Tim Sansom: Running for power. Finding the mental, physical or political mindset to navigate parliamentary life

Tim Sansom works for Dr Luke Evans MP as a Senior Parliamentary Researcher and is a committed runner and advocate for running.

Let me take you back to Gunnersbury Park on 22 July 2017.

I had heard that London could be a lonely and tiring city if you could not find a niche or tribe for support. After many years as a volunteer marshal for running events, I took the plunge to do my first park run.

And that is where the nerves started.

You can brag and garble lots in a fit of masculine ego, but reality soon bites.  My school sports career never troubled the Olympic selectors. Lots of endeavour, but not much progress, with a seemingly easy ability to injure oneself seemingly without trying. I was ‘unavailable’ when the school cross country took place.

I just did not want to be last. In fact, I was paranoid not to be last. I took a wing man (friend) with me, so I was not last with the spectre of the whole of Gunnersbury Park looking at me with pity, but that parkrun gave me some confidence because I was not indeed last! I did not collapse into a sweaty mess of regret and misery, and I made the critical move to go to the second one.

366 parkruns later at 165 locations, parkrun has become a fixture in the week, as Friday night follows into Saturday. The times have improved. The fear of being last has gradually fallen away and many staffer colleagues have enjoyed a bit of my Saturday morning with me. Whisper it quietly, but I have also engaged in a bit of cross-party parkrunning too.

Yes, I have done a bit of tourism. At one point, I tried to visit a parkrun in every parliamentary constituency, which fell away quite quickly when confronted by time, money, expense and rail replacement weekend works. I have my favourites. Crystal Palace is my London favourite and the East Anglian seaside sprints along the proms of Felixstowe, Chalkwell Beach and Gorleston always quicken the heart.

And when I visit a parkrun, I see a community coming together to put on a healthy event for their neighbours and friends. Conservatives talk a lot about community, and the importance of neighbourhood, and if you feel that this philosophy is just good for symposiums and theoretical debates, you will find it at a parkrun. It will gladden your heart.

‘Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country’, and maybe ask what you can do for your neighbourhood. Every Saturday at 9 and on Sundays for Juniors, you will see many people standing up to be counted to put on an event that is not a race, but a way to help your fellow neighbours have a bit of health and wellbeing in a way that can change lives.

Time has moved on for me, through 10ks, half marathons, better times, and a third full marathon in the next couple of weeks, and those nerves have returned. Will I be last? Will I not complete the marathon? Is time running out for me with age for me to complete this or other marathons? Have I done enough training? Have I done enough miles? Am I annoying my friends with my incessant marathon chat?

I know I am not the only one to be doing 26.2 miles over the next couple of weeks. Brighton and Manchester marathons have passed, London is this weekend, and I’ll line up at Southampton in May. It is a piece of physical endeavour that is more than just a walk in the park. Turn on social media, play the algorithm the right way, and you will think that everyone regularly does marathons, but that is just not the case.

Again, you are watching people fundraise for local, national and worldwide charities. People putting their body on the line and raising thousands of pounds for charities and making a real difference. Again, they have not just asked what they can do for their country, their town, their hospital, their charity. They are putting their running shoes where their mouth is, and it is a heartening sight. I will be standing to catch friends at the 22-mile mark at London; let’s say, the most difficult part of the race.

The London Marathon route passes Portcullis House, and when I did the London Marathon in 2021, I could have done without seeing my workplace when putting in a final spurt to end the pain of the last 25 miles, but to cross the line was a truly memorable moment. I hope that readers make memories of a lifetime this year.

So from little acorns, some oak trees grow. One final thought focuses on the happiest parts of Parliamentary life is to enjoy the company of colleagues out on a lunchtime 5k along the river or one of ‘Tim’s routes’ out of SW1A 0AA. Again, there has been no central organisation, just people coming together, toning down the competitiveness and enjoying a bit of health and wellbeing to get through the Parliamentary week. Many people race too. Some just do a parkrun. Some people just jog.

But running allows you to celebrate and work on your health and ability, but also support your friends, family and parliamentary community. The essence of Conservatism in many ways.