Derick the Sidney days

A little Running Jackal time travel today, back to one of my historic Sidney runs with Derek during the COVID era. Derek was coming back after a couple of months off, so we took it steady, talked about getting him back into training, and planned on meeting every Thursday for the next month. As usual, the conversation went everywhere—shoes, UFOs, electric cars, Facebook relationships, virtual races, Beirut and even gadgets that supposedly knew how many calories we’d eaten! Despite the social-distancing restrictions, Derek kept going like the Eveready Bunny, and we ended up covering about 4½ kilometres at a pretty respectable pace while still remembering that training is about listening to your body, not simply chasing speed. Looking back from 2026, it’s a great little snapshot of those strange COVID days—and another reminder that running with a good friend can make even a socially distanced world feel pretty normal.