I found a pound coin in a trouser pocket this week and I have no idea what to do with it. I can’t remember the last time I used cash, instead of a card, or a phone, or even a watch to pay for something. 

“You mean to say I used to give this money to a shopkeeper and the shopkeeper then gave me more money but less money in response?!? I would hand over a single coin and the shopkeeper would hand back several lesser coins as, what did you call it, ‘change’? And I would then use that change to add it to other coins to pay for something else until I had no change left? But if I got it wrong I would have to take out some paper from a wall and start the whole process over again and again??!?? This is madness!”

Change (coins) can be bad but sometimes change (progress) can be good too – just like with the Jimmy Irvine 10K.

This year the Jimmy Irvine 10K promised a new flatter course. For the last few years, it has used a route that can only be described as Alpine, with one hill appearing three times as part of the route, including a tough start to the race where you’re expected to run up it to begin. 

This year, the race started at the top of the hill, and that was the last we saw it. The route descended to the flat parts of Bellahouston Park and then snaked twice round the park with barely a bump, never mind a hill appearing. 

I have to admit though that I missed the old route. The climb up and across the hill was interesting and had the benefit of a nice fast drop to make up for the suffering to get there. The flat route was largely featureless and had an extended leg on a pavement running around the park and next to a road. The hill may have been tough but at least it was more scenic, and with far more trees, than plodding along a pavement watching a Honda Civic approach a busy junction. 

But I also must admit the change was welcome. I had Covid and a throat infection in September and had missed several weeks of running. I had only started running again four weeks ago and this was going to be my longest run yet. Missing a few hill climbs was a  welcome bonus for my not yet recovered legs.

Iain TwinBikeRun comfortably won the award or fastest Todd, and I finished in 49 minutes, four slower than last year but 1 minute faster than I was aiming for so I was as happy as a man who found cash in his pocket that he didn’t know he had (even if he doesn’t know now how to spend it).