Sometimes an idea so stupid comes along, you just have to pause for a second and check it isn’t April Fool’s Day.
I read and re-read the story about the proposal to stage Scotland’s first wineathlon in mounting despair.
This is a 10k run which will have wine-sampling stops along the way, giving runners the chance to taste different wines from around the world, which they can then buy at the end of the race (if they make it that far).
This is a 10k run which encourages people to drink alcohol while they exercise and frankly, that’s not even in the top three reasons why it's a ridiculous idea.
Running is great. It burns fat, reduces your risk of having a heart attack, boosts your immune system, makes you feel happy.
Alcohol, on the other hand, is at the root of a whole mountain of health problems and social issues. Three people die every day in Scotland thanks to alcohol. One in four men and one in five women in this country are drinking at a harmful level. Drinking too much, too often, increases the risk of cancer and liver disease, being involved in an accident, being a victim or perpetrator of crime, experiencing family breakdown, and losing employment.
I’m not suggesting that all of that is going to happen to you if you take a few gulps of vino during a 10k run, but generally - running good, alcohol bad. Wine is for dining, relaxing with friends, parties and celebrations. Running is for feeling good and clearing your head and getting fit. They. Just. Don’t. Go. Together.
Apart from anything else, if I’ve just knocked my pan in training for months in the rain and snow, and panted and puffed my way around ten kilometres I sure as hell don’t want to ruin the benefits of it by drinking wine at the same time.
The outfit behind the idea, who have run similar events down south, claim it will put the ‘fun back into running’. Really? Couldn’t you just wear a pink tutu and stick Gabriella Cilmi’s Woman on a Mission in your headphones instead?
Fingers crossed stringent Scottish licensing rules and a serious dose of common sense will stop this bonkers idea in its tracks.
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