Fetcheveryone Member of the Month

pedroscalls asks: Congratulations Sigh. My question is if money and time were no object what race or route would you want to do?

Sigh says: Thanks pedro. For running, it’d be any trail race with breathtaking views to distract me from my current level of laboured breathing during the race! The best so far has been “The Shin Dig In the Shire”, a half marathon along the Shropshire Way – so more like that. However, with no restrictions on money or time, it'd have to be a cycle around the UK, spread over about 6-9 months continuously. Basically get to see as much of the unspoilt parts of the mainland and islands as possible.

Velociraptor asks: Many congratulations, Sigh. A well deserved win.

Have you always done sports, or did you come to running as an adult? If the latter, how did it all begin?

Sigh says: Thanks Vrap. Although at the time I considered I kept active most of my adult life, in truth it was only a leisurely game of badminton once or twice a week, half an hour in the gym or the occasional 'long run' of about 3km! It was five years ago that the real gear shift happened, when a load of friends at work who were all twenty years younger than me asked me to join their team for a 10k obstacle race. I hesitated at first, then thought: "When will I get the chance to do this again?” - so I signed up, trained with them, completed the race and had a brilliant time. Five years later, after 35 more events and about 3,000 miles in training, I'm still going!

Fetch pic:

L-R: Me, Sarah, Kevin, Matt, Jose, Victoria, Helena & Rahman. Callum and another Sarah also were in the team but missed the photo. It was all Rahman's idea, in return I introduced him to single malt ;-). Helena & I still work together, we sit next to each other. Pretty sure I'm the only one still running...I must suggest another OCR!

DocM asks: Congratulations. If you had to choose beach run or fell run?

Sigh says: Thanks Doc. That's an easy one, fell run, every time. I'm rubbish on sand, but gravity can always help with the descents

westmoors asks: Congratulations Sigh. If you could meet anybody, past or present, who would it be and why?

Sigh says: Thanks westmoors. It would have to be to meet my Dad again. He passed away in 2002, aged 75; I was 34 at the time, and there's so much that's happened since then that I'd have loved to share with him - most especially so he & my daughter Sian could have known each other, she was born 5 years later in the same hospital where he died; although that alone gave so much closure to my Mum.

fleecy asks: Congrats Sigh! Do you listen to anything while running? If so, what’s your favourite?

Sigh says: Thanks Fleecy. When I used to be a gym bunny, it was anything that blotted out the sound of the gym, so my favourites were Generation Terrorists by the Manic Street Preachers, Green Days' American Idiot or the Fratellis' Costello Music. Out on the road, I prefer no music; I prefer to listen to what’s around me.

LindsD asks: Congrats, Sigh. I like reading your blogs. Have you written blogs before, or a diary, or anything similar?

Sigh says: Thanks Linds! I've never written blogs before, I used to write a diary when I was in my teens, thankfully they are all lost as they would be incredibly embarrassing!

Valyrian Plastic asks: Well done, Sigh! Where is your favourite place to run and why?

Sigh says: Thanks VP, and that's a great question! It would have to be Downs Banks (https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/downs-banks); it's a woodland area owned by the National Trust about 2 miles from home, from where I can either run to the ridge and on a clear day see all the way to the Wrekin and beyond, or mooch about at lower level by the stream, or pass through and over the fields to pick up the canal by Barlaston. Why? I spent 15 years with Cannock Chase on my doorstep and never really took advantage of it - I'm not repeating that mistake. Enjoy the best of where you live and do it often.

Bintmcskint asks: Congratulations, Sigh You are stranded on a desert island. You can take one type of food, one book and one Fetchie. What and who do you take and why?

Sigh says: Thanks Bint! I’ve been to two Big Fetch Miles and everyone has been lovely, so to choose one is incredibly hard. So I’m going to cheat a bit – as you state that we are stranded, the Fetchie I would take would be the main man himself, Lord Fetch, and our escape strategy is brilliantly simple: set up a new parkrun on the desert island and then be rescued by several hundred inaugural hunters a week later. Over that duration, I think a diet of pizza would be okay My book would be Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy; ideally the omnibus edition of all the books, but I'd settle for the first one. It's a book I know I can read several times and still enjoy.

Autumnleaves asks: Well done Sigh - a worthy winner. My question is, what running goal would mean the most to you to accomish?

Sigh says: Thanks AL. It would have to be sub-2 half marathon. Having run 2:18 in March 2015, I shaved another 7 minutes off that in training in the December of the same year and set out a bold plan to achieve sub-2 in 2016. Then followed 2 years of injury and setbacks, starting with a flare-up of rheumatoid arthritis in my left hip one week before my first target HM that March. I'm currently about 24kg away from PB weight; but one day, I will get there. It will be mine! (*EDIT: now only 17.5kg away from PB weight)

RRR-CAZ 🇬🇧 asks: Congratulations - Given a golden ticket to any sports event what would you choose to watch ?

Sigh says: Thanks RRR-CAZ. It'd have to be Rugby Union, England vs. any of the home nations, at Twickenham. I rarely sit down to watch any sport though, I’m usually out doing something else at the time.

LazyDaisy asks: Many congrats Sigh! See you at the Dudley Mile again next year?

Sigh says: Thanks Daisy - definitely!

Ness asks: Congratulations on MOTM. What is the best piece of advice you have been given for either running or life in general?

Sigh says: Thanks Ness. For life in general, and specifically on a daily basis at work, make sure to go home on time and do your own thing; otherwise work will take over your life. It hasn’t always been like that for me, but after a very stressful week at work back in 2005 I ended up with shingles, which went into my eye, whilst on holiday in Florida. The experience made me re-evaluate what was more important to me.

Night-owl asks: Congratulations Sigh. Favourite post race meal?

Sigh says: Thanks NO. As most races are Sunday mornings, then given the opportunity, a roast lunch somewhere nice will always hit the spot, or a barbecue in the summer!

Captain S asks: Congrats Sigh. What is your favourite race distance?

Sigh says: Thanks Captain S. Although I haven't done many of them, my favourite race distance is 10 miles - 10k's are short enough that I can wing them if necessary, and I've yet to find my form for half marathons. I have to train for 10 milers though, and if I do it right, get the result I'm after.