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BLOGS
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Suzi Williams
:Has Paralympic Sport Become the Mainstream?
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Jody Thompson
:Polo: It's Not Just for the Posh, and It's a Chukka to Play
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Tim Goodchild
:Monaco: An Exceptional Location of Glamour and Prestige
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Eric Ehrmann
:Will Dortmund Spoil Heynckes' Last Hurrah?
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Nicolas Atkin
:Final Flourish Can't Mask Benitez's Failings at Chelsea
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If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Running is more than just completing a race; it is the solution to many of life's problems. You always feel better in yourself after a run, with greater clarity and a more positive perspective. It keeps you in shape and involves very little kit. Two to three pairs of fitted running shoes a year equates to it costing less than a £1 per day, which in the current climate a cost effective way to stay in shape.
Here we are, at BBC Television Centre. It's New Year's Eve, so sadly everybody is off still for Christmas, but we thank-you for tuning in for a celebration of the worst yet most important moments of 2012.
The Chinese zodiac tells us that 2012 was the year of the dragon. It wasn't; 2012 was the year of the Boris. While George Osborne looked vampiric beside an increasingly choleric Cameron, Mayor Johnson marched through the capital with the air of an all-conquering war hero.
On a grey Saturday morning I brave the freezing weather to go on a trip to the Olympic Park in east London. No, it hasn't reopened yet. This is a post...
I'd argue that Ennis' gold was the biggest of the games. The most emotional, though Mo Farah's double was a close second. However Ennis was first. Her gold seemed to be the one which took hold of the nation and lifted it to new heights.
Bradley Wiggins winning the Tour de France. Andy Murray's maiden Grand Slam. Pretty much every 'high profile' gold at the Olympics and Paralympics, including those of the aforementioned 'Wiggo' and 'Muzza'. What do all of these have in common?
I cried because of the noise and entire experience, but mainly because with Dan and friends, and 80,000 people, we let it all pour out. That's the best I can sum it up. It's over now. "Our revels now are ended," announced Prospero. What loomed for so long has now tailed off, gleaming but inspiring us in its wake.
The only time I have ever tried rowing was at a hen party a few years ago. The primary objective during this outing was to avoid being capsized or otherwise drenched by the Naughty Sisters' boat.
It is just over a week since the greatest show on earth left London town with the promise of inspiration, perspiration and a fitter nation. Well, if the British kid I witnessed in an airport in Spain when returning to Luton at the weekend is anything to go by then it will take more than a 'MoBot' to sort this out.
Meanwhile on the campaign trail for squash's inclusion in the Olympics, Ben Dirs, a BBC blogger, wrote a chirpy little article on synchronised swimming and how he feels sorry for squash players. He had an interesting point. These swimmers undoubtedly work so hard, but how accessible a sport is it? Is synchronised swimming a sport even?
Whilst I am delighted that the football season is back in business, I cannot stop thinking about the magical 16 days of sport that we had the privilege of hosting in our country's capital.
Just when you thought it was all over, the newsstands are heaving with souvenir editions of our beloved Olympics and I can feel the love again.
I have to say when the toffs what run our country started spouting waffle about the Olympics and how it would bring out the best in us blah, blah, blah I was - like most of us I expect - thinking "oh f**k off!"... but I have to say they were right. You couldn't fail to be moved.
I think it's safe to say that the London 2012 Olympics Games went far better than anyone could have imagined.
Let's hope that other countries in the world - not to mention our own discredited politicians and corrupt business leaders - can show the same spirit of inclusiveness, integrity, equality, tolerance and freedom well before the Olympic Games come back to London.
The Olympics have finished, turned off the flame, shut the door on the stadium and left the building.
