Currently Winston Churchill: A Life (Penguin Lives) By John Keegan see related

This morning I skipped work because I work on Parliament Hill, and there was an annoying security drill on the Hill that was inconveniencing everyone.  So I decided to stay at home and go running!

I ran my usual 10 km route down the Rideau Canal this Thursday morning, the 19th of February.  I started at the Hog's Back locks and ran to the Bronson Street Bridge, where I got on the ice and ran to the Pretoria Bridge.  I then turned around and ran back to Hog's Back.

This was an unusual run for me, and not just because I hadn't read the weather conditions (I hadn't, and ended up uncomfortably warm for most of my run).  No, this was an unusual run because my celebrity was taken to new heights.  All along the Rideau Canal were people standing in groups, watching me run, and cheering!  Dozens of Ottawans had come out to line my route and cheer me on my Thursday morning run!  People were missing work, students were missing school, and I'm pretty sure that some children in that daycare group hadn't brought back their field trip permission forms . . . .

I knew I was a popular man, but I did not know how popular.  Dozens were on hand to watch and cheer, and there were hundreds of RCMP officers on hand to hold them back!  I ran down the nearly deserted Canal with the adoring throngs being barely held back on the sidewalk.

Well, I got down to the Pretoria Bridge, and things started to get very strange.  It wasn't only the locals who wanted to catch a glipse of me - foreign dignitaries wanted to see me too!  The word must have gotten out that I was going for a run on Thursday morning!

Police cars came tearing down Colonel By Drive.  They were followed by more police cars, which were followed by more police cars, which were followed by a helicopter.  And that procession was followed by a giant motorcade - at least 50 vehicles long.  It had everything.  There were the classic black SUVs with tinted windows, the unmarked police cruisers, some paramedic vans, a number of armoured cars, and in the middle of it all, a heavily armoured black Cadillac limosine nicknamed "The Beast."

I know that I am new to the sport of running, but I have become so popular that even President Barack Obama came to Ottawa to cheer me on!