Patrick Crossan and Parky

Patrick Crossan is an old (excuse the adjective Pat!) friend of Richard Holt's from the late 80s and early 90s when they both competed for Blackheath Harriers.

Road to Malaga

Patrick was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease a couple of years ago and created quite a stir with his "Road to Malaga" series in the lead up to competing at the World Masters Championships in Malaga in Sept 2018.

His efforts were initially for him to show that he prove to himself that he could still be actively involved with the sport he loves despite his diagnosis and he proved this by coming 11th in the World at 400m Hurdles and 20th in the 400m.

However, he (and his mascot Parky - a blue teddy bear who represented his illness) soon came to the attention of many of the competitors and spectators at these events and his participation took on a bigger role of providing inspiration to many as to what can be achieved when positivity and determination come head to head with a serious problem. His achievements were widely acclaimed as amongst the most inspirational at the championships.

Here is the introductory video from his video logs that ran up to the Championships, please have a look, they are well worth watching.

Video ROAD TO MALAGA - Welcome Vlog.

Here is the link to Patrick Crossan's Youtube homepage.

We wish him all the best for future Championships, with one of the key goals being Venice for the European Masters next year.