I was saddened to hear of the death last week of Cavin Woodward. He was only 62. Woodward was a legend in the ultra distance running world in the 70's & 80's. Although I didn't know him that well, I came across him sometimes in races and remember taking the best part of 10 miles to catch him in the brutally tough Isle of Wight Marathon in heatwave temperatures in 1985, a race I eventually won by five minutes in 2:32. He had the unique gift of going off at an apparently suicidal pace in even the longest races and holding on to win them. His opponents were usually dumbfounded - especially quality foreigners brought across to race the big ultras - as they didn't know what to do: follow & blow up or be patient and watch victory disappear into the distance. Woodward won the 55 mile London to Brighton classic a few times but is probably best remembered for an awesome performance at Tipton in 1976 ...
... this was a 100 mile track race and the organisers had brought together a top quality field with the hope that the existing world record of 11.56.56 could be broken. Woodward ran the first mile in 5.19! He then went through 10 miles in 56.27, 20 miles in 1.54 and the marathon in 2.31. He still had the best part of three more marathons to complete. He inevitably slowed but broke three world records: 50 miles in 4.58.53 (that's sub 6 minute miling), 100km in 6.25.28 and the magic 100 mile record with 11.38.54.
He was by all accounts a lovely man and was a great stalwart of Leamington AC, as have been many of his family. A great loss to the sport.
I watched the Bath Half Marathon this morning in crisp sunshine and with a gathering bitter wind. The course consists of two laps plus a mile or so at the start & finish. It was great for spectating as even an old, unfit & injured cripple like me could just jog across the bridges over the Avon and spectate in four places. When the leaders went through the 8 mile mark on the second lap they were already lapping literally thousands of runners who'd just gone through two miles. It was an amazing sight and one that Woodward's generation from 30 years ago would not have believed possible. The sport has changed a great deal in that time; sadly standards have dropped alarmingly whilst participants have increased massively. Many run for charity and raise thousands of pounds, which is commendable in itself, but it is such a shame that more of those in the middle don't believe that they can run faster, especially as they appear to put in so much effort.
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It is, of course, easy to measure the general decline in standards over the years in running events - you just compare ranking lists. But in other sports this is not so easy to do, the obvious example being the national game: football. Pundits and the public alike appear to think it natural to assume that England should be challenging to win the World Cup every four years. We were good enough in 1966, why not now? I can think of many reasons why 2010 won't be the year, the obvious one being the domination of foreigners in the Premier League, but nobody seems to take into account the drop in standards in measurable events such as distance running and transfer them to team sports such as football. I've just seen today's Davis Cup tennis result, losing to Lithuania rather supports my argument. I rest my case. Does hosting the 2012 Olympics enhance or otherwise the prospects for the nation? I know my answer to that and it is not the former. Something to think about over your Sunday evening drink and roast before sitting down in front of the tv or the pc ...
