Wrighty's Running: March 2013

Race results

2 May, Chippenham parkrun, 10th in 19.30 (1st V55)
19 April, Horton Bull Run, nr Yate, 4.3m, 8th in 26.55 (1st V55)
21 March, Swindon parkrun, 15th in 19.59 (1st V55)
15 February, Mob match v Blackheath H, Hayes Common, 7½ miles xc, 47th in 59.25 (3rd V55)
13 December, Mob match v South London H, Richmond Park, 7½ miles xc, 44th in 53.10
29 November, Mob match v Thames H&H, Richmond Park, 7½ miles xc, 54th in 54.24
25 October, Mob match Ranelagh v Orion H, Epping Forest, 7½ miles xc, 47th in 1.01.42
1 June, Fairford 10km, 16th in 37.43 (1st V50)

Marathons:

3:33:33 Guildford 1976
dnf Isle of Wight 1977
2:58:24 Polytechnic, Windsor 1978
2:57:06 New York, USA 1978
2:45:52 Polytechnic, Windsor 1979
2:46:01 New York, USA 1979
2:35:27 Milton Keynes 1980
2:36:47 Polytechnic, Windsor 1980
2:37:39 New York, USA 1980
2:28:29 London 1981
2:29:56 Rotterdam, Holland 1981
dnf Polytechnic, Windsor 1981
2:26:58 New York, USA 1981
2:25:48 London 1982
2:31:37 Manchester, 1982
2:23:42 New York, USA 1982
2:29:30 St Jean de Monts, France 1983
2:23:12 New York, USA 1983
dnf Barbados 1984
2.32.07 (won) Isle of Wight 1985
2:42:41 Polytechnic, Windsor to Chiswick 1995
2:47:20 Lochaber, Ft William, Scotland 2009
2:54:05 World Masters, Lahti, Finland 2009

Sunday, 31 March 2013

Rarer almost than a hen's tooth

When I first joined Ranelagh in the mid 1970's - I was, of course, very young at the time - I found it hard to understand why we raced against Orion Harriers every season in a mob match. The races were so one-sided, in our favour, that it felt like the All Blacks up against Nether Wallop's extra 'C' team. It didn't matter so much for our biannual home fixture in Richmond Park but in the days before the M25 was built, it was a real trek across London on a Saturday, via such salubrious spots as Leytonstone, to reach Epping Forest and then find it was a no-contest as Ranelagh invariably had the first 10 finishers home. (This was on the basis that said 10 runners had managed to stay on the course, never easy when it was marked by bio-degradable orange paper in the midst of the forest's autumn fall; one year the top six all arrived at the finish from different directions). The one saving grace to me at the time was the always enjoyable supper in the evening washed down with beer, risible jokes and singing.

The fortunes of running clubs are cyclical however; in recent years Orion have been dominant, not just against Ranelagh but the other mob match clubs as well. That's the beauty of long standing contests like mob matches. Take Ranelagh v Blackheath for example ...

In February Ranelagh won on Blackheath's tough course at Hayes in Kent. Scoring 28 a side we prevailed relatively narrowly thanks, in part, to a great start with nine of the first 11 finishers, led by my fellow Cirencester man Chris Illman, who thus defended the F B Thompson medal as first man home (see picture, I'm on there in the deep and distant past).

There was something special about this win, it was Ranelagh's first on Blackheath's course since 1971. No, I didn't run that year but Steve Rowland, Ranelagh's current president, ran both races and Alan Hedger, who always attends mob matches, was there having run 42 years ago. There had been an even bigger celebration in 1971 as that was the first away win since 1922! Yes, Blackheath have always been the dominant club and still lead the overall series 70-23, the race having started in 1907. But Ranelagh is slowly turnng this round with an 8-6 lead since 2000, so it could be said that we are doing an Orion on Blackheath. That's why I run mob matches despite only having one functioning leg.