for why food banks exist.         

Corrine invited me to their game the following day against another local team, Wickersley Ladies. I arrived at Firvale School on Sunday afternoon to see both teams warming up on the beautifully manicured artificial turf pitch. What struck me immediately was the friendly atmosphere between the teams, the coaches and the match officials which continued once the game began despite it being quite competitive. AFC Unity conceded a couple of early goals without reply and it seemed to me that they were up against a better team. Hopefully things improved later in the game but you know what... I'm not sure the result really mattered that much.

It occurred to me that there are many similarities between AFC Unity and parkrun, particularly the emphasis on inclusion, community and their social missions which give both organisations such a strong sense of purpose. It was a great joy talking with Gill and Corrine, hearing about the important work that they do and the obvious pride and passion they have for their club. 

As for the run itself, I plodded round in just over 26 minutes - my first run in 2 weeks due to the recurring back problem. Rather frustratingly and despite digging deep, I was overtaken by a younger lady on the final climb to the finish. A few minutes later came Richard Caborn, former Sports Minister, in a credible time for a man of his advancing years - great job Richard! 

Jogging past the farm animals at Graves is fun - I can't be sure but I think one of the the donkeys winked at me on the first lap and said 'keep going mate, you can do it' (or words to that effect) - then on the second lap as I was being overtaken by that younger lady, the donkey just laughed...  

Until next time - happy parkrunning. 

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