Rehab Running: Aging well through running

David Syme is a member of Edinburgh U3A, a group run by and for older people, all volunteer led.

He let us know what he loves about the group, and how it is helping him and others stay active through their retirement.

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At Edinburgh U3A we have a group called “Jogging for Fun” which meets weekly to jog interesting routes throughout the city. We are non-competitive and as we are often exploring hidden corners of the city, we keep the group intact at all times.

“I don’t want to run on my own, and I would just hold the group back.” We often hear this when touting for members to come jogging.

We have addressed this by creating a sub-group which we call Rehab Running. To make it as convenient as possible, we meet weekly at a large park with good bus links, parking, toilets and a café.

After a warm-up we run round the perimeter paths of the park as individuals. Clockwise or anti-clockwise, shortcuts, detours – whatever we can do comfortably.

We are happy to walk when we want, sit on a bench, jog and chat, gentle Fartlek…after 40 minutes or so we gather in the café and chat.

We have two types of participant; the “never tried it but will give it a go” and the returning runner who wants to see if there’s life in the old dog yet.

After a few rehab sessions some runners will be confident enough to join the main group. Some do both groups.

On a personal level, rehab running once a week suits me. At 82, my days of loping long distances are well past, but as an elderly jogger once said when asked why she was still running, I can’t think of a good reason to stop!