I’m not proposing a huge footrace between the two countries because, let’s face it, the US would win that one. Unless instead of lining up the population of both nations for a quick out and back course we both chose one person to represent our country. Then maybe the UK would have a chance (although we’d have to wait until Paula’s back to fitness after baby number two). But I digress. Here is what I noticed about the difference between running in the UK and running in the USA and Canada. We’re talking recreational, mid-pack runner here – not Olympic athlete standard.

1) Sports nutrition – From the airport, to the drugstore to cafes, what in the UK I would class as ‘sports nutrition’ and have to make a trip to a specialist store to buy was available pretty much everywhere. Powerbars and, my favourite, Cliff Bars were part of the mainstream confectionary. Was this because sports is more common or have these been marketted to non-sporty people too? Maybe a native can shed some light on this. Lucozade sport, which as the name suggests is a sports drink, has become a mainstream drink in the UK which makes me worry when I see being consumed by people that don’t need the extrnergy. Are Powerbars next?

2) Running age – Maybe it reflected the average age of the population in Seattle and Vancouver, but the average age of the runners I saw in these two cities was considerably younger than the ones I see in London. I double checked this today on my run and the runners I see in London are definately 5-10 years older on average than the ones I saw on holiday. I have no comment – good or bad – to make about this. It’s just an observation.

3) Portion control – This isn’t specifically about runners but it does have an implication for them. The plates are bigger and the portions of food are bigger – and this lazy runner isn’t used to leaving food on her plate. Suffice to say, I was carrying a couple of extra pounds back he plane with me and they weren’t in my hand luggage.

4) Outdoor life – It wasn’t just runners but cyclists, rollerbladers, frizbi-ers (have I just invented a word?)where and they weren’t alone. They were with friends. The social life of the average Seattlite or Vancouvan seems to include much more outdoor activities. And, although I like to run alone, I think that’s great.