Magpies and Running. A superstition that drives me crazy.

One for sorrow,

Two for joy,

Three for a girl,

Four for a boy,

Five for silver,

Six for gold,

Seven for a secret never to be told. 

This has to be one of the most annoying superstitions of mine. I spend a lot of time outdoors, running, walking to lectures, cycling to town and yes, you guessed it, I see plenty of these bad boys! It was my Nan who first got me into the whole saluting and saying “Good morning Mr Magpie, hows your wife today” that is then ‘supposed’ to bring the others along. My Nan is incredibly wonderful, but incredibly annoying with her superstitions, to name a few, she tells us that no new shoes are allowed on the table, no spilling salt and no crossing on the stairs (just as well she lives in a bungalow!).

Saluting magpies drives me crazy and is highly embarrassing when you are in company of others! Some of my friends have now too caught onto the whole superstition, but I don’t think they’re quite as bad as me! I have come to the point where I now have to do it otherwise it could be bad luck and if I see just one, then I start panicking franticly to find another one hidden amongst the trees or in the parkland. Anywhere, just as long as it isn’t one. I saw just one once in the in-field of an athletics track a couple of hours before my race...let’s just say the race didn’t go as well as I wanted. Coincidence maybe, but there was still just one magpie.

Superstitions come along with the occupation of being a runner. As runners we search for perfection. The problem with that is I truly believe perfection doesn’t exist. Making the journey one of persistence, hard work and set-backs. I could have just run my best ever session, or ran a personal best (PB) in a race and still come away wanting more. But without this internal drive for success, we wouldn’t have world champions. Life would be boring if everybody sat around being complacent about their future. I can’t live like that. I want the best for myself, my family and unltimatley my life. This is why I have superstitions like saluting magpies, touching wood and crossing my fingers. It is almost like a ‘security’ blanket that re-assures me that the bad things that I think may happen won’t happen. Superstitions aren’t all bad though, as like the poem suggests, two for joy can bring you confidence. It changes my whole mindset if I see two or more, settling my nerves and doubts about anything that could happen in my life.

I suppose its a love-hate relationship.