THIS IS MY CHURCH

Waking up to the first real frost of the winter, I anticipated a bright, sunny late morning and wasn't disappointed. As I jogged across Barden Bridge ready to start two laps of the Strid Woods, I thought how fortunate I was to able to wallow still in the pure intrinsic enjoyment of a run in such a venue.  I recall instilling into teenage runners in my teaching career that above all else their running should be enjoyable; the medals,
the name in the paper, the kudos around school were but extrinsic bonuses.  Spookily,  the next music track coming through the headset was "HIGH ROYDS" (KAISER CHIEFS/ "Yours Truly Angry Mob" 2007) in which they sing "Running Around High Royds isn't fun".   High Royds was the psychiatric hospital opposite St.Mary's Menston where Kasier Chiefs went and I taught P.E.  Obviously I'd left teaching by the time they went there.......otherwise they wouldn't have written that!

For variety today I introduced 2 further changes to the traditional Strid 8 miler, besides the Barden end start. Looped anticlockwise and used a higher (drier) path which added to the undulation and gave a different
perspective. Such that I couldn't help stopping to take a couple of quick shots.

Further into the run my pace was matched by the pulsating, hypnotic sound of FAITHLESS; the track being
"HEM OF HIS GARMENT"(Sunday 8pm, 1998) in which the only real lyrics are
"This Is My Church......This Is   Where I Heal My Hurt"
They meant the club dance floor, no doubt, but for us it's running in places like the Strid, isn't it? Certainly giving thanks for the ability to enjoy our sport and develop God given talent. Healing our hurt, I would suggest,  by thinking about life's problems , untangling them as we run and very often solving them by the end  of the run.