Fun run
- Deborah Yaffe
- Jan 23
- 2 min read
Pride and Prejudice is a novel filled with long walks. But jogging? Not so much. Elizabeth Bennet strides from Longbourn to Netherfield, strolls around the grounds of Rosings, and ambles across the lawn at Pemberley, but I don’t remember her ever lacing up her sneakers.
Apparently, that doesn’t bother the creators of the Virtual Pace Series, a website that promotes fitness by announcing exercise challenges, often with charitable or seasonal themes (the Autism Awareness Run, the Halloween Monster Dash), and makes its money by hawking related merchandise (T-shirts, leggings, medals). The twist: Rather than showing up at a local park on race day, you complete each event wherever and whenever you like and then enter your results on the VPS website or community Facebook page.
Coming up soon: The Pride and Prejudice Valentine’s Day Run. “This enchanting 5K/10K event is the perfect way to celebrate Valentine’s Day—with a dash of romance, charm, and fitness,” the VPS website explains. “Whether you’re running solo, with your partner, or as a group, this race offers a delightful escape into Jane Austen’s world.”*
Joining this delightful escape has a price ($27), which gets you a fetching medal embossed on one side with an illustration of a couple in Regency dress—that would be Elizabeth and Darcy, apparently--gazing soulfully into each other’s eyes. On the other side, the following legend: “You have bewitched me, Body and SOLE!”
I usually decry the use of Austen movie quotations unless clearly identified as such, but I will make an exception for this exuberantly lame Dad-pun.
Come to think of it, since VPS allows its customers to count any combination of walking, running, biking, or treadmilling toward their finishing stats—all of which are entered on the honor system, anyway--Elizabeth Bennet’s long walks would have qualified her for the Pride and Prejudice Valentine’s Day Run medal. Too bad her $27 wouldn't cover the cost of laundering that muddy petticoat.
* Thanks, once again, to my industrious Janeite informant Tram Chamberlain for bringing this event to my attention.
What a memorable feat, that of Elizabeth, when she crosses muddy paths, rain-soaked fields, climbs over fences, for a distance of about four kilometers, to reach her sister Jane, who has a cold, in the Bingley residence! But, even after four years and with a fatal illness, Jane Austen gives up attributing to her protagonists the athletic qualities of fast walking, which in the Olympic category implies a speed of about 12 - 15 km/h. I am talking about the race that Charlotte Heywood engages in with Miss Diana Parker, on the lawn of the central square of Sanditon. Perhaps because they both play the role of protagonists? Unfortunately we will never know, but that of the agility in fast walking is a clue…