Blackheath

Conditions were at their traditional best for the Blackheath mob match. In my 37 years (143 races) of mobs, only one has been cancelled due to the weather, the fixture at Blackheath in January 1987 after blizzards had swept across the country (just looked up the www: apparently 12-14th January 1987 was the coldest spell of weather in southern England since 1740). Two years earlier another mob at Blackheath had to be severely shortened due to heavy, drifting snow, although it didn't put people off as a near record 187 toed the line (Simon Collingridge and I came home equal first after 40 mins of very heavy going). It's hard to believe health & safety allowing races to go ahead in such conditions these days! (A week after that race I ran in the M25 '10' before the motorway opened and in a blizzard; every time I drive along the Leatherhead section I remember what was a very tough, hilly course.)


Anyway, there was no snow this year on the toughest of the mob courses, but plenty of the wet stuff - the course was a quagmire. I had to dig out my Helly Hansen off roaders rather than rely on the comfort of standard trainers. This was a bit of a worry for the Achilles. Despite no semblance of any fitness I had a plan and it worked relatively well. The race started with a half mile circuit of a hilly field before needing to climb a stile (the first of many on the course) leading to narrow footpaths and open countryside. This always causes a bottleneck so, a bit like all those idiots who go off far too fast in the London Marathon so that they can be on tv, I went off at a pace which was in no way commensurate to my rightful place in the field. It worked as I got field position and was able to keep up with those around me before the hills inevitably slowed my progress. It was a bit depressing being overtaken by so many but my strategy of walking the many hills and running the relatively flat stages got me a place in the top half of the field. I certainly couldn't have hoped for any better. The steep downhills actually caused me the most problems, the pounding being no good at all for Achilles and abdomen. On my last outing on this course I was 3rd overall and 13 minutes faster ... but it was very muddy this year!

A number of old clubmates not seen for quite a while appeared: Gordon Whitson from Athens, Paul Keen (Sheffield), John Pratt and Neil Walford (Brighton), so it was quite a sociable occasion in Blackheath's magnificent clubhouse as we talked, supped a beer (after eating enormous runners cakes) and watched some six nations rugby on tv.

Finally this time, with London Marathon just round the corner I recently stumbled upon this great quote from Jerome Drayton, a top Canadian marathoner (2:09) from the 60's: "to describe the agony of a marathon to someone who's never run it is like trying to explain colour to someone who was born blind."

Weight loss at last

Latest health bulletin on this ailing ex-athlete has a slightly more positive bent to it. Since Christmas I have lost 11lbs. Without going on a diet, I have cut out all the rubbish snacks, toast & jam in the morning and second helpings of dinner. I also didn't drink at all in January and since starting back am only doing so in moderation, concentrating on quality not quantity. Thus just quaffing fine Burgundy & Claret from France, Spanish Gran Reserva and Italian Barolo at meal times. Also generally leaving the calorie busting beer alone, although had a rather tasty 7º proof Belgian beer (just the one) in Holland last week and a fine pint of Timothy Taylor's with Andy Bradley in Derbyshire today.

I have also been running, no great distances but regular outings that create structure and routine which the body likes. Built up over January to regular 15-20 minute potters four times a week. This only gives 10 miles a week but is at least a start. In true Paul Barlowesque fashion my mileage has built up in tiny incremental increases but this appears to be working. In Holland last week (now that's what I call a sand dune) I managed a 41 minute easy run with Michelle after her 10km win and since then have had the confidence to do two 30 minute efforts. My injury woes have not disappeared - my Achilles is so bad that about an hour after each run, and for the rest of the day, I am limping despite a cold shower and ice, and I've still got abdominal pains and joint issues - but I see my priority right now to reduce my weight and therefore the pressure on my pins. Maybe then the eccentric exercises I do to ease the Achilles will start to work. I also have the small issue of a mob match on Blackheath's brute of a course this Saturday.
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One of the great pleasures of being running fit and healthy is to be able to eat & drink without any worries; this is what I aspire to. As Haruki Murakami wrote in his book, What I talk about when I talk about Running:
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"if you live in Boston, Samuel Adams draft beer and Dunkin' Donuts are essentials of life. I discovered to my delight that even these indulgences can be offset by persistent exercise."
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Sounds good to me. I still have a long way to go having put on well in excess of two stone, but a start has been made and I'm confident that I can now complete another full mob match season on Saturday.

Olympic stadium

A hot potato if ever there was one; I guess it's time I put in my sixpence worth although most readers probably won't like it. Sadly, politics and money get in the way once again.

To go back to square one, the 2012 Olympics should not have been handed to London, they should have gone to Paris where most of the infrastructure was already in place and the total cost would have been within some sort of proportion. The UK Government now has a noose around its neck; it's committed to supplying a fully (i.e. over) funded Games whilst putting the population through severe austerity measures. All for the sake of three weeks sport. As could easily have been predicted when the budget figures were quoted at the time of bidding, the cost of staging this jamboree will be billions above estimate, money that could have been used around the country to fund grass roots sport. Everybody knew that would be the case but of course once the winner was announced it was too late to go back on it. Yes, there will be some regeneration in the East End of London, not before time, but this could have been done at a fraction of the cost of staging the Olympics. Why the excitement at staging the Games? I would far rather hop across to Paris than struggle to Stratford, that's if I could get a ticket. I find it incredible that the British Athletics Supporters Club, who travel all over the world to watch their beloved sport, are not getting any preferential treatment in terms of ticket allocation. How many true athletics (or cycling, swimming, boxing etc) fans will get to see their favoured events?

In a previous blog I've said what I think about the marathon not finishing inside the stadium. Appalling decision.

The bid team apparently promised that there would be an athletics legacy at the Olympic stadium. Well, they have reneged on most things so one more won't matter. Spurs or West Ham? All the top athletes, uk:athletics and other influential people have stated that there can be no argument about which bid to accept, it has to be West Ham's because the stadium must retain an athletics track. Thankfully, one or two of the more intelligent people on this planet - Brian Moore and John Bicourt for example (I know intelligence is all relative) - disagree; I'm on their side. Do the athletes think that they'll be able to turn up and train at the stadium any day of the week? If so they are away with the fairies. Athletics will be the poor relation to football. It will be a football stadium which allows athletics as a secondary sport on some occasions. From an athletics point of view the stadium will become a white elephant.

Why not take Spurs' money and build a brand new stadium solely for the use of athletics? It can become a centre of excellence and be used on a regular basis. Spurs propose to rebuild Crystal Palace. Sounds good but as someone who has travelled there on numerous occasions I think I speak for the majority when I say that it's in the wrong place! As with Wembley (another white elephant) and Twickenham, why do we insist on building these massive stadiums in built-up areas? In America most stadia are built right by major highways. My choice would be just outside the M25 corridor, maybe adjoining the M40. This would still be known as a London arena (important for the perception of foreigners); be a short drive from Heathrow and be easily accessible from all parts of the country via the motorway system. I rest my case.

Bill Snelgrove

Via Jerry Watson's facebook page I was shocked to learn the tragic news that my old friend Bill Snelgrove has died at the age of 54. He had a stroke in Sydney, Australia having been down there watching the Ashes cricket. This is awful news, Bill was a lovely bloke and someone I had known for 30 years. We shared common interests - cricket, running, beer - so always had lots to talk about even though we didn't see each other very often in recent times.

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Bill ran for Thames Hare & Hounds, great rivals of Ranelagh - Thames occupied Wimbledon Common, where I did all my school running, and Ranelagh the adjoining Richmond Park - and throughout the 80's mob matches between the two teams were very close. Thames, for all their numerous Oxbridge alumni, appeared always to be bad on timekeeping, both in terms of starting their races at the alloted 3pm and in recording results (pre computer age), with the consequence that results were always subject to intense scrutiny in the pub afterwards. I remember one year when we were still arguing who won when the bell went for last orders. I made many friends at Thames during these wonderful years and Bill was most definitely one of them.

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Bill and I were of similar standard and had some great battles although I'd have to say that on balance he got the better of me (although not always!). With a sub 50 min pb at 10 miles - the picture shows him in the Woking '10' in 1985 - and a 2.19 marathon to his credit, his running credentials were impressive and would, of course, be even more so with today's poorer standards. My running results database (sad, I know, but useful) records three races won by Bill, an inter-club fixture between Thames, Ranelagh and Cambridge University in '85, a 5000m track race in '86 and the Ranelagh Half Marathon in '92. He would have won other races, although as alluded to already, standards were such that winning races was not easy in those days. We raced each other at numerous mob matches over the years, the last time on Wimbledon Common in November 2009 where over a post race drink he regaled me with some stories from his travels ...

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When I first knew Bill he worked for Shell in central London. Like me he used to train at lunchtimes, usually with Thames team mates Andy Thomas and Phil Gilbert amongst others. I'd usually go out running with Bill Harvey (God, he pushed me hard!) and we'd often see the Thames boys, sometimes joining up with them but generally just a cursory wave as we closed down from opposite directions in Hyde Park and then accelerated away at whatever 2 x 11mph equates to (Bill H is a mathematician, I'll ask him next time I see him, which is bound to be in a bar rather than a changing room). I digress ...

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We all lead rather mundane lives: sleep, work, recreation, socialise. Most of us do nothing about it. Bill was different and decided, from memory in the late 80's, to give up his good job, rent out his house and travel. To cut a long story short he decided to follow England's cricket team on foreign tours, yes he was one of the original Barmy Army. He would then come home for the summer, live with his parents, do some work then embark on another tour. The last time I saw him he proudly stated that he'd not missed an England foreign Test match for, I think he said, something like 15 years. According to the Army he saw 70 consecutive away Tests, an astonishing feat: http://www.barmyarmy.com/barmynews/index.php?m=barmyfull&iNewsID=516 He made friends all over the world and had some wonderful adventures. At least he died knowing that England had performed at their best for many, many years in retaining the Ashes.

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"At least we got our memory" thus sang the also recently lost Gerry Rafferty. Rest in Peace my friend. Another one gone. Sad times.

Edinburgh

Watched the xc from a snowbound Edinburgh on tv today and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've not always been a great fan of the Great Run series of races but don't have the time, space or inclination to go into that here. The idea of spicing up the men's race with a three way, six to score international (GB v Europe v USA, plus GB U23) was excellent, especially as the teams, excepting the Europeans, wore national vests rather than the odious sight of 90% of the top half of the field all wearing the same sponsors purple, a bit like Liverpool playing Manchester United with all 22 players wearing red (mind, it might give the Merseysiders more of a chance). It does seem strange to me that despite the top athletes around the world being sponsored by a handful of different shoe companies, it is always the purple lot - no names as I don't get any advertising revenue on this site - who get onto the start line. Sinister or what?

Anyway back to the races. The overnight snow made it perfect for the tv cameras without impacting (!) too much on the conditions for the runners. The hill looked tough - I'd definitely be walking up that one in my current condition - and helped make all three into good competitive races. Farah looked supreme and I just hope his change of plan this year - he's going to train in the USA - works well. I think he can medal in Korea in August but can he top the rostrum? He's certainly moved his running onto a new level in the last year (see below). The final positive change in Edinburgh was Chris Thompson guesting in the commentary box with the two geordies. What a character he is although probably too much of a liability for the producers. You got the impression that he was about to either exhale an expletive or tell a raunchy joke. Not sure big Bren knew how to take him! Hopefully he'll also have another progressive year, kicking off with another great 10,000 at that superb meet at Stanford (end May?)

So with a perfect link, Edinburgh being a major place to celebrate hogmanay, here we are at the start of a new year. On a personal note, let's hope it is better than the last three which have been, for many reasons, quite horrendous. The signs are not good: the extra two stone in weight I'm carrying is definitely changing the way I run. As a good friend pointed out to me recently when I told her how much excess I was carrying, just try running normally whilst carrying two six month old babies. This has clearly affected my running gait and led to the further injuries I'm suffering. Anyway I'll try to do a bit of running this month so that I can survive Blackheath in February. My Christmas cracker joke stated that a battery has a rotten life, it is either working or dead. Well, philosophically I definitely prefer the former so must get the trainers back on, just incremental increases in mileage from a very low base (i.e. one mile).

The only positive from a running point of view in 2010 was from some of the trips made. After a short trip to Holland in February for an international 10km won by Michelle in the snow (also caught up with my old Dutch friend Alex), I had a mad July with three trips away: County Cork in Ireland to avoid attending Ciren AC's children's party; Paris for a bonding weekend with daughter Natalie, taking in a Diamond League meet which included the Usain Bolt travelling circus, and then Barcelona - again with Natz, see picture - for the European Athletics Champs where Michelle and the girls won bronze in the marathon and Farah ran that stunning 5000. Final trip of the year was to France, family in Nantes then north west Brittany. Running link tenuous here but as we intend buying property in the area (the pink granite coast) I couldn't help but think about some good little time trial routes for when I set up Wrighty's training camps (a bit like Font Romeu but more convenient for the sea).

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With Natalie's many Norweigan connections - she's now living in London and was out clubbing with Miss Norway last night! - Oslo's Bislett Games look to be next on our bonding agenda. Doubt I'll get an invite to race so will just have to sit in the stands, if I can wedge myself into a seat.

The fascination of conditioning

It's been a while. Quick update: had my IV infusion of pamidronate at Oxford Nuffield Hospital last month, in an effort to beat this osteitis lark. The promised 'flu-like symptoms' kicked in for a few days afterwards, I'd have been disappointed if they hadn't, so they certainly pumped something strong into my ailing body. No obvious progress to date but as I'm limping around in pain with ongoing Achilles' issues and now a dodgy knee (too much on the exercise bike in a vain attempt to burn off some calories), my abdominal pains seem less obvious right now. Since last posting I have also partaken in two more mob matches, in Richmond Park and at Orion's home course in Epping Forest.

On our dry, relatively flat, grassland and stoney track course in Richmond it was relatively easy to maintain forward momentum, although a chronic lack of fitness conspired to hold me back from sustaining anything close to a decent pace.

Epping Forest on the other hand is one of the great traditional xc courses where there is no hiding place from underfoot conditions: it is a very tough one lap course with deep mud, steep hills, ditches to cross and stiles to traverse. I was nervous beforehand as I felt that, unlike in Richmond Pk, the terrain would be of little help. I was not wrong but strangely enough thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Andy Bickerstaff, a fellow past winner of this race and a lot more recently than me, who himself is battling medical issues, joined me for the first mile. This was a big mistake (for me, not him) as we chatted about finding ourselves so far down the field; at least he chatted, I muttered some breathless utterances and curses as I slid around in my training flats and couldn't catch my breath. Just jogging and I couldn't talk! Experienced runners always face aches & pains, sniffles etc., breathing is never an issue, but here I was less than a mile into a 7½ mile race and totally out of breath. Thankfully the other element of my lack of fitness, the total inability to run up hills, at least allowed me to get my breath back, although I was really miffed when walking up the last big hill when I was overtaken by another walker and couldn't keep up!

Anyway, thankfully AB got bored with my company - the conversation was rather one-way - and proceeded to scythe through the field without any of his feared medical issues resurfacing. I was left to survive, which I did although not without mishap. A thorn in my shoe, which I couldn't budge, necessitated stopping, a rather leisurely break sitting on a log changing my shoe and watching the world, in the form of many runners, go by. I then got into a battle with a couple of others; quite hilariously they would run past me on the precarious downhills where I had no grip at all, falling flat on my face in the mud at one point, I would then overtake them along the flat and road sections, before walking up the hills allowing my bemused opponents to once again go ahead. Just like that cartoon series, was it the Ant Hill Mob? This link clearly reflects the delights of Epping Forest: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14963062@N04/5257606364/in/set-72157625589293120/


The result of all this nonsense was a time 14 minutes slower than two years earlier, that's a whole two miles behind where I was! Ignoring all the frustrations of my various ailments, I find it fascinating how fitness levels can change so radically. To extend the differential, even when I was running relatively well two years ago i.e. 14 minutes faster over 7 miles than at present, I couldn't run more than two miles at my pb marathon pace per mile.

Just Blackheath's equally tough course left on this winter's mob match agenda then I can safely retire again. Hopefully the pamidronate will help things along so that I can actually do some training. Who knows. As Kierkegaard so rightly said, "life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."


Finally, great news that Alf Tupper's blog has reappeared after over a year. Written by Mike Cadman, a real character and ex-top notch runner from the black country. He writes what he thinks, no-one is left in any doubt about that! Check him out on www.alftupper.blogspot.com

Who said the AAA supports athletes?

Back in the days of real runners, my old friend Clive Beauvais once stated that if he ever failed to crack 60 minutes for a 10 miler he would hang up his racers. He did, of course, eventually succumb to the hour but he is still racing well into his 60's, a dodgy knee notwithstanding. I felt like echoing Clive's blunt sentiments last week.

I've only missed one mob match for Ranelagh in the last 35 years (there are four each winter). It's a silly record and one that just gradually evolved (obviously!); now it seems to be the only thing people talk to me about when I travel up to Richmond (memories of Monty Python: "all they ever want to talk about is my two sheds."). So the decision had to be made last Saturday with the onset of a new season: should I do the sensible thing, stay at home and watch the darts on tv or should I at least show my face and make a vain attempt to hobble 7½ miles over two laps of Richmond Park? Although, as my old mate Norman Archer used to lament on a regular basis about anything, it was pointless, somehow I felt that if I didn't show up I would be cutting a tie that has given me so much pleasure over the years, namely my membership of Ranelagh Harriers. I know fewer & fewer runners there each time I go up but the magic of the club, as conveyed to me by one of its many Australian members a few years ago, is that you can disappear for a year or two but always know that when you return there will be a familiar face to buy you a pint. So I ran ...

Of course it was a ridiculous run, I jogged at the back, momentum down Queen's Ride (beautifully pictured here one early morning by David Rowe) taking me past a few stragglers, then walked every time there was the slightest climb (Richmond Park is far from mountainous). A concerned Claudie asked whether I would continue after the first lap but by then there was no choice. My breathing by this stage was very heavy but the regular walks sorted that. My aches and pains all seemed numbed by the experience; it was the utter lack of fitness that was so horrendous. Forward momentum in the last couple of miles, even on the flat bits, was marginal but I crawled home and collapsed over the line. My time? Well my best on the course from a long way back is 40:32 and, in more recent times, 47.04. I ran 59:10. Clive's words came back to me: if I ever fail to break the hour my time is up, a bit worrying given that I've got to go through the whole proceses again in a couple of weeks and last Saturday conditions were perfect.

The most frightening statistic however is that I finished 61st out of 116, there were 55 behind me!

I did my various injuries no good at all. My Achilles still aches like hell all day despite regular eccentric heel raises carrying close to 20kg on my back (hernia next methinks); my Abdomen is a sleeping pain, stinging when I make any sudden movement (getting out a chair / car etc) and my Adductor hurts when I put my foot on the clutch when driving. I've at last received confirmation that I will get my pamidronate IV infusion next Monday so live in hope that this might help things. Otherwise it looks like the AAA will terminate my running career, which is somewhat ironic don't you think?!