‘He’s treated like a hero when he does marathons,” says Julia. “But once, while we were watching him cross the finishing line, my aunt leaned over and said: ‘You deserve the medal, for doing everything behind the scenes, so he can do all that training.’”
From 5Ks to Ironman races, most people will have a friend, colleague or family member who is training for some kind of fitness challenge. The odd parkrun isn’t enough to merit kudos these days – the bar is set somewhere around “triathlon”. But what about the Lycra widows and widowers who solo-parent, fix bikes, sleep in cars while “crewing”, and diligently stick chicken in the air fryer five times a day to support their sport-mad partners? Where’s their “me-time” after they’ve done bedtime for the 11th day in a row because their partner has been out on a six-hour training ride?
