Highlight for me was Shelley's superb pb win in the marathon, leaving a trail of Africans in his wake down the road. Ever since the late George Thomas took me under his wing back in the 1970's, I have been an advocate of the Australian training methods. They don't over-complicate things down under but merely decide what best structured weekly training suits the athlete and then stick to it 12 months a year, every year. Sessions are hard, long runs are long but the other mileage-filling runs are at a very easy pace. The top runners then prepare for specific races - Shelley shied away from the big city spring marathons this year - and perform at their best when needed.
On the track it was a bit worrying that no Britons won a gold medal (I don't count relays although where did Hudson-Smith appear from on that last stage?) at what is generally not the highest standard, notwithstanding the Jamaican sprinters and Kenyan distance runners. There were some cracking races, though, with the men's 10,000 and 800 being particularly good to watch. Where the BBC (not Cram or Johnson) got the idea that Rudisha only had to turn up to win the latter race is beyond me. Amos had not only thrashed Rudisha in the recent Monaco Diamond League event in an impressive 1.42 and bits but was also only just behind the great man in his world record at the London Olympics (a race I viewed again this week as I watched the fascinating BBC3 documentary on Rudisha). I was astonished to find out from old chum Rob Wise afterwards that Amos was a ridiculous 6-4 odds to win, money for old rope.
Glasgow seemed to put on a good show overall; the great British public never cease to amaze me with their attendance at sporting events. In any other country the morning athletics would be sparsely populated with paying spectators, the events after all are just clearing out the dead wood before the main event, particularly in championships such as the CG where the standard drops alarmingly. Yet each morning the stands were full.
One final thought: in the cycle road race on the last day of the Games, Geraint Thomas had a puncture in the last couple of miles, having opened up a big lead on the last lap. It took an age for the neutral supplier to fit a new wheel but eventually he got going again and held on to win a thoroughly deserved gold medal. The silver/bronze medal cyclists closed within 20 seconds or so of him before he got going and I wonder whether they would have let him win had they caught him. It would have been a wonderful way for the CG to finish and I have a feeling that this may have happened, such is the mutual respect of the cycling fraternity. Sadly we shall never know.
To finish, a snap from my last race. I was already struggling with my hip problem but as it was a local race and I wanted to at least use the fitness I'd garnered over recent months before another lay-off, I decided to run, starting slowly and moving through the field. It went well, especially overtaking Wendy, also taking it easy, after 3km. My last run for a couple of months.
