'21 done!

[rich_jacko]

2021 managed to clear the very low bar set by 2020 (Hey, the only new scar I have this year is a physical one...). We may not quite be back to normal yet - cancelled parties this week have sadly proven that - but we've collectively come a long way and this was the year life began to resume.

I've enjoyed regular meet-ups with friends again, trips to the seaside, a birthday picnic and meal out, the return of parkrun, two big family events/celebrations, my sister/nieces' visit to Sheffield, a trio of major running events, my first holiday away in two years, and a much freer Christmas than last year.

All the best to you all, however you're seeing in the New Year, and may you have a fantastic 2022!

Comments

[grok_mctanys]

So, to take one of the few examples where I get to actually observe a fair number of people on a regular basis, with Parkrun one of the things that boggles my mind is how close everyone crowds together at the start. Yes, it's not for long, and yes it's outdoors, but given how easy it would be to just... not do that, and wait for other people to pass, like... why?

What is everyone gaining by crowding together? A few seconds quicker on a time for an event that specifically self-identifies as "a run, not a race"? Who even cares?

Spreading out is so easy. It's mind-numbingly, trivially, easy. And people don't do it.

It's a similar thing with overtaking. I mostly keep to the far left of the path where I can. But even in the places where the path is wide, and the people overtaking me are not crowded together, people would pass me within centimeters, when there's space for them to give me a meter or more. Again, a case where giving people space would involve almost zero mental or physical effort, but very few people think to do it. I spent a lot of Saturday's parkrun on the grass, a couple of meters to the left of the path, to have a comfortable amount of space.

But also the shops. I try to do my weekly shop when the shops are fairly empty. And even since the recommendation to wear masks has been official again, I see a good proportion of people just not wearing masks. Even though wearing one is a simple act, financially unimposing, proven to be highly effective, and for just the duration of being inside a shop should be the minorest inconvenience for 99% of the population; during a 400% rise in the infection rate, plenty of people aren't.

It feels like a lot of people have decided that Covid is over, just because they want it to be. Except it really isn't, and people are going to die because of that. And it bothers me.

[rich_jacko]

Yes, I agree people could be more spaced out at the start of parkrun, and I stand at the edge of that crowd, but I'm broadly comfortable with how it goes overall. Parkrun have commissioned a lot of research on the risks of transmission outdoors, and their Covid framework recognises that physical distancing isn't practical for everyone to do in the space available at the start and finish. All that stuff predates Omicron, but it also predates most people getting fully vaccinated.

I try to give a metre space when overtaking, but it doesn't concern me too much. You would have to be spectacularly, staggeringly unlucky to catch Covid from someone passing by briefly during overtaking, however close they were. Following in the same person's slipstream for several minutes is more likely. I stand clear of the masses at the start, make sure I recover my breath at the end so I'm not breathing heavily at any of the volunteers, but beyond that I just have to rely on the benefits of being outdoors and trust to an extent that people won't turn up if they have (or think they might have) Covid.

With shops, I've noticed a big increase in the proportion of people wearing masks since they became mandatory again. There's usually one or two who aren't, but that's been the case throughout the pandemic. I try not to let it bother me. I'll only be around them briefly, keep my distance (as I do with all other shoppers, regardless of whether they're masked) and do my best to ignore them.