Star sport star

I come from a small town in New Zealand called Greymouth. Playing sport was about the only thing to do when I was a kid so I played netball and was into swimming.
As an adult I did a bit of jogging but because I was just doing it by myself it was easy to slack off and lose the momentum. The Nike women’s fun runs were a great incentive to be a little bit more serious about jogging.
When I shifted to Sydney I thought joining the local gay and lesbian running club, Frontrunners, would be a great way to meet new people and be a bit more disciplined about running. It’s worked on both counts: I’ve met some great people, gained some good friendships and still really enjoy the mix of people who turn up — not so many women but the men are always charming.
I do the 5km ‘social’ run on a Saturday morning down in Centennial Park. I run with the little group that is always at the end so we have christened ourselves ‘Backrunners’. We may be last but we do have the best gossip. After the run we have breakfast at the caravan in the middle of the park. It’s the best way to start the weekend — a mixture of sedate exercise, good companionship and great food.
I’m going to do a half-marathon in the Gay Games in Cologne this year so I’ll have to get a bit more serious about training. But not much. I’m not a very competitive sports person — I do it because I get an absolute high out of exercise, to stay fit and to socialise. And in Cologne the half-marathon course follows the Rhine so what a fantastic way of being a tourist.
My girlfriend is a much better runner than me but she prefers a sleep-in on Saturday mornings to putting on a pair of running shorts. She’ll occasionally come on a fun run with me but only if there’s a sausage sizzle at the end.