A team of Nordic Walkers from Palmers Green recently took part in the inaugural Vitality Big Half, raising funds for Silverfit, a London-wide charity which enables people over 45 to regain or maintain their lifelong fitness (and their social lives!)
The Palmers Green walkers gathered at Tower Bridge early on a Sunday morning, alongside nearly a hundred other Silverfitters from across London, preparing to walk, Nordic walk or run a half marathon (13.1 miles) around the capital.
Created by London Marathon Events Ltd, in partnership with Sported, the Vitality Big Half is a new one-day festival centred on the half marathon distance, which aims to be truly global and uniquely local in a celebration of the wonderful cultural diversity of the great city of London. Over 11,000 runners and walkers made their way through parts of Southwark, Lewisham, Greenwich and Tower Hamlets.
Geraldine Anwar is a regular at the Silverfit Broomfield activities on Friday mornings. She says, "Mo Farah was running in the same race, and we caught a glimpse of him and the lead runners. I did the distance in just over 3 hours and 30 minutes, keeping up a steady 3.7 miles and hour. The fastest Nordic walkers finished in just under three hours."
Geraldine says, "The half marathon was a challenge as the average age of the walkers was over 60 and most of us had never attempted anything like this before. It was a fundraising effort to ensure that Silverfit can continue to promote exercise for older people of all abilities."
The Palmers Green Silverfitters meet every Friday morning at 11am at Cyril Smith House, 4 Broomfield Lane, N13 4ET (on the corner of Green Lanes). As well as Nordic walking in Broomfield Park, they can learn Salsa dancing (no partner required) or take part in Qi Gong sessions. For more information, visit www.silverfit.org.uk/broomfield-park.
A final message from Geraldine, for men aged over 45: "Why don't you come along? It's super fun, but we have a serious shortage of men!"