According to the IOMAA fixture list, the Manx Gas Cross Country season starts on 12 October - that's only 10 weeks on Sunday!

Britannia International Melbourne Squad member, Martin Aram, was at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham last Saturday (26th July) to compete at the AAA Senior British track and field championships.  This was the first time the teenager had competed at this televised event, which also doubled as the European championship trials.  The entry list for the men’s high jump consisted of nearly all the nationally ranked Under 23 and Senior British athletes.  Ben Challenger and Dalton Grant would start as favourites for two of the medal positions but with many of the competitors enjoying mixed form, virtually anything could happen. 

The surprise package was Ian Holliday of Sale Harriers who, at the age of 29 – quite old for a high jumper, cleared a personal best height of 2.17 metres to claim the silver medal, behind Ben Challenger’s 2.24.  Nearly everyone else performed significantly below his best.  Dalton Grant struggled even to get over his opening height of 2.12 metres, needing all three attempts, but that was sufficient for the bronze medal, as, surprisingly, nobody else cleared more than 2.07. 

The majority of the competitors came in at the starting height of 2.02 metres but Martin chose to open at 2.07 to save energy for the later stages.  The gamble was not entirely successful, as he needed two attempts to clear it.  Then, struggling to achieve good positioning over the bar, the NatWest Island Games record breaker had three failures at the next height of 2.12.  The result was sixth place, the first failure at 2.07 losing him two places on count-back. 

With double points in the UK Athletics Domestic series allocated from the results, that failure proved quite costly for the AON Under 21 Sportsman of the Year.  After leading the series high jump rankings through most of the rounds, he drops back into third place on 28 points, with Ian Holliday moving up dramatically to share the lead with Mark Crowley on 30.  However, Martin now has sufficient points to be guaranteed a place in the Grand Prix final in Cwmbran, South Wales, on 9th August, irrespective of the results in the last round at Loughborough on 31st July, which he will not now contest. 

“I was pretty gutted after the competition”, said the Manx Sports Aid recipient.  “The bronze medal was there for the taking; all I had to do was to clear 2.12 on my first or second attempt, which should have been within my capability, but I couldn’t do it on the day.  On reflection, I realised that most of the other competitors could have said the same, and probably did!  The good thing was that I was comfortable opening at 2.07, compared with my usual 2.00 metres, which will be useful for me in the future.  I’ve got a busy week ahead of me.  I’ve been invited to take part as a guest and reserve for the GB team in the Under 23 international against France on Saturday (2nd August) in Ashford, Kent.  Then, I’m in Cwmbran the following Saturday and the next day in Derby representing the North of England in the Under 23 home international.” 

The flight to Birmingham was provided by British Airways CitiExpress under his Sports Scholarship.

Carl Myerscough, who competed against Manx athletes regularly as a junior in the Young Athletes League, has been informed that he will not be selected to represent Great Britain at the next or any future Olympics even though he has recently broken the long standing British and AAA championship shot putt records. Myerscough is a genuine medal contender at the World Championships to be held in Paris in August this year but the BOA have stated that former drugs cheats will never represent Great Britain in the Olympics. Myerscough intends to appeal. Further details.

Thanks to Steve Taylor for this one.

The Millennium Way Walk is to be held this coming Sunday 3rd August starting at Castletown Sq. bright and early at either 6.30am or 7.30am, you can take your pick of starting times. The walk is non-competitive and will finish in the Mooragh Park Ramsey.  Details from Doug Drown 823065.

Mark Stewart pointed out my error yesterday when I captioned Steve Taylor's preview of tonight's walk (Thursday) with the heading "Wednesday".

The 3km & 5km walks are at the NSC tonight at 6.15 pm.

Following on from the Northern League match at Derby on 3rd August, he is planning to follow this up by competing in the North of England Under 20 3000m at the same venue on 12th August.

Keith ran 8.59.80 for 3000 metres at Stretford.  I arrived too late to watch the race but looking at the results I noticed there was 2 races going on, the winner Simon Deakin finished in 8.25 followed by Spencer Newport in 8.28 then a big gap to 3rd place in 8.53 and Keith who was 7th in 8.59.

Although disappointed with the time on Saturday, I am slowly becoming up beat about things. I was on target for a good PB up until 3km, but I just tensed up and my form was sacrificed. But considering the speed I was going, I was surprised and please to finish the race with out even being given a verbal warning from a judge (probably only the 2nd time this year!) so not too bad. I haven't done much speed work since coming back from Russia, and with only doing my first serious 20km 2 weeks ago, my legs could still be feeling the effects, but I'm not making excuses. It just wasn't my day for a fast time. "It Happens"

 I've now got the whole set of my Dad's old slides on CD thanks to my brother Mike.  Some of them are hilarious but of course I feature in too many of them to use them all. Nevertheless there are a few of other people and some of the ones of me include other people to make them interesting. As soon as I get a dull moment I'll pull them out.

The above arrived as I was publishing the website. This is what Mel Watman has to say about Dwain Chambers performance on Saturday:

"With the world 100m title seemingly so open, Dwain Chambers’ claims were considerably enhanced as a result of his 10.08 victory. That’s a pretty quick time just taken at face value, but when you factor in a 1.6m headwind, the damp conditions and the fact that he was easing up before he crossed the line, then clearly it was a remarkable performance suggesting that in more suitable conditions he would have been way inside 10 sec. Darren Campbell was an excellent second, well clear of a mightily disappointed Mark Lewis-Francis. "

© ATHLETICS INTERNATIONAL 2003

Published 30 times a year by Athletics International Ltd, 13 Garden Court, Marsh Lane, Stanmore, Middx HA7 4TE, UK. Fax no: 020 8954 7497; abroad (44) 20 8954 7497.

e-mail: mel@gardencourt.fsnet.co.uk; pmatthews@macunlimited.net

Annual subscription: UK £70, rest of Europe £80 or 140 euro, outside Europe £95 or $160

e-mail version £60 ($100, 100 euro) anywhere

(cash or cheques drawn on UK bank, payable to Athletics International Ltd).

We all change our minds about people and I haven't always been a great fan of Dwain Chambers' personality. But after seeing him a couple of times on Sunday he was truly amazing with the fans and brilliant for the sport.

The first sight was after explaining to my brother Mike that I wasn't a pervert when I took my camera with me to the toilet at the AAAs - it was so I could sneak outside and look for any stars lurking about. I found him patiently signing autographs for dozens of people and posing for photos.

No doubt he watched the exciting 200 & 400 metres in between, but an hour or so later we met him again filling the same role and he hung around for at least half an hour. Although he didn't look hugely excited he never once refused to sign an autograph or pose for a photo.

Its the accessibility of the athletes that re-convinces me that my sport is the best!

The man who emailed me my Athletics International a few minutes ago, Peter Matthews, is man who never ceases to amaze me.

I believe that, in between all his stats work and his TV commentaries, he has been announcing at major athletics meetings for more than 30 years.  He has a rare art, certainly these days, of providing stacks of information but knowing when to be quiet. With such an informative announcer spectators can enjoy field events in particular much more than on TV.

At least three Manx athletes competed in this event on Sunday I discovered whilst looking for Neville Jewell's result.

Graham Stigant used all his Commonwealth Games swimming experience to finish an amazing 4th fastest of all age categories in the swim.

For full details check out the official website.

The following analysis is my own and includes a ranking of the times out of the 556 starters. All three athletes were in the male 40-49 category.

Chris Quine advises that Keith Gerrard is running 3,000 metres at Stretford tonight and is hoping to get the result to me later.

Race walking returns to the NSC this Thursday with the third track race of the year starting at 6.15pm. Seniors are offered an opportunity to compete over 3km once again or step up to the AAA championship distance of 5km. Juniors depending on their age will also have a choice of distance with 2 and 1km races also being staged.

The main protagonists are likely to be Peter and Bridget Kaneen. A clerical mix-up meant that they were unable to take part in last weeks AAA championships held in Birmingham and will no doubt be out to prove a point on this occasion.

Peter has shown good speed throughout the year and has a best of 22.20 this year a time which would have placed him third last week. However track racing often leads to slower times than those achieved on the road yet I feel sure he would have being vying for the bronze medal against the very talented Nick Ball of Steyning and Nathan Adams (Sheffield) who has become something of a nemesis for Peter this year. If Neil Bates chooses to race he will no doubt be looking to improve on the 24.17 he posted in the AAA. He has said that he was a little disappointed with his time although it is more likely the distance between himself and fellow juniors Adams and Ball that would have given him greater cause for concern. On the plus side however Neil didn't receive a single caution in a race that saw two out of eleven athletes disqualified. Robert Moore may well take on the seniors once again but he has appeared sluggish over the last few months compared to the athlete we seen during the winter league and he have to be at his very best to hang on to super-vet Allan Callow who has at last returned to full fitness.

On best times Bridget could have only hoped to finish in seventh at the AAA but has been up and down in her races through the summer. With the pressure off she could well set a new pb and dip under 26.00 in the process. Marie Latham hasn't raced over 5km since the winter leagues but has set pbs at every distance that she has raced since then. On her day she can be on Bridget's shoulder and if both women are up for it on Thursday a great race is in the offing.

Emma Latham and Callum Taylor will race over their championship distances after good performances at 1, 2 and 5km recently. Emma is a good deal faster on paper at 3km but in a head to head I believe that a very close battle is on the cards and they could push each other to new heights on Thursday.

The younger walkers have asked to race over 2km and it will be interesting to see how they all go. The very  talented Lauren Whelan is unlikely to be challenged and she will go off with the older athletes and I predict will smash the current age group record of 11.39. behind her Fay Latham and Bronwen Kaneen will have a close battle and although Bronwen has improved constantly throughout the year I would tip Fay to stay ahead this time. It will be interesting to see how the little ones fair if they walk the longer distance. Sinead Kaneen and Kirsty Taylor have had very close races recently and both have broken 6.00 for 1km the first time this year and have coped well over one mile. 2km could be the distance they compete over during the winter leagues so this will give the athletes a taste of the distance and the spectators of the battles to come.  

In the recent Isle of Man Veteran tennis championships our very own club chairman Ron Ronan picked up two titles in the over 55's section.

He won mixed doubles with partner J. Southam and then teamed up with Phil Bannan, the man who set the standards for race walkers on the Isle of Man to follow, to take the men's doubles title.

The next "on Island" event scheduled is Round 6 (the penultimate round) of the Dave Phillips Memorial Road Races.

I hope to be lining up but fear that (as usual) this particularly round will be poorly supported coming just two days before the marathon and with a further five races in the following seven days.

Assuming that the Dave Phillips league remains in largely the same format next year, I would suggest that this round is either brought forward a week or possibly held on the Tuesday night as this has been a very popular night when two other rounds were held on a Tuesday rather than the traditional Friday.

Mike Garrett currently leads the league from John Watterson (see last week's Manx Independent if you want to see the league tables).

Racing on 8 August gets underway at 7 pm with signing on at the Peel Camp Site from 6.30.

We have decided to have a break from the Tuesday night sessions as there is so many races coming up and of course a lot of people go on their annual holidays around this time of year. We will probably start again some time in September. Everyone involved in the sessions would like to thank coach Margaret Lockley for giving up so much of her time to help everyone.   

Amazingly there are six teams from the Isle of Man competing off the Island this weekend in track & field competition. With the restructuring of the Northern Leagues next year this is likely to be the last time such a situation occurs.

I welcome news before and after the weekend from the following:

Manx Harriers Men A
Manx Harriers Men B
Northern AC Men
Western AC Men
Western AC Women
Manx Harriers Women

I heard that some of the matches may be held on Sunday (and not Saturday) although the official IOMAA fixture list includes them al on Saturday.

I`m delighted to say that we will have a full compliment of runners on the line at Snowdon tomorrow ( Saturday ) After reading the item on John Kewleys excellent performance at the Saunders Mountain Marathon I gave him a ring and he has agreed to travel to Llanberis from his Shefield home to run for the Isle of Man team. It is very good of him to help us out at such short notice and I hope he enjoys a good run. 

 Stuart Storey reported that "Jamie Baulch had all the big names inside him".

According to one Yorkshire walker (who did not want to be named) the track gets longer as you get older!

There will be a training run over the Laxey Horseshoe course this coming Sunday 27th July. It will be at a steady pace and the ideal opportunity to recce the course especially anyone who did not do it last year. Meet at Glen Ruy farm at 9.00am.

I DON'T BELIEVE WHAT I HAVE READ.

PLEASE TELL ME THAT PEOPLE ARE STILL NOT UNDERSTANDING THE RULE FOR FIRST TIME RUNNERS.

IF YOUR ATTITUDE IS NOT TO COVER THE EVENT NEXT YEAR, THEN YOU HAVE JUST LOST A VIEWER TO YOUR WEBSITE.

DO YOU THINK IT IS FAIR THAT SOMEONE WORKS HARD BETWEEN RACES AND IMPROVES THEIR TIME AND SHOULD WIN THE RACE, IF THEY ARE BEATEN BY SOME WHO CLAIMS TO BE ABLE TO RUN 30 MINS FOR 4 MILES AND ACTUALLY RUNS 25 MINS !!!!

 HOW FAIR WOULD THAT BE AND HOW BAD WOULD THE RUNNER FEEL AFTER PUTTING IN SOME HARD SESSIONS TO THEN BE BEATEN 'UNFAIRLY'.

How about coming up with a better idea.

I don't hear anybody doing that.

It has been suggested many times before: let the first time runner enjoy his or her moment of glory and stiffen their handicap next time around. The model: Ramsey.

The future of the sport will always be determined by the people outside at present. The first impressions of someone entering a race for the first time will  be vital and I say let them have their proud moment and picture in the paper. Instead no one gets their picture in the paper anymore because the photographers haven't a clue who has won the race anymore.

There can't be many sports where you have to wait several days to find out who has won.

Reigning World Marathon Orienteering Trophy holder John Kewley from Onchan has won the Elite class at the Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon. John was partnered by Brendan Bolland (2nd in last year's Karrimor) from Horwich RMI.

Run over two days, "The Saunders" is a Marathon Orienteering event for teams of 2 carrying all the equipment needed for their overnight camp. This is the same format as the Karrimor which John won in 1995.

This year's event was held over the Helvellyn fells from St Johns in the Vale. After 5 hours and 55 minutes in misty conditions on day 1, John and Brendan held a 20 minute lead at the overnight camp in Glenridding. Day two was shorter and losing only 19s to the 2nd placed team arrived at the finish with a clear advantage in 3 hours and 22 minutes. Course distances were around 26 miles and 19 miles.

Currently living in Sheffield, John is now in heavy training for his defense of the Mammut International Mountain Marathon in Switzerland in mid-August which he won last year with his World Trophy partner Ifor Powell.

Don't forget it's the final chance to run in this series tonight. Sign on at the cafe at 6.30 pm for a 7 pm start. There are 4 mile and two mile versions of this popular race series. THe prize presentation for this Ramsey Commissions sponsored event will be immediately after the race.

As predicted, David Doyle, who "won" the Peel handicap four miler last week was moved down the field afterwards. His crime (bad word for a deemster!) was presumably that he tried too hard. He was moved down to 16th because he beat his handicap.

What would have happened had he deliberately slowed down and finished (say) 10th? Would this have been acceptable? Or if he had run 30 seconds faster than he did would they have added even more time to his handicap?

Meanwhile, two people who hadn't run since the first race were given crazy handicaps of the opposite extreme and took first and second places with no adjustment. Fine if you are trying to encourage people but it's the first time runners who need the encouragement and they are being slaughtered by this crazy system.

This is the final year this website will provide coverage of the series if the present farce continues.

Well its been a traumatic week for our family with my Mother spending another week in hospital and consideration given to her not being allowed back home. Thankfully I am taking her home today but it involves me making an exceptionally early start at work to achieve everything and the road closures for cycle week caused a good dealing of swearing last night when the plans had to be adjusted.

If I haven't returned your email this week, please be patient as I have another hectic schedule tonight before going away this weekend.

Last night's race was one of the more interesting track races of the year with Keith Gerrard setting out for a fast time and blasting to a 61 second first lap. His little legs were tiring (don't we all) and he didn't quite manage the sort of time he was looking for but it took some guts to run so hard from the front in that style.

Although I don't have the result, the other features I remember whilst I was taking pictures were Chris Shimmin giving Darren Gray and Andy Fox a good fight and I think Nick Percival and Mike Garrett were 5th and 6th (have I missed anyone?).

Well done to Andy Fox (yet again) for pulling the best runners into a single event.

In addition to Neil Bates and Martin Aram competing in Birmingham this weekend, Manx Harriers walkers Bridget and Peter Kaneen are both entered. Thanks to Neil and also to Dennis Aram for advising me.

Neville Jewell is off to Salford this weekend to compete in an Olympic distance triathlon on the Commonwealth Games course. It consists of a 1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run.

The website for the event is www.trisalford.info

Neville is enjoying his Wednesday night training with Mike Garrett, Paul Curphey and myself and he has taken over a reply to a question that Paul used he have several years ago. When I ask "was that the hardest session you've ever done" the answer is always "definitely". Obviously enjoys his training!

After loosing much of the last year to injury, former fell running champion Tony Rowley ended up back where he was at the same point last year in the Sean Craig & Sons Barrule Fell Race - third.

Tony underwent surgery for his knee a few months ago and he seems to be recovering really well. He never stops working freely for the sport and in addition his paid employment is working for the sport at the NSC.

On Tuesday night I saw him erecting road and removing road warning signs before and after the fell race. Last night he was encouraging our training group in the early evening at the NSC and then he was on duty during the Manx Harriers final track & field meeting of the year. In other words he was everywhere!

High jumper Martin Aram has two tickets (good seats) for all three days (Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday - including car park pass) for the AAA Championships and World Trials this coming weekend in Birmingham. If anyone is interested in them, they can contact Martin on 436342.

Martin, together with walker Neil Bates, will be competing on Saturday.

Does anyone know of any other athletes from the Isle of Man taking part?

I shall be attending on Sunday (and possibly Saturday) with son Robbie and my brother Mike. More details of the website coverage tomorrow.

Many people who read this site will not need to think too long about the above question as they probably put more than could ever reasonably be expected back into the sport.

But perhaps there are a few people who think that by paying a couple of quid to enter a race they are paying their way.

Take note of Richie Stevenson's comments below. How long will it be before an event with a good field of athletes is cancelled because there aren't enough officials.

A bit of sole searching may be required here. Even if we put on the marshals bibs a couple of times a year it would help.

Meanwhile the clubs must think harder and harder about the number of events they promote. Its no good complaining about lack of officials when the helpers are stretched so thinly across so many events.

It really is time for the fixtures to be decided after starting with a blank sheet of paper (as I hoped to do for 1992 but failed miserably).  Start with the development plan, decide what events we need to meet all the objectives and then decide which we have the resources (financial and human) to organise.

1.  Ian Gale                            37.11

The 1500 metres at the NSC on Wednesday 23 July is at 9 pm.

The 1500 metres at the NSC on Wednesday 23 July is at 9 pm.

The 1500 metres at the NSC on Wednesday 23 July is at 9 pm.

The 1500 metres at the NSC on Wednesday 23 July is at 9 pm.

The 1500 metres at the NSC on Wednesday 23 July is at 9 pm.

Richie Stevenson reports that Tony will miss the big fell race due to an ongoing injury problem. It is hoped that Tony will be replaced in the Manx team but with only three to count (four allowed to run) its not essential. Further update on this story later in the week.

I spoke to Dave Maddrell at the Dave Phillips Memorial runs at Peel at Friday night. He has taken part in this series and the Ramsey Park Runs on occasions this year as part of his triathlon preparations. He had to miss last Friday's event however after injuring himself warming down after his recent triathlon at Trentham Gardens, Stoke on Trent.

Hopefully Dave will be in action again very soon.

Don't forget the big 1500 metres, open to all but most of the top track athletes are expected to take part, at the NSC tomorrow (Wednesday). Sign on at 7.45 for an 8 pm start.

One of two contributions to the site I've had from Ian Callister recently are the winners for the very first three races in the Ellan Vannin event.

Click here to see Ian's contribution.

If you've not had a chance to try out the Ramsey Commissioners sponsored handicap series (approximately 4 miles and 2 miles) then its well worth a trip to Ramsey on Friday evening. Its the last one in the series.

Has anyone else noticed that there are just 11 weeks to go until the Manx Gas Cross Country League starts?

This was one of the most improved parts of the Manx athletics scene last winter and I'm convinced that organiser Graham Davies (on behalf of the Isle of Man AA) will not allow it to stand still this winter. I'm sure we can get more children from the schools taking part and more of the club and fun runners. Start spreading the word now!

According to Peter McElroy in last week's Manx Independent, we can expect record times on Tuesday night. Steve Partington pointed out that he said Barrule Fell Race will start and finish at Ramsey Hairpin at 7 pm!

Although my day started at 5.15 am (only a couple of hours after Steve Partington delivering the milk in Ramsey!), it was a demanding schedule that allowed little time for the website. Then I learnt that my Mother had been taken ill again.   So instead of training this afternoon with Paul Curphey and Mike Garrett I was waiting for the ambulance to arrive at my Mum's sheltered housing at Kirk Michael for the second time in a couple of months.  

Hopefully she won't be in the new Nobles Hospital for too long. I guess it's the sort of phase everyone goes through but I seem to know an awful of people in hospital at the moment.

I only mention this as it obviously impacts on my time to compile the site but I know of lots of other people who have family illnesses and bereavements as distractions in the past twelve months and sometimes their dip in form is not explained.

Whilst I was talking to Andy Fox at Peel last night (discussing the difficulty of racing the 5.000 and 10,000 metres in two days in the Bank of Bermuda Manx Championships on 23/24 August), he recalled the time in 1991 when he won the 4 titles in 2 days and that didn't include his speciality event, the 3,000 metres steeplechase.

He won the 800, 1500, 5000 & 10,000 metres in around 28 hours!

The classic Snowdon International Hill Race takes place next Saturday and our lads will be in amongst a really top class entry. Last years winner Tim Davies is one of the favourites as is Ian Holmes who was second last year and who is the current English champion.  The main threat from the continent is any one of a strong team of Italians entered, although  Fabrizio Truili, who finished in third place in 2002 just over one minute behind the winner is obviously the one to watch.

The Italians are the only team to enter from the continent this year although there are individuals from France, Belgium, Poland and Spain entered as well as a smattering from different parts of the world including the USA and Australia. As well as the foriegn entry the Manx team will take on teams from Eire, England ( A and B ), Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales ( again A and B ). Our team really are up against it but the experience can only do them good and help improve our standards further. It also raises the profile of Isle of Man fell running and indeed Manx athletics in general. I know for a fact that the powers that be across the wet bit do notice and welcome our participation and it can only help us to attain our target of, hopefully, entering a Manx team in the World Championships which are expected to be held in England in 2004. 

I compiled the Track & Field special front page last night and then this morning I realised I had forgotten to publish Tony Isaacs list of Manx records (as defined for his publication). So as I added them and checked the link, I realised, by co-incidence, that it was 21 years ago today since I set the Manx 50km Walking record in Bielefeld, West Germany.

The strange thing was, and I think this applies to many records, when you set them you only imagine that they will last a few weeks because you rarely feel you've got it right. I was the first of the five British walkers and so escaped the slating that the team got but 4.20 was seen as pretty ordinary.

Certainly I am disappointed that I never walked a 4.10 50km which my other times suggested I was capable of. It was that sort of time I was looking for in 1982 before I suffered from vomiting in that German race. After all if you can walk 4.27 on a course that includes the climb from Ramsey to the Bungalow and still have 10km to go, then 4.20 is a poor PB to finish your career with.

The 30km and 35km times I set were much better (in my mind) than my 50km but Mr Partington soon re-wrote those records.

So why has the 50km time stood so long in one of our top disciplines in the Isle of Man? For the past 8 years there has even been the incentive of Commonwealth Games selection at the distance.

I still haven't seen the qualifying times for the next Commonwealth Games (they are only two and half years away) so I don't know if it will be necessary to break this record to qualify but I do hope that someone can move this mark up a good notch up a bit.

There was an improved turnout at Peel tonight and a good atmosphere in the hot weather. Even the start was the closest to 7 pm I've known for a long time.

Andy Fox flew around for the fastest time of the night and the series (unofficially 20.12) while Mike Garrett made a big improvement to clock 21.22.  

Bernie Cannan beat me in the first round of the series by 4 seconds and a couple of weeks later when he saw me training I shouted "I'm trying to find those 4 seconds". Well I still haven't found them - he beat me on unofficial actual times of 22.04 to 22.08. Paul Curphey was around 22.19.

Andy Fox started 20 seconds ahead of Mike Garrett and myself as he was judged to be a slower runner, while Bernie Cannan started 3 minutes and 20 seconds ahead despite the aforementioned 4 second stuffing in our previous encounter. I'm just going to reach out for the old Who record "I can't explain".

I was delighted to learn yesterday that Northern AC member Martyn Strickett is back at work at King Williams College after spending several months in hospital in Liverpool.

I understand from his club mate Jonathan Leece that his high body temperatures are being controlled by medication but the cause of his illness is still unknown.

Although, obviously, all his family and friends will be hoping the medical team can finally get to the bottom of his illness, I view the progress he has made as one of the best pieces of news I've been able to publish on this website for a long time.

I met Jonathan yesterday when by chance we shared a table at a lunch. Hopefully I have persuaded him to provide the site with regular reports from Northern AC's events. He also tells me he has some firm views on the sport in the Island which he would like to share with us. I look forward to publishing these.

One of the traditions of Manx athletics which has not been maintained so much in recent years is that events start much later than advertised! There are one or two events that stick to this tradition but in general events are much better organised than they used to be.

Having rushed like mad to make it to the start of last night's St Johns 10km Walk so that I could get a picture of the start at the advertised 7 pm, it was a bit disappointing that the event did not actually start until 7.30 and, to fit in with other commitments planned around the advertised time, I had to leave before the end.

I think this does act as a deterrent to some athletes who plan their sport around their work and families and it athletes also plan their food and drinks around an advertised start time.

I received an email from Pete Mulholland overnight as he was trying to obtain the results of the Western 10 for his website  www.veterans10mile.org.uk

Check it out if you are interested in veterans athletics.

I've been roped into providing the results service for the White & Healthy End to End Walk on 28 September and joined the organising committee at the NSC last night for a quick meeting.

I was very impressed to learn that Judy King acknowledges every entry by post.  A question a lot of people ask me when the enter events in advance is "how do I know that my entry has been accepted".  One way is to publish the up to date entries online; the other is acknowledge them personally.  Either way, it is the standard that others should emulate.

The organisers have will have a phone installed at the finish courtesy of Manx Telecom and times from Peel will be faxed to the Sound. I aim to publish the results as they happen online from the Sound updated every 15-20 minutes.

Its the second year that the event has been held on the new West coast route and a massive entry is expected.

It was perfect race conditions at 7am for the start of the Bournemouth International Triathlon on 6^th July 2003.  Western AC's Christine Barwell competed the event, her second Olympic Distance Triathlon.  Christine started well in the 1500m sea swim exiting the first transition in a time of 29.54, 7^th in her age group.  The bike leg consisted of one lap of an undulating 40km course and the final leg was the 10km run on a flat 'out and back' course, by this stage in the competition the heat of the day was beginning to take its toll on many of the athletes, however she was pleased with her run time of just under 56 minutes, which is over 6 minutes faster than at last year's Newcastle Triathlon.  Christine was thrilled with her time of 2.41.02, 70^th overall and 10^th in her age group.  

I was told I was not allowed to print any scary photos of Christine!

A party of 20 Manx Harriers athletes, officials and supporters travelled to Dublin last weekend for the 13th Dublin Grand Prix of Race Walking held in Phoenix Park.

The road surface used in the park had been recently resurfaced and remeasured for the Special Olympics held in the city last month and with unseasonal Mediterranean type weather greeting the athletes a day of hot action was definitely in store for the crowds who had gathered to watch.

First race to start was the 50km where athletes were attempting to gain qualifying times for the World Championships in Paris later this year and next years Olympics. This meant that a fast pace was in the offing and Dennis Trautmann (GER) lead the field in a blistering early pace with the whole field on sub 4hour 10 minute pace during the first 5km. This race continued throughout the day with all other races held alongside it. During the course of the race the pace and the heat took its toll and it was left to Spain's David Sanchez Ferrer to take the honours in 4.01.58 after reaching halfway in 1.58.57, in 7th position. Only 5 of the 13 starters completed the distance.

The first Manxies to take part were Dougie Corkill, Maureen Cox and Steve Taylor who were asked to take up official positions as judges for all of the junior races. Having received their instructions they took their places for the under 13 girls 1km which featured Fay Latham, Sinead and Bronwen Kaneen. Sinead and Fay are both under 11 and only found out that they were racing last Thursday but that didn’t stop them putting in terrific performances. Up against Kathryn Grainger of Sheffield arguably the best for her age in the country a very fast pace was set as she soon built up an unassailable lead that was 30 seconds at the finish. The Manx girls were out of the medals by half way but gutsy performances by all three meant that each was rewarded with a pb. A special mention must go to Sinead who at only 7 years old smashed through the 6 minute barrier for the first time.

We had no representation in the under 11 boys so next up were our under 13 girls racing over 2km in which Emma Latham had been selected for the England team. Fast starts had obviously been deemed the order of the day and the immensely talented Rebecca Mersh of Sheffield stretched the whole field out from the gun and won the race at her leisure in a new course record of 9.18. Emma and Ciara Kaneen started at a good pace but still found themselves wanting after 500m. However they both stuck to the task in hand in a great battle with Lauren Gimson of Leicester Emma took revenge for her Steam Packet defeat and raced to a new Manx record of 10.09 beating her own previous best by 53 seconds. Ciara who trailed at the back at half way clawed her way into the pack and was unlucky not to finish higher as she to smashed her own pb.

Callum Taylor was our man in the under 15 boys 2km and found himself up against the Nuneaton trio of Lewis Hayden and the Hambridge twins who have swept all before them over the last year in this age group. Today was not likely to be any different as these three along with Jack Tomlin of Dartford (who must be 6 feet tall) hared off leaving everyone else in their wake. Callum was left isolated but walked steadily but surely picking up favourable comments for his technique along the way and was rewarded with a pb and new Manx record.

Robert Moore was also selected to be part of the England team and started in determined fashion. Like all Manx athletes he too found himself off the pace with the race being won in superb fashion by Nick Ball of Steyning. Robert seemingly struggling with the ever increasing temperature was spurred on by the vocal support of both his Manx and English team mates and not to be out done by the other Manx youth also set a new pb.

After the juniors had finished it was down to the seniors with the men first away for the 20km. There was no doubt that this was going to be a fast race with the Italian pair of 1995 World 20km Champion Michele Didoni and 1999 World 50km Champion Ivano Brugnetti going head to head as FIDAL, the Italian Athletics Association had given the athletes an ultimatum – winner takes all and gains the third spot on the Italian team for next months World Championships. The leaders took a mere 7.50 for the first 32km and then increased the pace but this was when the race was all but over as Brugnetti pulled up with a hamstring injury when looking the smother and more comfortable of the two. Didoni marched on passing through 10km in 40.30 when he visibly eased off and left the large crowd of onlookers in no doubt that he will once again be a serious contender in Paris.

Whilst it could be said that Didoni would be used to such conditions as the day brought the same couldn’t be said for our walkers. Peter Kaneen, Neil Bates and Allan Callow all started at conservative paces but soon found the going tough. Peter started with Nathan Adams (ENG) and Pat Ryan (IRE) but soon drifted off the pace. No doubt the effects of his Parish walk only now kicking in. He rallied over the past few laps but was unable to close the gap on his rival. Neil in his first serious attempt at 20km quickly found himself isolated and from then on struggled to maintain his pace. During the second half of the race he appeared to be merely going through the motions in order to register a time for the distance. The old warhorse Allan Callow would probably be the happiest of the three at the end of the day. Although like Neil isolated he maintained a steady rhythm throughout to finish in his fastest time for over two years.

The womens 20km was billed as the race of the day as it featured double world record holder Gillian O’Sullivan and pretender to her throne Olive Loughnane both of the host country. Unfortunately for the spectators the race was over soon after it started with Loughnane pulling up with a knee injury just after 3km. O’Sullivan who currently heads the IAAF Race Walking Challenge lead from the start finishing in 1.29.22, her fourth sub 1.30 performance in 2003. (Only one GB man has walked faster!!) Gillian will be amongst the favourites for the World title next month.

Our ladies, Bridget Kaneen and Marie Latham soon found themselves at the rear the field. The law of averages would dictate that one of the party would have an off day and unfortunately for Bridget her was her turn. Struggling from the start she never got into her rhythm even though the pace was well within her capabilities. She doggedly stuck it out to 10km but decided to save herself for another day. Marie on the other hand was having a blinder. She battled with Irish woman Georgina Tuohey early on and this brought her through 10km in close to 56 minutes. She faded over the second half but was still able to finish almost three minutes ahead of her previous best.

The racing wasn’t over yet as it was the turn of the veterans racing over 3km. Maureen Cox swapped her judges baton for her racing gear, whilst Liz Corran who was England team manager on the day, retrieved her vest from Callum who had borrowed it for his race and then took his shoes as well. Liz in her first walk for two years stormed to victory in the ladies race setting a new Manx age best (W45) in the process. Her time was approx. 16.43. Not to be out done Maureen also set a new age best (W50). Official results from the veterans race are still to be published some four days later.

All in all a excellent day for the Manx contingent who showed that they are capable of mixing it the best in the UK and Ireland.

Apologies to Nick Percival, he ran with the Manx Harriers B team at Wavertree and did very well recording a 5Km PB in 17 mins and less than 1 second. (do not have that results sheet with me tonight!!!) This was after some hectic travelling from Guernsey and running the 1500m earlier.

The next race walking event on the local calendar are the Tynwald races starting at 7pm on Thursday. Meet in the car park opposite the Farmers Arms. Entry fees are £3 for seniors and £1 for juniors. There will be a 10km and 5km for seniors and a junior race will be held subject to entries. The junior event will be held on the old railway line and will be held before the main events. The 10km will be on a sealed handicap basis. Athletes will start together with the winners decided after the event by deducting their handicap from their finishing time. Senior races will be held around the Tynwald Hill, Ballacraine, Hope triangle with the both races starting just below the Ballacraine traffic lights. The 5km will complete almost two laps finishing by Macs Handyman stores. The 10km is over three and a half laps finishing outside the Farmers Arms.

Manx Harriers mens team are holding a "Tour of the South" night out this Saturday. This will include visits to a number of select establishments in the south of the Island. The idea is to travel by taxi around tea time and take in a bar meal and a few pubs before returning by taxi to Douglas around 11.30 pm. Anyone interested should contact Chris Quine on 670521 or e-mail chris.quine@zurich.com.

The team would also be pleased to meet up with any southern based athletes/supporters.

Girls Under 13 1km - won in 4.48

4th     Fay Latham              5.34    (PB)

5th     Bronwen Kaneen  5.38    (NR u13 girls)

9th     Sinead Kaneen           5.49    (PB by 26 secs)

Fay and Sinead only found out they were racing on Thursday

Girls Under 15 2km - won in 9.18

4th     Emma Latham             10.09   (NR u15 girls beats her own record

by 53)secs

14th    Ciara Kaneen            11.26   (PB by 50 secs, her first race over

this distance this year)

Boys Under 15 2km - won in 9.08

5th     Callum Taylor           10.23   (NR u15 boys)

Boys Under 17 3km - won in 12.59

6th     Robert Moore            15.18   (PB by 7secs)

The Manx athletes were up against the very best Irish and English walkers and can be very proud of their performances. PB's all round. Can't do much better than that.

DUBLIN GRAND PRIX PICTURES BY PAUL JACKSON

I had a good chat with Island Games 200 metres champion Sarah Dowling at the NSC tonight and then later watched her patiently and politely present the medals to every athlete in the top three at the Manx Harriers Club Championships.

More about Sarah tomorrow.

I took photos of most of the medallists at the Manx Harriers Championships and hope to make them available on Tuesday evening.

Although its not listed in the IOMAA fixture list, Manx Harriers Track & Field Championships resume at the NSC tonight.

They full results make interesting reading ie. How successful our throwers were in helping produce such a fine result. They perhaps did not get full credit in my original report as we did not know all distances and positions when we left. Anyway, hopefully this email will redress the situation.

Event                   Athlete                 A perf. B perf.

100m                    Chris Stobart           2nd.    11.3            

                        Alistair Audsley                                DNF (injured)

200m                    Chris Stobart           3rd.    22.7

                        Chris Compston                          6th. 24.6

400m                    Keiron Murray   8th.    69.2 (inj)      

                        Andy Fox                                        8th.61.5 knackered

800m                    Keiron Murray   3rd.    2.00.5

                        Tom Davies                                      8th. 2.32.8

1500m           Keith Gerrard           6th.    4.13.0  

                        Chris Shimmin                           4th. 4.18.3 (PB)

5000m           Darren Gray             6th.    16.22 (PB)      

                        Chris Quine                                     4th. 16.27.2

110H                    Phil Riley              4th.    17.7 (PB)       

                        Ben Lloyd                                       3rd. 20.8

400H                    Chris Whitlow           5th.    63.4            

                        Andy Fox                                        6th. 69.6

3000mSC         Andy Fox                5th.    10.22.8 (PW)

                        Tom Davies                                      6th. 12.57.7

Discus                  Glynn Hoosen-Owen       1st.    38.16m(PB)

                        Paul Skillan                                    2nd. 32.88

Hammer          Stuart Corran           2nd.    41.66m(PB?)

                        Trevor Christian                                1st. 36.15

Shot                    Paul Skillan            4th.    11.63

                        Glynn Hoosen-Owen                               1st. 11.52

Javelin         Ben Lloyd               2nd.    54.09

                        Chris Stobart                                   7th. 26.50

High Jump               Chris Whitlow           5th.    1.70m

                        Tom Davies                                      3rd. 1.60m

Long Jump               Phil Riley              2nd.    6.48m

                        Chris Whitlow                                   1st. 6.44m

Triple Jump             Ben Lloyd               6th.    11.69m

                        Chris Shimmin                           5th. 11.00m

Pole Vault              Tom Davies              No Height.

4x100m          Stobart, Christian, Compston, Whitlow, 6th. 46.7

4x400m          Whitlow, Gerrard, Shimmin, Compston, 8th. 3.52.8

PB - Personal Best

PW - Personal Worst

Inj - Injury

DNF - Did not finish

Match Score.

1. Derby                363

2. Gateshead            341

3. Leeds                291

4. Manx         263

5. Hull         240

6. Liverpool P. 229.5

7. Blackpool            224.5

8. Rotherham            215

Overall Standings with 1 Match to go.

1. Derby                23

2. Leeds City           18

3. Liverpool P. 16

4. Gateshead            15

5. Manx Harriers        12

6. Blackpool            11

7. Hull         8

8. Rotherham            5

The above means an excellent chance of staying up. If a strong team can be put out at the last match in Derby on August 3rd. we could hold 5th. which will be our best ever position (previous was 6th. in 97 then 7th. and relegated in 98) or perhaps we could mount a challenge for 4th.

It is very important we finish as highly as possible as our League position next year will depend on the aggregate positions of our men and women as the Leagues will be combined. As such, teams with the lowest scores will be placed in Division one. If our men finish 5th. that will be 5 points. Our women are I think 4th. out of 6 in Div 2. Top in Div 2 will get 9 points down to 14 for 6th. If the ladies stay where they are that will give them 12 points and the men and women a combined total of  17 points which I would have thought was good enough to place us in the top flight next season as many clubs are very strong in one section and much weaker in the other. We are strong in both. It will then mean next summer will be very interesting indeed, there may be no Island Games, but the League will be fascinating.

Manx Harriers B team finished 7th. in their Division 4 west match at Wavertree last Saturday. In Match 2 they beat Western AC but on this occasion finished 3 match points behind them. A number of athletes made debuts in the league namely under 17 Andrew Duncan and senior Mike Garrett. Also it was pleasing to see John Halligan turn out again for the club in what could be a comeback - time will tell!!!

The leading performances for each team member were as follows :- Andy Duncan - 100m in 12.8secs. Mike Garrett - 5000m in 17mins 39.9secs. John Halligan - 400m Hurdles in 65.8secs. Dave Newton - 1500m in 4mins 57.8secs. Glenn Butterworth - 800m in 2mins 10.6secs.

manxathletics.com welcomes reports from other clubs

With less than a week to go I learnt that the Western 10 was to be the Isle of Man 10 Mile Road Running Championships. Did anyone know? Certainly the information was not important enough to be included in the IOMAA official fixture list.

Did anyone compete in the Western 10 only because the event incorporated the championships? Did anyone train any differently for the race because it was the championships? Did the best road runners on the Island take part in this Manx Championship?

I would hazard a guess that most people reading this would have answered "no" to all the questions.

The final question then - do Manx road running championships serve any purpose?

I'm sure you can guess my opinion by the nature of the questions! I suggest that we only need one road running championship race which is going full circle to the days when the Peel to Douglas was "the championship". Either the race is held at the same time every year at an event such as the Peel to Douglas, Western 10 or Syd Quirk Half Marathon, or its held to tie in with Island Games selection.

One thing is certain, the championships should be advertised as such for many months in advance. The Cross Country Championships were meaningful championships this year - wouldn't it me nice to say the same about road running championships?

Manx Harriers men’s team came 4th. in the third division one match of the Northern League last Sunday. This equalled their best ever position recorded in 1997 when last in the premier division. A first was also recorded with the a Manx field athlete recording a first ever A field event win in the premier division in the North of England. All of this followed a successful but tiring Island Games and a long day of travel on Saturday. All of this suggests the club could do even better in the future!

The Throws proved to be a strong point for the club. All four discipines scored excellent points with Glynn Hoosen-Owen taking pride of place. He won the A Discus with a PB using senior weights of over 38metres. Paul Skillan also scored well in both the Shot and Discus as did Stuart Christian and Trevor Christian in the Hammer and Ben Lloyd and Chris Stobart in the Javelin. Full results can not be given as at the time of going to press the official results had not arrived on the Island.

The Sprints had a massive boost from the season’s debut of Chris Stobart who ran well in both the 100 and 200m. However, injuries to Alistair Audsley and Keiron Murray held back the team score. Hopefully both athletes will be back to full fitness soon. That left Chris Compston and surprisingly Andy Fox to fill in and score useful points. The Hurdles events saw some good points gathered by Phil Riley, Chris Whitlow, Andy Fox and Ben Lloyd.

The Harriers had some excellent performances in the Long Jump as Phil Riley and Chris Whitlow renewed their close rivalry. Phil came out on top again but only in his last jump of the competition as both went over 6.40m again. It will be interesting to see how far they will jump this summer as they push each other further. The high jump was covered by Chris and Tom Davies who jumped well while Chris Shimmin and Ben Lloyd covered the Triple jump and scored good points. Tom Davies failed to get over the opening height in the Pole Vault on this occasion as he ran 2 middle distance events which certainly spoilt his chances.

The Middle Distances saw mixed fortunes for the club due in part to the grueling schedule for most of the athletes in the Island Games. Keiron Murray finished in a pleasing third place in teh 800m A race in a solid time prior to his injury in the 400m. Tom Davies covered the B 800m and Steeplechase scoring valuable points. Andy Fox ran the A chase finishing 5th. in the A race in 10.23. Keith Gerrard finished the 1500m in 4mins 12 seconds for the third time in 4 days. He was ably supported in the B race by Chris Shimmin who ran an impressive PB of around 4mins 18secs. Over 5000m Darren Gray ran a PB in the A race in around 16mins 21 secs and Chris Quine only 2 days after the Island Games Half Marathon ran 16.27 in the B race.

The relays saw tired teams come 6th in the 4x100m and 8th. in the 4x400m, however, this could not detract from what was an excellent team performance. The Kenmac sponsored squad now lie in 5th. place in the Division one table within a few points of third place. The final match on

3rd. August   in Derby should prove very interesting indeed!!! The

provisional league table after 3 matches is as follows

1. Derby and County                     23 points.

2. Leeds City                                   18

3. Gateshead                            15

4. Liverpool Pembroke and Sefton        15

5. Manx Harriers                                12

6. Blackpool and Fylde                  10

7. Hull                                           8

8. Rotherham                              7

The depth of the sports coverage and the number of pictures in this week's Manx Independent must be the best ever. There is stacks of Island Games coverage and yet they find space for so much on island sport including loads of athletics. Its hard to remember that no so long again we only had black and white pictures and most of them were repeated every time someone made the news.

I can't stand Big Brother or any similar "show off" programmes but at least when it is on (seemingly 24 hours a day) two members of this household don't complain about me spending time on the website - they are too engrossed.

For seven years I travelled on the same school bus to Douglas from Kirk Michael as Dot Watterson (nee Corlett) who lived at Cronk-y-Voddy.  I've read in today's highly informative (as usual) Chit Chat that Dot will be 56 on Sunday which makes me the same age!

Peter Mac describes Dot, wife of fellow athlete Ken, as a veteran athlete. I think he will find that she is 10 years less a veteran than stated!

.

Tony Okell was unable to defend his title in the Ellan Vannin Fell Race last week due to an injury. He was initially suffering from a pain at the top of his leg (around his bum) but last week was struggling with hamstring pains.

My diagnosis, for what it is worth, was that they were the classic symptoms of a back injury regardless of where the pain was identified.

Tony was in attendance throughout the Ellan Vannin Fell Race encouraging the other runners on his mountain bike.

I won't go into too much detail regarding personal anecdotes from Guernsey, using the old excuse "what goes on tour stays on tour". What i will say though is that i had a fantastic week, and barring a few hiccups the games ran very smoothly.

I don't know how we managed to bag the hotel we did, but it way exceeded most people's expectations. The rooms were a good size and me and Martin Aram (with whom i shared) were the only people i think that managed to get a fridge! The food was incredible, and the luxury of a potential cooked breakfast EVERY MORNING was one not to be missed out on.

The squad gelled really well and by the end of the week team morale was fantastic! We were by far the noisiest team, both at the track and particularly the closing ceremony, where we introduced the rest of the Islands to a bit of traditional Manx language. That is, we shouted "HEYBOY"

at every available opportunity! Closing ceremony was short and sweet, me and foxy did attempt to decapitate a few of the manx team by flying Andy's massive IOM flag over everyone about 7 or 8 times but everyone remained intact. The other funny moment came when Hollie was introduced to the 7' 4" Ynys Mon Basketball coach, but that was a definite 'you-had-to-be-there' moment so i won't go into any more detail.

Once inside Beau Sejour (big impressive sports complex where after-games party was held), we queued for what seemed like hours to try to get a round of soft drinks in (being athletes we of course refused to go anywhere near alcohol...). That said, one or two people began acting very strangely as the night wore on, so i guess rival teams may have spiked our drinks in jealousy of our fantastic performances. Andy Fox, for example, began to seemingly dance with his accreditation, whilst the middle/long distance group invented a kind of 'kangaroo dance' which inevitably saw Paul Clarke end up on his backside!

All in all, i'm fairly sure that everyone will take good memories away from these games, and i definitely wouldn't mind going back to Guernsey again when their turn comes around to host (that's if the back and knees are still functioning by then!)

PS If you've got any specific questions about the games that you think will be of interest to your audience then i'll be happy to answer them!

It was interesting to read Murrays observations on the country sports. A number of our fell races started off from these events. The Patrick race started life as part of the Patrick Fair, hence the many varied winning times as the finish of the race was dependent on which field the fair was in that year. Greeba was born from the Greeba Sports which were held in a field down Ballachurry Road.   New Years Day classic St Johns Fell Race was the end product of  races that were held in conjunction with the St Johns Sports, held annually on the village green, and the St Johns Cricket Clubs run that was part of their sports held at their Mullen Y Cloie ground Next weeks North Barrule was originally part of the Ramsey Carnival starting and finishing at the Mooragh Park.To be categorised as A category and therefore be a league counter the start and finish was moved to Ramsey Hairpin eliminating all the undesirable road section.

Does anyone feel like me and think that this is an event worth having once a year even at the expense of one or two road runs?

It vanished from the fixture list about four years ago.

I still think we should have one every year. As with last night's steeplechase it would give everyone a chance to "have a go". It would also give faster runners a chance to show that they are worthy of selection in future Island Games. It is surely the only track and field event where people are selected without competing in the event beforehand.

With most of the top race walkers heading for Dublin this weekend it would be easy to overlook the 10km race walk being promoted by Manx Harriers at St Johns next Thursday.

I'm sure that all Parish Walk entrants will be made welcome and that further details will be publicised shortly.

Top marks to school teacher Andy Fox for promoting last night's 1500 metres steeplechase on behalf of Manx Harriers.

I think that occasional one off events like this are one of the best ways of developing the sport rather than having too many similar events with very few people taking part. There was a good turnout from the old hands at the steeplechase, through to the younger athletes who now know what a challenge the event is.

Andy promoted the event several weeks ago and I deliberately left the promotional block on the front page for much longer than I do normally because I felt it was something that was worthwhile.

The words within the publicity were all Andy's and it did clearly say to turn up at 6 pm. I thought this meant a 6 pm start but in fact they were aiming for a 6.30 start and it was actually a few minutes late.  It was a shame therefore that Nick Percival turned up late thinking it was a 7 pm start. We've had similar problems with other events so I would urge people to check start times. If you know of people who don't have access to this website it might be worth reminding them. For example the walk at Peel on Friday starts at 6.30 not 7 pm.

Back to last night. Well the cream rose to the top. Andy Fox and Darren Gray worked their way to the front with Andy taking the honours but well done to everyone. There was a great atmosphere particularly by the water jump.

My joy at having retained my NatWest Island Games high jump title in Guernsey was tinged with sadness when I learned that Judith Perriam had passed away that very day.

I think Judith was about the first athletics official I met, as an enthusiastic nine year old, when I moved to the Island with my family ten years ago.  Along with Gordie, Rosie, Elaine and the rest of the gang at Western A.C. she helped guide the early part of my budding athletics career and encouraged me as I progressed.  She was always caring and unassuming and I never heard her voice raised in anger.

I have fond memories of the open meetings at the N.S.C., the trips to Sale Harriers, the Peel road runs and the wonderfully muddy cross-country course of that era!  Judith was always there with a smile for everyone. 

The lasting memories I have, are of Judith in the long jump pit at the N.S.C. on the Monday evening training nights and dancing with the youngest little athletes at the presentation evenings.  She will be fondly and sadly missed. 

I therefore dedicate my gold medal at the Island Games to the memory of Judith Perriam.

I spent a thoroughly enjoyable Tynwald Day afternoon at the Cronk-y-Voddy sports and can't help feeling that these types of events are a great asset to our sport.

Maybe I'm biased.  When I was kid living in Kirk Michael, I used to cycle to "Cronkie" with my mates (that was hard enough in itself given the hills and the lack of gears in those days), take part in every run, bike race, sack race, egg & spoon race, and obstacle race and then take advantage of the downhill return to rest those weary legs.

Sometimes it was hard to even find out when the sports were being held. Did the locals really not want us to find out about their big event less than four miles away? On one occasion the hay was still being baled at the time the sports were due to start!  One year, the half mile was four laps and the mile six laps!

Its quite strange that, given the demise of so many of the country sports, the Cronk-y-Voddy version is thriving and highly organised compared to the old days. When they were revived after a gap of 20 years or so about 10-12 years ago, they introduced a marquee and even toilets. You should see the latter - the gents have some corrugated sheets and you stand on a pallet and the grass soaks everything up!

Anyway, my point in writing about this, is to say why I think country sports are still so good for kids in particular to take part in. In many of the events yesterday there were 15-20 youngsters all with smiles on their faces. Even the children at the back of the field really looked as if they were enjoying themselves. I know that things are different to the "old days" when so much sport was organised by the kids themselves. I know also that our coaches do a great job teaching the youngsters the technical skills of athletics. But its still hard to beat the traditional types of events for pure fun.

Bridget Kaneen very kindly emailed some of Peter's pictures but unfortunately his batteries were flat when Bridget raced around for her two lap victory (and I took the afternoon off as far as the camera was concerned).  Don't ask how far it was - it was two laps, that is all that counts at Cronky! As for the "fell race", when I told my Mother that there was less opposition than last year when I finished fourth in the traditional Cronkie gear of jeans and t-shirt, my son Robbie said: "That was the under statement of the year - there was no opposition just a load of kids!". Sorry David! I was quite impressed with Deemster Doyle's second place after lunch with the Queen!

PICTURE

The answer may be yes or it may be no - but do not ignore the question please read on!!!

The event has it's origins in the Middle ages racing from Steeple to Steeple across country hurdling hedges, walls and ditches on the way. Usually on horse back but on foot also. When accepted into the Olympics it became in many ways the Cross Country race on the track.

It is a great event and ideal for the country/fell athlete used to coping with breaks in rhythm. Once you master the hurdles they really are not as daunting as they may originally have seemed.

Would you like to try? Are you up for the challenge?

If so why not come along to Manx Harriers track League on Wed. 9/7/03 at 6pm. Sign on and pay your entry fee and have a go. The event will be a 1500m Steeplechase with water jump and hurdles. We have deliberately chosen the shortest distance possible to give everyone the chance of a run out. I will give some rudimentary tuition prior to the event for those interested on the Monday or Tuesday or on the night itself. Just Ring Andy fox on 626415.

Hopefully we'll see a good field on the night!!!!

My 'performance' in the Games was down to a number of things.

Firstly, I wasn't in the best overall shape after missing so much of May with injury and light training. May is and was pretty crucial to my Games preparation.

After my runs at Jarrow, I reckoned I was in sub 1:55 and sub 50 shape but clearly wasn’t. I'd struggled and dropped out in the Northern 800m Championship a week before. My problems with the hamstring hadn't entirely gone away and I had quite a bit of work done during the remainder of the week by our physios.

The timetabling of the 400m and 800m (4 races in 36hrs, concluding with the 800m final 80mins after the 400m semi) left a lot to be desired from my point of view. For the last two games at least, the 800m would have been done and dusted by Monday evening.

I should really have focused on one at the expense of the other after the injury but wanted to defend both titles. If I hadn’t been defending the titles my approach probably would have been different.

The standard was again impressive and even if this year had gone perfectly, the best I could have achieved would have been to be in contention for a couple of bronzes. Time marches on and at 28 I'll have to carefully consider what I want to achieve and am capable of achieving. The medallists in all of my events are much younger and many of them are still at uni competing and training at a consistently high level.  

Our Northern match went well. A great day for the team, to finish fourth with a lot of tired / injured athletes, which lifted us to fifth of eight in Division One with a round to go. For some it was case of picking up after a bad week, for others a case of building on the Games. In the latter category, Messrs Hoosen-Owen, Whitlow and Gray again had good performances. I ran a good tactical race for third in the ‘A’ 800m but my hamstring tightened up after 150m of the 400m. I got round but it’s back to the drawing board and an osteopath to try and get to the root of the problem. A number of people think I’m running with a limp – or in the words of Ray Cox, if I was a horse, I’d be described as ‘running even’.

Finally, can I just say how good team spirit is and was amongst the team in Guernsey and at Leeds. We’ve got a lot to be proud of in the way we support each other.

Neville finished 19th overall at Trentham Gardens on Sunday and 3rd in his age-group. His times were: 

What a week!!! So much happened i don't know where to start but i think it best to start with THAT Long Jump competition.

I think my body has some kind of allergic reaction to the thought of big competitions, and this was confirmed when i tweaked my groin in the warm up at about 4:15 (1hr before). John Barton did a lot to settle it down and ease it but i still wasn't feeling 100%. That was confirmed by my first three jumps. 6.25 and 6.30m in the first two rounds was nowhere near what I wanted, despite being only centimetres from my PB. My confidence was so high having recovered from May's big injury, combined with some superb technique sessions at the NSC with Colin Halsall the week previous to the games, that i expected a 6.50m ish jump early on. My third round jump felt so bad that i didn't stop to look at the distance, went back to my stuff and took my spikes off, thinking i'd been eliminated. When Chris Whitlow jumped 6.41m in the third round i thought he was eighth, i was 9th and my record of never being beaten by a Manxie in the LJ was finally over.

It came as a huge surprise therefore to find i was actually lying in fifth position, still in the competition and 1cm better off than Chris. The fourth and fifth rounds are a blur to be honest, i couldn't tell you what i jumped but what i did know was going into the last round, Chris had improved to 6.45m which meant that my record was definitely in jeopardy. By this stage my groin was really sore, although afterwards i realised this only affected me between jumps as adrenaline took over on the runway.

Last round: Lying sixth. Dale Garland had already effectively sealed Gold with a massive jump of 7.30m. Erik Larsson of Gotland in silver with 6.85 and closely followed by Page of Guernsey with 6.71m. Chris took his last jump which i think improved him slightly. He was also carrying a painful knee injury so for him to improve his PB by some 30-odd cm was a fantastic achievement! The next thing i remember was going completely mental, having realised i'd just jumped a massive PB and got into the medals at that stage.

I don't remember working the crowd, i don't remember my take off or flight (although colin later said that even from his vantage point at the other end of the track it was the best jump he'd seen from me). I remember thinking when the Guernsey guy (Page) got onto the runway for his last jump (the only person who could now deny me a medal) that everything i'd worked for and thought about so much for the last two years was just about to come through.

Disaster. He goes and jumps 6.75m as well. I knew he'd done something big judging by his reaction coming out of the pit but for him to jump EXACTLY the same was insanely difficult to take, as i knew his countback was better.

It was the worst i've ever felt in athletics, and probably the worst i ever will. But as the old saying goes, shit happens. I jumped a massive PB and got close to the Manx record, whilst also putting me back in contention for achieving the Commonwealth standard of 7.10m for 2006. I need to thank several people though, some of whom i haven't been able to do so in person yet. Firstly, my teammates The support they gave me and chris was phenomenal and they were also really good at consoling me afterwards. I also have to thank Colin for his help in training, as well as Di for helping to get my fitness back up after my injury. Graham Davies, Anthony Brand et al. deserve a huge thank you from the whole squad for getting the finances in place to allow us to travel at a reasonable cost. Martin, Liz and Di (again) for being such an effective managerial unit throughout the week, and i sincerely hope the same team is in place in two years time. Oh yeah, and a big thank you to Mr. Tony Okell, whose unrelenting dedication to Manx Athletics really spurred me on during the competition. What can i say mate, you were obviously born to be a winner.

Anyway i'll just leave it there and send you the rest of the week's events another time. It was a fantastic competition though. I'm so happy Chris Whitlow has proved himself too, a great rivalry is beginning to develop now that will bring us both on in leaps and bounds (no pun intended!).

Among the officials prominent for the hard work at the Island Games last week were Western AC chairman Gordie Brew as starter and Manx Harriers' Colin Halsall on time keeping duties.

Also helping out on the Thursday and Friday in the field events was Elaine Cain.

Former Manx resident Terry Bates was reported to be thriving in his new role as Guernsey's athletics development officer.

More news is welcome.

Andy Fox paid tribute to the officials within the Manx team: "I know all the team would want to thank Martin, Di and Liz who did a great job of managing such a big group of athletes. Also to John Barton and Kate Stobart (and the other young lady who helped - sorry I do not know her name!!) who acted as physios to the team."

Andy Fox has confirmed what I thought - he is older than 41! The following information appears on the Island Games website:

Andy (see forum) admits to being 43. I wonder where the above date of birth came from?

One piece of news that got lost in my inbox for several months, was that Ian & Collette Chrystal moved to France a few months ago.

They were heavily involved with the Manx fell racing scene whilst resident on the Isle of Man.

Richie Stevenson said recently: "We all miss Ian and Collette as they were great fell race supporters and wonderful characters. When they left the Island they kindly donated quite a number of bottles of wine to be handed out as spot prizes in our races, a typically generous gesture from two really nice people."

With strong performances by Louise Kneen and Lisa Kelly in the throwing events, Western AC took 3ed place in their Northern Women's League match at Oldham yesterday.

They were backed up strongly by Venessa Roberts, who competes regularly off the Island, and Heather Wood, who recently returned to the fold after dropping out from the sport for a while.

I was off the Island recently in Brussels for work and on my return learned of the very sad loss of Judy on Sunday last 29th June. 

I'm looking forward to hearing how Manx Harriers got on today in the Northern Mens League and welcome news of any of the teams that have been competing off Island this weekend.

I understand that Manx Harriers had a team of just 8 for their B team yesterday.

There will be no squad training this Tuesday evening. Next session is a week Tuesday meeting at the TT Grandstand 6.30pm.

Race Walking fans will be interested to know (if they've not already picked it up from other sites) that Andy Penn won yesterday's National 20km Walk in Yorkshire.

Thanks to Graham Jackson for sending me the result last night and I apologise to him for not using it staight away.

Andy's splits were 44.52 and 44.00

               1.  A.PENN  NUNEATON  88.52
               2.  N.ADAMS SHEFFIELD  100.31
               3   M SMITH  COVENTRY   105.22
          LADIES
               1 J HESKETH  STEYNING  107.50

I was amazed to learn that there were only 13 starters. I don't want to start a long piece about "in my day" but either the National Championships don't have much priority in the walkers schedules or race walking has a crisis. My first walking championship was also in York and there were over 300 entries.

What do walkers think?  You know where the forum is.

Conditions were just about as good as you could hope for this morning for the 17 runners who started the last long race in the 2003 Managrakem League. Visibility was clear, the wind only slight and plenty of cloud cover kept temperatures down, absolutely perfect for this considerable challenge. And what a race it turned out to be.

Another bad route choice by Onion approaching Druidale created even more excitement as Steve Moynihan reported from the counter checkpoint that the lead had dropped to just half a minute. All that remained of the 15 miles course ( remeasured today courtesey of John Brewis ) was the final ascent back towards Slieu Dhoo and the very fast descent to the Tholt Y Will finish. It was Onion who came clattering down the steep plantation path first to score his second win of the season after a tremendous run 13 minutes faster than his time of last year and believe me there is more to come yet. Simon undoubtedly produced his best performance to date just 4 minutes behind and again knocked spots of his time from 12 months ago.

This excellent run will give Simon a timely confidence boost before he takes on some of the best hill runners in Europe in a few weeks time when he makes his International debut in the Snowdon race.

Ian was closing the gap on Steve in rapid fashion in the Druidale section but despite using all his course knowledge could not close the gap, just 80 seconds separating them at the finish.

Many thanks to everyone who helped on the day and a special thanks to James Coulson for turning up to give his support and for kindly agreeing to present the awards after the race. Seeing what the " big man " is having to go through in his fightback to fitness made a big impression on us all.. Fortunately he is in a very positive mood and he hasn`t lost any of his layed back sense of humour. 

The top three in the Ellan Vannin Fell Race, Ian Gale, Simon Skillicorn and Steve Partington, were all senior men. Its very unusual, in any event on the Isle of Man, for the veterans to be pushed out of the medals.

Wed 9th, Mann Link Travel Northern AC Field Championships,  Ramsey

Fri11th,  Western 10 mile Road Race, WAC, Viking Long House 7pm                                                                                     & 7 mile Walk 

Sat 12th, Mann Link Travel Northern AC Track Championships NSC – Douglas

Thu 17th, St. Johns 10k walk, MH, St. Johns 7pm

Fri18th, Dave Phillips Memorial Road Race Handicapped Road Runs,                        WAC, Peel Camp Site, 7pm

Sun 20th, Young Athletes League  

Tue 22nd, Sean Craig & Sons  North Barrule Fell Race,  MMMO                            Ramsey Hairpin  7.15pm

Fri 25th,  Ramsey Commissioners   Park Run/ Presentation,   NAC                             Mooragh Park 7pm

FURTHER INFORMATION WELCOME/ENCOURAGED

·         Log onto Google ( http://www.google.com/ )

·         Type in     Weapons of Mass Destruction

·         Hit the 'l'm feeling lucky' button instead of 'google search'

·         Read all what appears CAREFULLY

The Island Games hardly seem to have started before they are over. I didn't get much time to cover them today as I was working whilst they were being held. I then decided to watch the Golden League meeting on Sky Sports tonight so that delayed me even more - how anyone can fall asleep during a top class 5000 metres I don't know!

After saying I wouldn't be covering the Island Games, the intention was just to provide the links, I ended up cutting and pasting the results each night and I hope you found it interesting to see the Manx results together in one place.

Well done to everyone in the team. I welcome comment, reflections and experiences if you were part of the team. A lot of people visit the site who would be interested to hear about your highs and lows.

Neville Jewell will spend the Bank Holiday weekend at Trenham Gardens in Stoke-on-Trent competing in the Half  Ironman distance triathlon. The event consists of 2km swim, 90km bike and a 20km run.

Neville has joined the Wednesday evening training sessions with Paul Curphey and Mike Garrett during the past couple of months and I've learnt a lot about the lengths triathletes have to go to train and I'm amazed.

You can find out about Neville's race at:

www.trentham-triathlon.co.uk

Dave Maddrell is also taking part in the sprint event at the same meeting.

Good luck guys.

Triathlon news is always welcome as by definition you must be an athlete to take part in the running.

Jackie has just been interviewed by the Games Station and said that she was "absolutely delighted" to win the 5,000 metres. She is not sure how she will go in tomorrow's half marathon but is determined to add to her gold and bronze medals to far.  "I'll give it all I've got, particularly if it means helping the team along" she said.

I've just spoken to Chris Quine live at the track - the women's 400 metres hurdles is about to start.

He only saw the second half of Jackie's win but she appeared to be well clear all the way.

The good news is that, despite only finishing 6th in his 1500 metres heat, Keith Gerrard is through to the final as the best of the fastest losers.

The Isle of Man didn't have a team in the 4 x 100 metres men's relay but the 4 x 400 metres team has also pulled out.

Keiron Murray, who pulled up in the 800 metres and pulled out of the 400 metres has admitted that he couldn't have beaten Dale Garland who won the 400 metres in 47.76 to take his 4th gold medal of the games.

The half marathon runners can't wait to get stuck into the half marathon tomorrow. The course is very flat and takes in about 3.5 miles of the coast.

Just had to let you know (as I don't know anyone else involved in the organisation of the Parish Walk) that yesterday's Parish Walk was probably one of the most enjoyable days I have ever had.    I didn't take part in the walking this year because of extreme laziness but as my son, sister and a few friends were walking, I was driving round carrying the supplies.   The spirit of the occasion was wonderful.   It seemed that everybody from the walkers, marshals and police down to the spectators and residents along the route were enjoying a great day out.   The  organisation was incredible - managing to keep the walkers walking safely and the huge volume of traffic flowing was quite a feat. 

This is a hearty and heartfelt thank you from the Americans who were able to participate in the race this year. It took a  lot of pushing on your part, but we did get in, and were able to pay on Friday night when they picked up their forms. WE appreciate it all.

What an experience it is to be a minder-wow, we had cars all over and times tobe here and there all worked out! The most wonderful part is that my husband was able to fufill his goal and dream, and make it to Peel in 8hrs. 9min and 05 seconds! So he is an official Senor Finisher! I do think that meant more to him than the fact that we came all the way over there to also selebrateour 50th wedding anniversary!

Just a few moments after he had is number removed at peel, and official let me go around and thru and give him and big hug-and Jim's next words were:'now the next time!'  I guess thru all the pain and agony that is said many times. The celebration Sunday evening was wonderful-we enjoyed it so much. many mny thanks, again nancy cain nash weaver rt. 3, box 74120 potosi, missouri 63664

e-mail:cainweaver@yahoo.com

Had a text from Nick Percival at 2pm who is supporting the Athletics team in Guernsey. He told me that Diane Lawrence has been 'replaced' in the Half Marathon tomorrow. Diane picked up an injury in the Peel to Douglas and has struggled to get maintain her fitness  despite regular physio. She went to Guernsey uncertain about whether she would be able to run. Nick confirmed that the decision was taken from her for the best.

I've really enjoyed listening to the Games Station over the internet. Whilst I'm writing, I'm listening to Ian Harrop who is really struggling to talk - obviously been doing a lot of shouting! Don't you just love the atmosphere! (19.20)

Just hear that the Isle of Man have beaten Jersey in the football with 10 men. Guernsey v Isle of Wight soon to kick off.

Western AC's Christine Barwell flies to Gatwick on Saturday to make her way to The Bournemouth International Triathlon Event on Sunday 6th July 2003 . Christine has been training in Laxey Bay for the 1500m sea swim which will be followed by a 40K cycle and a 10K road run. Christine's running has improved greatly over the past 12 months which she puts down to all her hard work over the fells this year. The event has attracted almost 800 entries. Good luck Christine. More news of how she got on next week.

I had a good chat with Peter Cooper tonight. He informs me that the membership of the Isle of Man Veterans Athletic Club now stands at 80 first claim and 63 second claim.

IOMVAC Website

Thanks to Steve Kelly for supplying the times from Round 4 of the Ramsey Commissioners Park Runs. Sorry I haven't had time to analyse the times in the "jog" on the juniors but you can find full details of the main (almost) four mile run here:

ALL TIMES BY RUNNER AND AVERAGE TIME FOR EACH RUNNER

ALL TIMES IN FASTEST ORDER

Sad to see yet another example of the numbers falling.

Round 1 - 38

Round 2 - 35

Round 3 - 32

Round 4 - 23

It really is time to address the fixture congestion. We would all rather race in bigger fields surely? The only way to do that is a) market the sport better to non racing joggers and b) have few races.

It's only 10 weeks or so ago that I asked you to spare a few thoughts for Darren Gray. He spent Easter in a hospital bed rather than racing around the streets, the hills and the track of the Isle of Man.

On Sunday evening he improved his steeplechase time by 11 seconds after pressuring his mentor Andy Fox for all but the last 800 metres of the race.

"I'm very happy at the Island Games and extremely pleased with my time" he told me on the phone tonight. "In some ways I wish I had another race here in Guernsey but I'm looking forward to the Northern Men's League so much at the weekend.  The whole week is just fantastic - I'm so glad I made it."

Keith Gerrard found the 5,000 metres pretty tough tonight particularly as the first lap was covered in 67 seconds. He ran the first 1km in 2.55 but by 3km he had already slowed to 9.13 and found himself a little isolated.  

The real excitement came in the Long Jump. Phil Riley jumped a personal best and moved up to the silver medal position at one point. He had to settle for fourth place after his best jump ended up as equal third furthest. The tie breaker was the second best jump which went against Phil.

We often talk about the highs and lows of the sport. It's recovering from the upsets that makes it so worthwhile. Regular visitors to the site will know that Phil was suffered a nasty injury just a few weeks ago.

Hollie Bass was thought to start the 400 metres very cautiously and found things tough but she equalled the sixth place that Chris Whitlow achieved in the Long Jump.

Thanks again to Chris Quine for calling tonight.

There is surely a double irony to this story. Brenda Charlton who was so disappointed not to finish the Parish Walk after walking the whole distance two years in a row, after suffering from dehydration would be excused for having a septic foot but not a finger! The second point is that she spends her working hours dispensing drugs to cure and avoid illness and infection.

The problem arose after she treated Eric Nelson's blisters as he tried so hard to ensure he formed part of the first ever father and son finishing team with his daughter Sarah.

What a day. I have never had a good race at Bedford, and in my own opinion i still havent.

Good points to come from the race.

   1: Only one warning.

   2: i now have finished 2/4 10km track races that i have started.

   3: The silver medal.

   4: A lesson learnt.

Bad points.

   1: would have liked a better time.

   2: Disappointed, because i know that the time it was won in i was capable of doing.

   3: I didn't have confidence in myself to stay with Nick after 2km.

All round though, I cannot be disappointed, I had not training for a 10km track race, and was not aiming at a quick time.

Here's to Dublin now.

A relatively small entry is expected for Sundays race with runners missing for a number of reasons. One of the favourites, Richard Jamieson is, we have been told, going to America and will also miss Snowdon where he performed so well last year. Tony Okell is also a doubtful starter as he aggravated an old injury last week. Also missing through injury are Peter Cooper and Ian Ronan. If Tony is a non-starter then I would expect Ian Gale to be the man to beat as he is looking very sharp in squad training sessions. Simon Skillicorn is also improving all the time and will run well as will Ozzie Osbourne although he is also carrying a injury. A dark horse could well be Steve Partington if he runs. Although he has been out injured for a while we all know what he is capable of. Also watch out for Doc Young who has no doubt spent lots of time studying the route to get the best lines. If it is a misty day he could be a good outside bet.