I was very kindly presented with an engraved tankard after the race so I took the opportunity of both thanking and eulogising the club with the following note in its regular newsletter:
"I was very touched and surprised with the presentation for my 150th mob match on Saturday. Thank you so much, it means masses to me. Difficult to know how to respond - hence the lack of a speech - but I think the whole thing comes back to Ranelagh Harriers incorporated. This club has meant so much to me over the past 38 years for which I have to thank, once again, my old chemistry teacher Jim Forrest (who himself has clocked up 117 mob matches)who persuaded me to run the mob match against SLH in December 1974 and join this great club. It really is
rather sad that I've been available for 150 Saturday afternoons since then but in many ways this again reflects so well on the club because the four 'mobs' are the first things that go in the diary when the fixtures secretary publishes the year ahead every August.
I remember once, some twenty years ago, an Australian member Geoff Nicholson (he once ran 19.59 for the Thomas Cup course) said he loved the fact that he'd been back in Australia for a number of years but knew he'd be able to walk into The Dysart Arms, as it was, and be able to pick up on a conversation with a Ranelagh member that he'd started a few years earlier. Sadly The Dysart is not what it was, but the clubhouse has usurped this and The Roebuck at the top of the hill
replicates the pub atmosphere as I found out this weekend. Two old members from the 1980's, Dave Muckersie & Rob Wise, ran the mob match, their first time
back at the club for some 25 years. They were welcomed back by those who knew
them in such a lovely way, conversations flowed as if they'd never been away.
That to me is the ethos of Ranelagh and long may it continue.
Sadly because I live so far away down deep in the Cotswolds, I don't know a lot of today's members but that's a good thing because it means the club continues
to move forward. Long standing members are important but the driving force
behind the club must be those who are around today.
The standard in yesterday's mob match was of the highest order, it was just a
shame that Ranelagh couldn't compete at the front with what is an incredibly
strong Thames outfit. It does, however, beg the question that if they can do it why can't we? Ranelagh has so much going for it, a wonderful clubhouse, vibrant membership, captive marketplace ... I just think a bit of belief, positive
thinking and concerted group effort can take the club up to another level.
Ranelagh has been closely involved with two major seismic changes to the sport
in recent times, namely the London Marathon and Parkrun through Chris Brasher / John Disley and Paul Sinton-Hewitt, two events that have changed the sport
massively. The club should be incredibly proud of these achievements. However, for running to continue to prosper, the club system needs to survive and races such as mob matches, which unlike most athletics events involve everybody who
turns up and therefore personify club sport, must be seen to prevail. Ranelagh
turned out 60 plus yesterday, a decent number but not as many as should have
been there. This may be partly because of Parkrun: participants are besotted by taking part in this fantastic event but I think there needs to be a bit of
balance here, by all means take part in parkrun but don't forget club athletics at its best and the joys of running on different courses with the camaraderie of team sport. This has to be so important in keeping the club spirit going forward and getting Ranelagh up to its 150th anniversary, by which time I may well be up
to 200 of these damn races!
Ranelagh Ranelagh Rah Rah Rah!"
