Endurance athletes have been left using wheelchairs or barely able to walk. But the government acts like Covid is beaten
One of the mysteries of Covid is how it hits the fit. Before January, I was one of those people. I ran 30 miles a week. I could turn up to a 20-mile fell race on inadequate training and run it, thoughtlessly. I did yoga, weight training and cycling. I had a low resting heart rate and strong biceps. For a 52-year-old menopausal woman, I was in extremely good shape.
But then on 3 January I fell ill with a sore throat, then flu-like weakness, a cough that hasn’t left me since, and a constant and persistent headache that is resistant to every painkiller. In the months since, I have been not ill, but not well. I have days of feeling fine, and then I don’t. As a runner, I can say that long Covid feels like the wall at mile 18 in a marathon, when suddenly your energy has gone, and you feel like a different person and you don’t know why.
