Louis might have completed the slowest parkrun ever, his dad thinks. Chris King smiles when he recalls it. Somewhere towards the end of the 5km course in Nene Park on the outskirts of Peterborough, Louis was overtaken by a woman with one leg. His face was turning a funny shade of blue by the time he got to the finish line.
That might have been something to do with the hole in his heart. Probably the reason why he was so out of breath. Or maybe it was something to do with his Down's syndrome. Probably the reason his legs felt so tired. Or maybe it was the ear condition he has. Not great for his balance. Or maybe it was the hypermobility he suffers from, which means he has to wear orthotics in his shoes.
But Louis tends not to think about obstacles like that. He had been desperate to do the parkrun. He had seen his dad do it and he had pleaded to be allowed to take part in it, too. So, slightly against his better judgment, Chris let him. Louis had been going for an hour and eight minutes when he came around the final bend one Saturday morning in August last year.
Louis (pictured) might have completed the slowest parkrun ever, his dad Chris King thinks
He was so out of breath... but that might have been something to do with the hole in his heart
'It was probably actually the proudest we have ever felt of him,' says Chris. 'It was never really intended that he would get all the way round. He'd begged to do it so much we thought we would let him get it out of his system.
'We imagined he'd retire after a few hundred metres. We were so proud that he got round and we were more than just a little emotional at how many people stayed to watch him and encourage him at the end and the reception he got.'
There were about 200 people there, cheering him on. Most of them were runners who had finished their own race more than half an hour earlier and had hung around to support Louis. They wanted to do something for him after everything he had done for them.
Because Louis has a great gift. Louis can make people happy. He makes his mum and dad happy, of course, but that's a given.
'We imagined he'd retire after a few hundred metres. We were so proud,' his father Chris says
Louis has decided to become one of the volunteers who help to make parkrun what it is
'Every bit of our lives has changed for the better because of him and his twin sister,' says Chris.
But his gift spreads beyond his family. I know. I saw it for myself last weekend. Louis is nine now and he retired from competitive running after his 68-minute epic but it didn't diminish his enthusiasm. The opposite, actually. He decided he would become one of the volunteers who help to make parkrun what it is.
And so on many Saturdays, Chris takes Louis down to Nene Park and they head out on to the course to do their bit. Last Saturday, after the race organiser had announced that 'our favourite marshal' would be out on the course, Louis stood on a shallow grassy slope near a small bridge over the River Nene about 1km into the run and waited for the leaders to appear.
First of all, he got out a tube of soapy liquid, opened it up and began blowing bubbles into the air as the runners sped past. 'Well done,' he said as each one ran past, holding up his left palm for them to give him a high five. Everybody got a 'well done'. Or a 'well done, boy,' if they looked young enough. Everybody got a high five.
On many Saturdays, Louis heads to Nene Park, where he goes on to the course to do his bit
When there was a lull, Louis went back to blowing bubbles into a gentle autumn breeze
'You're going to get a sore hand, Louis,' one woman said as she jogged past, further down the field. At one stage, a group of runners formed a queue to high-five him rather than running past and missing out. 'Thank you, master marshal,' one runner said in mock-formal tones as he went past.
'He seems to bring out the best in other people,' said Chris, as he watched his son greeting the runners and the smiles of recognition that creased their faces as they saw him. 'People are incredibly kind to him. People get something out of that, I think.'
Soon the leading runners were heading back in the other direction. Louis and his sister Lexie sprinted off when he saw his schoolteacher coming into view.
'It's Miss Patmore,' he yelled and was gone. Miss Patmore laughed as she ran along with him.
'He seems to bring out the best in other people,' Chris said as he watched his son greet runners
'It's funny,' said Chris, 'but the running community feels like the most inclusive sporting community. You would think it would divide the able and the less able the most but it doesn't. It unites people.'
When there was a lull, Louis went back to blowing bubbles into a gentle autumn breeze.
'You can never have too many bubbles, can you Louis,' said his mum Jenny. And as the runners passed by, the bubbles danced and floated there for a few seconds, fragile and beautiful, until they disappeared into thin air.
Soccer is taking over...
Wayne Rooney is developing an interest in baseball. The Washington Nationals' stadium is across the road from Audi Field, where Rooney's DC United side play and the former Manchester United striker has been to several games since he arrived in the US to join the MLS side in the summer.
As DC United make a late charge for the play-offs, though, the Nationals have slumped. Baseball is getting increasingly worried about the threat from soccer.
The way the fortunes of the two teams in the capital are heading in opposite directions is a neat symbol of the battle America's sport faces to hang on to its position in the nation's culture.
Wayne Rooney is developing an interest in baseball following his move to the United States
... and it's no thanks to Orioles
I made the journey up from Washington DC to Baltimore last week so I could visit Camden Yards, the lovely, retro baseball park near the centre of the city.
The only problem was it meant having to watch the Baltimore Orioles, too.
The Orioles are the worst team in baseball at the moment.
They racked up their 100th defeat of the season earlier this month to it was hardly a surprise that the 45,000-seat stadium was practically deserted for the game against the Oakland As.
The night I went, the Orioles lost. Obviously. That was defeat number 103. Their players looked so demoralised that every time one of their batters was out, they slunk back to the Orioles' dug-out looking like that cartoon duck an Australian network used to flash up on its coverage when a cricketer was dismissed without scoring.
Camden Yards is a beautiful arena but that, sadly, is no insurance against having an ugly team.
Jose must put the club before his ego
Jose Mourinho should spend less time researching statistics to refute the opinions of men like Jamie Carragher and more time trying to drag his team up to the level of Manchester City and Liverpool.
Until he prises himself away from his obsession with shoring up his own reputation, United will continue to look like a team subservient to their manager's ego.
Jose Mourinho should spend more time trying to drag his team up to the level their rivals
Link article
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/16/united-by-the-joy-of-sport-what-louis-parkrun-can-teach-us-all/
Main photo article Louis might have completed the slowest parkrun ever, his dad thinks. Chris King smiles when he recalls it. Somewhere towards the end of the 5km course in Nene Park on the outskirts of Peterborough, Louis was overtaken by a woman with one leg. His face was turning a funny shade of blue by the...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Sport HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1/2018/09/15/21/4310998-6171957-image-m-25_1537042955646.jpg
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