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£100 letter

In the running

I was interested in your article In It For The Long Run by Richard Askwith (July). My son bought me his book, The Race Against Time, for Father’s Day.

My son, who runs the Istead and Ifield Harriers running club, persuaded me to take up running at the age of 72. I was reasonably fit and played badminton for many years but had never run. I am now 80 and run two-three times a week.

On 1 July, at Bushy Park, where the first parkrun was held, I took part in an annual octogenarians parkrun (just 5K). I came ninth with my fastest time this year – 31.42. When the event first began in 2017, there were 18 participants. Now there are more than 80, which I reckon could be a Guinness World Record for the total number of octogenarians in one race. After the run, there was a lot of chatting and conversing, asking where people had come from. One person was from Australia, another from Ireland. We were rewarded with prosecco and cake, and a very enjoyable time was had by all. The next day, I competed in a five-mile race for the Istead and Ifield Harriers. I won three medals that weekend.

Going for gold Alan Champion with Bushy parkrun participants and enjoying post-run refreshments

Hopefully, next year, I will be attempting a half marathon in New York at the age of 81. Wish me luck.

Alan Champion, Snodland, Kent

Windrush woes

Thank you for your article about the Windrush Generation (June). I, and no doubt many more from other British Colonies, had similar difficulties regarding obtaining UK citizenship and ‘The right to remain for an indefinite period’.

I came to the UK with a parent in late 1957 from a Central African colony. I was 16 and had a British Colonial passport. I was born in New Zealand, and after the Second World War our family moved to Africa, my mother’s home country. When my passport expired in 1967, I was unable to apply for a UK one, as I could not obtain certified copies of my parents’ birth and marriage certificates. At the time I was serving in HM Forces in the Far East, therefore I applied and was granted a New Zealand one. Over the years, travel abroad from and to the UK with my New Zealand passport started to pose many issues, especially with the outset of Brexit.

Had it not been for the setting up of the Windrush Task Force by the Home Office and for my application to be considered and accepted for citizenship, I too may have been denied this. So, it is with grateful thanks to those who made this possible for me. I am extremely indebted.

Ken Wright, Benfleet, Essex