Compiled by Murray Lambden

Contributions as credited otherwise written by Murray Lambden

If you would like to share anything you know about events or people in the sport in the Isle of Man then please email  [email protected]

 OLD NEWS

 Most of the old news and features from the past three years are available online if you search the various sites below that I've used to publish to. For example, enter "inter counties cross country" and select "manxathletics.info" and you will find many references to this event that have been made in the past.

Search WWW Search manxathletics.com Search manxathletics.info Search murrayandmarie.com Search woodheights.freeserve.co.uk Search uk.geocities.com

 STEVE TAYLOR PREVIEWS THE 10KM WALKING CHAMPIONSHIPS    (31-03-04)  

After a hugely successful trip to the National Championships for Manx athletes it is there chance to impress on home soil this weekend with the staging of the Manx 10km and younger age group race walking championships. Steve Partington toes the line looking to defend the title he won last year and without the threat of Peter Kaneen I can't see anyone else getting near him. Neil Bates is without doubt the best of the rest when on form and recent performances suggest that he could set a pb in the right conditions. It was good to see Kevin Walmsley back walking over the winter and if he decides to compete could pose a serious threat to Neil.

Weather forecast by Adrian Cowin:

Although there's still time for the details of features on my charts to change yet between now & the weekend, I'm afraid that at the moment the prospects are generally not good. There's likely to be periods of rain developing on Saturday, heavy at times, and then further rain is expected on Sunday especially in the morning. At least temperatures will be quite mild, but it wont feel mild in the wet with a fresh sometimes strong south to southwest blowing wind on us as well. I've even swapped a shift to have a go at the event too, so I hope my forecast is wrong this time! I'll be posting an update or 2, in the meantime good luck & see you there.

LAST CALL FOR MANX MOUNTAIN MARATHON ENTRIES (but not for helpers)   (30-03-04)  

Only a few days now till entries close for this years Manx Mountain Marathon and Half Marathon, writes Richie Stevenson. You have until Saturday 3rd April.

THE HARRIER TO BE PUBLISHED TOMORROW  (30-03-04)  

The Manx Harriers club newsletter, the Harrier, is to  to be posted tomorrow and has details of Easter entry and the Track League together with details of off Island leagues for seniors and juniors. The usual features are included ie. celebrity greetings, the Harrier interview, coaches corner and athletics Anorak. A junior harrier section is also included with a bit of a twist as it could be called a nostalgia section as well.

"All will be revealed , and a lot more(!!!!) in the March issue of the Harrier" says editor Andy Fox..

DOSSERS IN STRENGTH  (30-03-04)

Matt Lockyer reports that Doss AC will be bringing a massive 30 male runners and 10-15 females to this year's Easter festival.  Matt comments: "Our two best runners will be a young welsh runner called Jorge Thomas and old git, Greg Hull."  He asked me to pass on to whoever writes the preview of the festival that he won't be challenging for honours. Apparently last year it was reported that he would be when in fact he had been injured for the past 12 months.

News of other visiting teams (or indeed local teams) from any sources will be welcomed at www.manxathletics.com

CLOSING DATE FOR EASTER FESTIVAL WAS 28 MARCH   (29-03-04)

According to the entry form (pdf copy attached) entries closed yesterday.  I haven't heard if the entry deadline has been extended.

SUMMER RACES  (29-03-04)

The clocks have gone forward and this signals a change in the structure of Manx athletics.

The first of the Dave Phillips memorial races, the handicap runs organised by Western AC, will be held on Friday at Peel Camp site at 7 pm.  In response to many requests, I am seeking confirmation about the course but Phil Mackie, who was most helpful at the end of last season about this year's events, is unavailable at his usual email address this week.  Can anyone else respond please?

The second round of the Dave Phillips series will be held three weeks on Friday and on the last Friday of the month the similar series (Ramsey Commissioners Mooragh Park runs) starts in Ramsey.  Full details soon.

Two events that will be well promoted are the Peel to Douglas run and the Road Running Grand Prix for which publicity "king" Paul Jackson has already provided details of the latter and has promised the former in the near future.

Publicity, publicity, publicity please!

DOUGIE DOES MORE THAN JUDGING by Steve Partington    (27-03-04)

How come Dougie Corkill was the only Manx Harrier not to wear club colours in last week's Leamington Grand Prix?

Dougie travelled to Leamington to further his experience as a walking judge. Only on the boat did he find out that Allan Callow had entered him for the opening event of the day, a veteran's 3km.

Never one to shirk a challenge, Doug gave in to much pestering and agreed to do it. So it was that he toed the line 24 hours later, having stopped at Bourne Sports on the journey down the M6 to buy a new pair of Adidas Racewalker shoes and a vest and shorts.

GRAPEVINES NOT JUST FOR PETER KANEEN'S DRINKS by Chris Quine  (27-03-04)

I have heard through the grapevine that amongst those planning to run are last year's womens winner Karrie Hawitt of Warrington who finished just outside the top 20 in the Junior Womens' race in last weekends World Cross Country and Ben Jones, third place in the English Schools Senior Cross Country a couple of weeks ago.

ATHLETES GO FOR CURRYS   by Steve Partington    (25-03-04)

On Sunday lunchtime, desperate not to miss Keith's run on TV, Peter Kaneen, Bridget and I were suspiciously trying to change channels on the TV's in the Currys electrical superstore on the outskirts of Leamington. We got BBC, but they were showing horse-racing. Try as we might, we couldn't get EuroSport.

Eventually a big sales assistant wandered over and asked if he could help.

As honestly can sometimes still be the best policy, I explained that we wanted to watch Eurosport for about 25 mins, fully expecting to be escorted from the store.

The man couldn't have been more helpful if we'd had £3000 to spend on a plasma giant screen. Not only did he lead us over to the £3000 plasma giant screen and change it to Eurosport for us, but when we realised that it wasn't going to be shown live, he offered to video the race for us if we'd like to call back the next day to watch it!

MOUNTAIN MARATHON LATEST     by Richie Stevenson    (25-03-04)

Entries are still coming in rather slowly for Easters race although it certainly looks like it will be very interesting at the sharp end as there are already a number of runners who are in with a shout of victory. Last years winner Ian Gale heads the list along with the Clayton Le Moors duo of Paul Thompson and Lee Thompson and Swiss endurance expert Rolf Bruwhiler. Six times previous winner Andy Hauser will also be returning. He has admitted he is running fairly well this year which probably means the quiet unassuming Yorkshireman is absolutely flying and could well pull of another win. Another local who is expected to challenge is Tony Okell. He hasn`t as yet entered but the last time I spoke to him he definitely intended running. Entries close midday 3rd April.

FULL MANX GAS REPORT   by GRAHAM DAVIES     (25-03-04)

The Manx Gas Cross Country Challenge came to its conclusion last weekend on a brand new course marked out and designed by Andy Fox and his Manx Harriers team mates, the new course was well received very much a spectators delight as you could see athletes battle it out all the way round.

Entries on the day were poor but what we lost in quantity we more than made up for in quality.

The first race of the day delayed until 4.15pm due to the World Cross Country Championships in Belgium was the under 9 boys & girls race, Eric Kelly needed to win the race to claim the league title, Jake Nathan needed to win to take the runners up spot, Jack Garrett the current league leader just had to finish in the top three to be runner up. Well Kelly went off like a rocket and won the race and the league title with ease, but who was going to be the runner up Nathan or Garrett, well Nathan won the sprint finish to take second place but Garrett held on for third to be runner up in the league.

In the absence of league leader Sinead Kaneen in the girls race Alice Ashe had the chance to draw level on points if she won and that’s exactly what she did to share the league title with Kaneen, second on the day was Alexandra Ross with Abbie Lund third.

Emily Ashe could not improve on her league position in the under 11 girls, but her comfortable win over Fay Latham second and Danielle Ross third would no doubt give her extra confidence for the Summer Track League.

With the league championship already in the bag you would have thought Phillip Knox in the under 11 boys race would take it easy, but no he wanted to go through the season unbeaten, and he did with a comfortable 27 second victory over Dean Kinley who by finishing second also took runner-up spot in the league, third on the day was Jack Callaghan.

Tom Bateson the newly crowned Isle of Man under 13 boys cross country champion was looking forward to taking on League Champion Jordan Cain but Cain failed to turn up, leaving Bateson to have a comfortable win over Michael Callister, the girls race was the closest of the day, Rachel Franklin winning by just one second from Sophie Knox, It must be noted that Franklin has shown steady improvement over the winter and this was her first win.

No upsets in the under 15 boys section Andrew Newton proudly wearing his Lancashire county vest won with ease, Lee Butterworth showed further improvement by finishing second with Ben Brand using the race as a training run third. Julia Furner took a few wrong turns on her way to winning the girls race. Abigail Harrison won the Ladies race from Michelle Kewley with Wendy Ross third.

It was nice to see Track specialist Steve Bennett returning to form after a long lay off he comfortably won the short course event from Ray Cox with 18-year-old birthday boy Andrew Cowley third.

The final race of the afternoon was well worth waiting for it was a classic, four of the Islands top Cross Country runners going head to head, Darren Gray was in the lead for most of the first lap, then IOM champion Andy Cannell took up the running with Andy Fox up to second and Paul Sheard third, Cannell then lost the lead to Sheard who started to really push the pace, Gray had now lost contact with the group and Fox was just hanging on, Cannell then started to lose contact with Sheard, this suddenly spurred on Fox who moved past Cannell into second, Sheard now really piled on the pressure with a lap to go and started to pull away from Fox; in the end Sheard took the victory with just over 20 seconds to spare over Veteran athlete Fox. Fox’s run was clearly the outstanding run of the day, third came Cannell, and fourth Gray who in his own words summed up his race “as a real stinker”.

Dave Newton won the over 50’s class from Les Brown and Murray Lambden the 45’s his son Robbie won the Junior Mens race.

A big thank you to all those Club officials who helped make the Manx Gas Challenge such a huge success this season.

Details on the prize presentation and full league results will appear next week.

RACE WINNER GIVEN OFFICIAL WARNING

Paul Sheard was given an official warning by the race referee at the end of the race for the illegal misuse of his number; this could have resulted in his disqualification from the race. The referee decided that Sheards disqualification would have no bearing on the final League standings, bearing in mind that Andy Fox who had been given permission to run without his number, due to his official duties on the day was second it would not be in the best interest of the sport.

QUALIFIED PRAISE   (24-03-04)

There is qualified praise (and a picture) for Keith's great run in the world championships in this week's Athletics Weekly.

"It was not a great race for the British squad, with Keith Gerrard the only athlete to make the top 50.  The Isle of Man teenager has run consistently well this winter and was only 22 seconds behind European junior cross country champion Anotoliy Rybakov but otherwise there was little to get excited about."

MIDDLE DISTANCE COACHING CONTINUES  

Latest news from Chris Quine   (24-03-04)

The next session for the Isle of Man Middle Distance squad will take place on Thursday 15th April at the NSC track starting at 6 pm. The squad have been fortunate to secure the services of leading UK coach Jeremy Harries for this session. Jeremy is currently coach to Commonwealth Games medallist Helen Clitheroe (nee Patterson) and has previously coached, amongst many others, Commonwealth Games medallist and National Cross Country Champion John Nuttall.

10KM CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE NOT JUST FOR CHAMPIONS    (24-03-04)

Manx Harriers are holding the 10km walking championships on April 4th ( sunday) starting at 10 am reports Bridget Kaneen.

Refreshments and presentation after the event.

HAVE A DRINK ON KEITH     (24-03-04)

Anyone who fancies helping Keith Gerrard celebrate his 18th birthday in Peel on Saturday should contact Chris Quine on 670521 or e-mail [email protected]. "Remember that Keith is a tee-totaller so anyone attending will need to have an extra drink for Keith along the way" says Chris!!

LEAMINGTON GRAND PRIX WALK REPORT   (23-03-04)

There is a detailed report with split times etc at the UKA website.  Follow this link.

Thanks to Paul Jackson for this and many other publicity contributions that will appear on this site over the days and weeks ahead.

Norwich Union GB at World Cross Country       (23-03-04)

From the UKA website (thanks to Paul Jackson)

The Norwich Union Great Britain and Northern Ireland Team was 12th in the Junior Men’s race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Brussels on Sunday 21 March.

African nations swept the medals: 1 Kenya 20; 2 Ethiopia 25; 3 Uganda 33. And Norwich Union GB was second European team, behind only the European Champions, Russia, who were eighth with 179 points.

Keith Gerrard, who was born in Douglas, Isle of Man, lives in Peel and competes for Manx Harriers, led the team home, finishing 50^th in 26:52 – 2:51 behind the winner, Meba Tadessa (Ethiopia), who out-sprinted the favourite, Boniface Kiprop (Uganda), but only 22 seconds and 12 places behind the European Junior 5000m Champion Anatoliy Rybakov (Russia), who won the second of his two European Cross Country Championships Silver medals in Edinburgh in December.

Gerrard, who has raced frequently on the Continent this winter in search of experience, said: “This was like nothing else! It was so physical at the start; everyone was pushing and shoving so much you simply had to run with your elbows out. I just steadied myself and found a pace that I felt comfortable at. I saw Gary Davenport after a little while and stayed behind him for two laps, then kept working the whole way. I’m still young enough for this race next year – and I’ve love to earn another crack at it.”Chris Lamb, an undergraduate at St Mary’s University Twickenham who was born in Gateshead and competes for Chester-le-Street AC, finished 78^th in 27:39 and said: “It was very, very fast. I expected it to be fast at the start but I think I just ‘died’ after the first lap. I tried to hang on as much as I could. Andy took over me on the third lap. If I had not gone off too fast at the beginning, I think I would have come through better. But it was very good experience.”

Team Leader Bob Ashwood summed up: “Keith had an excellent run and Andy Vernon ran a very sensible race. Gary Davenport hung in well after a good start. Chris Lamb’s run was gutsy and unfortunately Anthony and Jonathan just didn’t have a good day. The standard is just so high at the front of the race. Some of those athletes will run under 13 minutes for 5000m this year. All the GB athletes will learn from the experience.”

After the first of the four laps, Davenport was 43^rd, 29 seconds behind the leaders. Gerrard was 46^th, Lamb 59^th, Thewlis 86^th, Vernon 90^th and Moran 96^th of the 117 competitors. Such was the packing, Moran was only 11 seconds behind Davenport.

By halfway, Gerrard was the leading Norwich Union GB runner, 47^th, 1:10 behind the leaders. Davenport was 58^th, Lamb 68^th, Vernon 73^rd, Moran 94^th and Thewlis 106^th. 49 seconds covered the six GB athletes.

At the bell, with 2km to go, Gerrard was 45^th, 1:59 behind the leading pair. Davenport was 61^st, Vernon 62^nd, Lamb 73^rd, Moran 108^th and Thewlis 110^th. The time spread between the six was now 1:42.

(ALMOST) DIRECT FROM BELGIUM      (21-03-04)

Andy Fox phoned just before 10 tonight.  He had just heard from Keith Gerrard who had returned from the athletes party.

Keith was still delighted with his performance and had calculated that he was 15th among the athletes born in 1986 (1985 being the oldest eligible).  Whilst this doesn't automatically mean he will finish higher next year, and some of the men born in 1987 may be amongst the leaders next year, it does show how well he did and how there is scope to do even better next year.

He was able to start from the front row of the race and although Gary Davenport, the British athlete who beat him in the Inter Counties, was ahead for the first few hundred metres, he was aware that he was the leading Brit thereafter (although the split times suggest that some of the others weren't too far behind until the final lap).

Despite the horrific pace, he felt comfortable most of the way and realised that he was inside the top 50, a position he just held onto at the finish.  He wasn't quite the top runner from the British Isles - the two Irish runners were among those that got past in the last lap.

Incidentally Mike Garrett suggests that Keith's coach Andy Fox had the run of the day in the Manx Gas league today - inspired by Keith?

Keith has done tremendously well. A year ago someone suggested that a previous run by Keith was the best performance in Manx athletes history. I didn't enter that debate at the time - all I can say is that if it was it has been surpassed several times since!

Keith has the talent, he has a great support group including his family, his coach and a wider group of advisors, and he has a wonderful profile thanks to the way the Manx media has been so positively used.  Most importantly Keith is also a sportsman and a sensible one at that.  

The Isle of Man is proud of Keith and I'm sure he will receive much acclaim and acknowledgment by his friends and supporters in many different ways.  In a small community, where we do more right than wrong (despite the "Manx crab" syndrome), its great to hear from an 80 year old man I hardly knew in an old person's hospital ward: "That Gerrard chap did well today".  

Don't we all know it.

WESTERN AC SIGNING ON   (20-03-04)

Details of where to sign on for the Western AC Track & Field league have been published on the Western AC website.  Click here to find out the details.

NEW FORMAT FOR DAVE PHILLIPS  HANDICAPS    (20-03-04)

Western AC's summer handicap road race series starts in just 10 days time.

Hopefully final details will be published either here or on the Western AC website in the very near future but while we wait for confirmation, here are the dates for your diary:

2 April

23 April

14 May

15 June

23 July

3 August

3 September

For anyone new to the sport, the basic idea is that you chose to run either 2 or 4 miles and after the first race, the events are handicapped so the slower runners start first with the faster runners have to play catch up. In an ideal world, the winner of the series would be someone new or who improves a lot throughout the year as they would deservedly be beating the handicapper each time.

Needless to say, if you can't take part, you will be welcomed as a marshal or recorder etc on the day.

EXTREME WINDS    (20-03-04)

Although I've not been able to run for a week after picking up my third virus since Christmas, I was out of feeding station duty for the rest of my training group this afternoon.  If ever there was a session to miss it was this one.  Neville Jewell, Paul Curphey and Mike Garrett reported that they could hardly move against the wind at times so I'm sure lots of you were suffering in the same way around the island.

Thank goodness the Snaefell race was not scheduled for this week.

Going back to our group, it was a delight to see Mike complete the 22 mile course after weeks of injury. Since Christmas we've had today's session scheduled as the last long hard one, two weeks after the 20 mile race and four weeks before the marathon.  Although Mike has missed a stack of training we're keeping our fingers crossed that he will be prepared to make a solid marathon debut with a bit of sharpening over the last few weeks.

For Neville too it was a confident boost.  He chose to set off 20 minutes ahead of Mike and Paul as a form of handicap so you can imagine the surprise he got when I told him that half way around the course he was 21 minutes ahead!  Tough guys these Ironmen - what's a bit of wind!

NO SOUR GRAPES    (19-03-04)

Grapes and red wine are a theme to the feature on Peter Kaneen, the 2003 Clerical Medical Parish Walk winner, when he is the latest Manx person to be asked for their list of favourites in the Manx Independent this week. He also generously mentions this site as his favourite website, the second person to do so in the weekly feature.

Peter is part of quite a large Manx Harriers team who are traveling to the Leamington Grand Prix walks today and, as I've failed to wish them well personally before they left, I hope that if they read this on their return they will all have performed well.

MORE STRUCTURE REQUIRED     (19-03-04)

I met Isle of Man Athletic Association secretary Graham Davies last night when I called into the NSC to take some pictures of the Veteran's Spring Handicap races.  He was very enthusiastic about the latest recent meeting to progress the development plan and reported a theme from the club in their calls for a better structure to the fixture list.

I really hope that the clubs have the guts to do something about this and the answer lies in their hands.  No matter how much you juggle with the dates, if there are too many fixtures to fit in you will not have a decent structure.

10KM (or 10,000 metres)    (19-03-04)

I've never been quite sure why the general trend is to refer to a 10km race on the roads but call it a 10,000 metres on the track but never mind!

The 6.21 mile distance is probably the world's favourite race distance but in recent years has been little raced in the Isle of Man.  Following this year's successful 10km road run in February, I've passed on my thoughts to Manx Harriers, the organising club, on how I think this race could be one of the main athletic events of the year if it were given a fixed date, a big promotion and a sponsor signed up for a number of years. Let us hope that this will be a feature of any radical overall of the fixture list. The potential to recruit new runners to the sport, as has happened throughout the world, is huge at this distance.

And last year I orchestrated a campaign to reinstate the 10,000 metres track race into the Manx championships. The entry for this was more modest but, with the right structuring, publicity and build up, this could be a very meaningful race in 2004, particularly with selection for the 2005 Island Games in mind.

One can only assume that the race will be part of the Isle of Man track and field championships listed by the IOMAA as 8 and 9 August (but surely 7 and 8 August), although some would say that this event would be better on a separate date to allow more chance for certain athletes to double up.

More news as it arrives.  Have your say on the forum.

 CROSS COUNTRY RUNNERS CAN HELP ON THEIR WARM UP      (17-03-04)

Help is needed from 2.30 on Sunday to flag the course for the Manx Gas cross country league. Turn up on the day or phone Andy Fox on 626415 for more details.

Helpers are also required to marshal and record etc - if you can help in this area, then please phone Andy or email [email protected]

FELL RUNNERS TO RACE IN NORTHERN IRELAND    (17-03-04)

The team to compete in Knockdhu in Northern Ireland has been selected writes Richie Stevenson. Taking on teams from England, Eire, N Ireland, Scotland and Wales will be Ian Gale, Phil Mackie, Mark Preston and Mike Quine. We will also be represented in the ladies international by Cal Partington.

YOUNG ATHLETES ARE WELL SUPPORTED     (17-03-04)

Neil Bates - Sports Aid Foundation grant

Robert Moore - Sports Aid Foundation grant

Martin Aram - BA Travel Scholarship

Keith Gerrard - Tarleton Hodgson Scholorship

FELL RUNNERS CHANGE TIMES     (16-03-04)

The starting time for the fell runners training session has been changed to 1.30pm on Saturday 20th March. The venue is the old pitch and putt golf course at Nobles Park.

 Denis Vale - a gentleman     (16-03-04)

VALE. Suddenly, but peacefully, on Saturday, March 13, 2004, at his home, "Ballacallin House" Dalby, Denis Alfred, aged 77 years, a much loved and devoted husband of Margaret, dearly loved father of Wendy and Gordon, farther in law of Nicholas and Valeria, much loved grandpa to Daniel and Hazel, very sadly missed. Funeral arrangements later. Family flowers only please. Donations in lieu, if so desired, to Glen Maye Chapel. c/o Mrs P. Costain "Derica", Patrick, IM5 3AH. Enquiries please to David Lancaster, Funeral Director Ltd., Derby Drive, Peel. Tel 842945.

Thanks to Johanne Smyth

Rob Lambie adds:

 He walked for Surrey Walking Club and for the Post Office also.

CASTLE TO CASTLE WALK     (15-03-04)

The annual Castle to Castle non-competitive walk will take place on Easter Monday 12th April starting at 7.30am from Fenella Beach car park in Peel. The walk finishes at Castle Rushen in Castletown a distance of 26.5 miles. This walk is ideal preparation for anybody entering the Parish Walk as it follows public footpaths for most of the way. Entries will be taken on the line but the organisers would appreciate as many as possible entering early to ease the organisational pressure at the start. Details from Doug Drown 823065 or on web site manxmountainmarathon.co.uk

HERE'S ONE I DID EARLIER    (15-03-04)

At 7.45 today (Monday morning) Manx Radio reported the results of the Bank of Scotland International race walks "held this morning".  It must have been an early start for some...or more likely the reporter not wanting to make an early start, recording the broadcast yesterday and forgetting to make the references to "today" into "yesterday".

TWO YEARS TO THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES    (15-03-04)

Neil Bates advises that the Commonwealth Games will be opening in Melbourne two years from today. There is so much to look forward to for the elite members of our sport, their families, coaches and friends.  

Who do you think will make the team? Are we allowed to make predictions for fear of putting pressure on the athletes?

Can we find qualifying standards at the click of a mouse?  I'm unsure what they are and please don't say "same as last time".

FELL RUNNING NEWS  by Richie Stevenson   (14-03-04)

Fell runners training continues every Tuesday evening at Glencrutchery Road. Be ready for a 6.30pm start. There will be an extra session for all squad members on Saturday 20th March at a venue to be announced soon. This session is open to everyone including juniors and will commence at 1.00pm. More details later.

THE RETURN OF NOTHING TO DO WITH ATHLETICS

(thanks to Marie Lambden)   

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on.

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon".

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft,  we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull over to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a manoeuvre such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning light.

7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

10.You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.

Please share this with your friends who love – but sometimes hate - their computer

IRON WOMAN    (12-03-04)

Breaking three hours for a marathon is a target for many club standard runners and way out of reach for many. So imagine a woman running under three hours after she has already completed a 2.5 mile swim and a 112 mile cycle ride.  That is what Jee Draskau-Petersson did in the recent Bonita Ironman in New Zealand.

Source: Manx Independent

RICHARD JAMIESON    (12-03-04)

The Manx Independent also provides further information about the extremely nasty accident suffered by Richard Jamieson. "He crashed heavily after hitting a back-filled trench on the Bayr-na-Harra Road near Regaby on Saturday. He landed face-first on the tarmac and was taken straight to Nobles's hospital by ambulance where he was treated for a broken nose, broken jaw and broken cheek bone. He also lost a couple of teeth and suffered a substantial head wound."

MORE THAN EVER IN MANX INDEPENDENT   (12-03-04)

I forgot to mention that last week Steve Partington calculated that a record breaking 12.5% of the entire newspaper was devoted to athletics.  I'm unsure whether he included Chit-Chat in his calculations.

This week sees the coverage continue with Keith Gerrard on the back page plus coverage of the 20 miles and race walking news.

STUDENT INDOOR SUCCESS      (09-03-04

In addition to Chris Stobart's 60 metre record last weekend, subject to official confirmation and ratification, there may have been four other indoor manx bests:

Glynn Hoosen-Owen in the shot

Hollie Bass in the Triple Jump and High Jump

Phil Riley in the Triple Jump

FIRST FIXTURE UPDATE   (11-03-04

Neil Bates has advised that the walking fixture listed for 3 April should  be 4 April and so I have updated the fixture list for the first time.  For the sake of others who may wish to take part in the events, please let me know if you spot any other errors in the official fixture list or on this site generally.  

THOUGHTS WITH RICHARD    (10-03-04

I've received confirmation from Tony Okell of some bad news I first heard on Saturday, ie that Richard Jamieson has been badly hurt after an accident on his bike.

He has suffered serious head injuries and is currently in Ward 1 at Nobles Hospital.

Although he has raced much less during the past few months, for a while Richard was one of the leading fell runners and he had age on his side.

If anyone is in a position to provide up to date information I should be grateful but in the meantime please spare a thought for Richard.

BUT ON THE MEND     (10-03-04

John Cannell, one of the "greats" of Manx distance walking, collapsed at his post office work recently and spent a night at Nobles Hospital.

John is reported to be recovering well and to have made some changes to his lifestyle.

By no means least among John's achievements are six Parish Walk wins in 1976, 1981, 1982, 1983 1993 and 1994 . In 1982 he cracked the sixteen hour barrier (15:59:33) but it was the period between his double and his treble that his career peaked, particularly with his success in the 100 mile walk championships.

Again, I'm sure all readers of this page will join me in wishing John a speedy recovery.

WESTERN AC AGM   (10-03-04

According to recent press reports this is to be held tonight at the Peel Legion Club, Doulgas Street, Peel at 8 pm.  Everyone is welcome to attend but only paid up members over 17 years of age are eligible to vote.

NIGHT OUT IN RAMSEY (from Douglas)    (10-03-04

FIXTURES   (09-03-04
 

The following list of fixtures is directly from the IOMAA fixture list.  Please let me know if there are any changes.  If any organisers wish to publicise their events online, please let me have their publicity a long time in advance although last minute reminders can also be accommodated.

March

14th BOSI Winter Walks League MH NSC 10:00 AM Bridget - 852884

14th Ramsey Bakery Cross Country & Presentation NAC Crossags, Ramsey 2:00 PM Steve - 812172

18th Veterans Spring Handicap IOMVAC NSC

21st MANX GAS CROSS CHALLENGE RD6 & P/P MH Douglas 2:00 PM Graham - 836865

27th Sean Craig & Sons Snaefell Race MMMO Snaefell Ritchie - 629267

April

2nd Dave Philips Memorial Road Race WAC Peel,Campsite 7:00 PM

4th 10km and age group walking champs MH NSC 10:00 AM Bridget - 852884

7th Northern AC signing on/A.G.M NAC Ramsey 6:30 PM Steve - 812172

7th Manx Harriers track signing on night. MH Clubhouse, NSC 6:30 PM

8th Western AC signing on night WAC Peel, QE2 6:30 PM

9th Easter Athletic Festival Road Race MH TT Grandstand 7:00 PM

10th Manx Mountain Marathon MMMO Ramsey 7:30 AM Ritchie - 629267

10th Easter Athletic Festival Hill Race MH Peel 2:15 PM

11th Easter Athletic Festival Relay MH NSC, Douglas 10:00 AM

12th Castle to Castle walk IOMVAC Peel Castle

18th LONDON MARATHON UKA LONDON

23rd Dave Philips Memorial Road Race WAC Peel Campsite 7:00 PM

30th Ramsey Commissioners Park runs NAC Moorage Park, Ramsey 7:00 PM Steve - 812172

MANX HARRIERS COACHING SUCCESSES   by Andy Fox     (09-03-04

 Both Merrik and Rob were very pleased with the weekend and how it went. Merrik had 8 seesions in the weekend and about 15 athletes attending different ones in total. Rob ran 4 sessions and we now have 11 athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 who are profficient in Pole Vault.

Apparently Chris Whitlow was having some good attempts at 3 metres on only one session of training!!!! Over the winter Merrik has run in the region of 25 sessions on 3 weekends with around 20 athletes benefitting from them. This will hopefully help our throwers greatly. For example he is quite sure that the men's hammer record will go this summer!!!! One spin off was we met a guy called Rodolph Kerwin Currie he is of Cuban origin.

He has moved to the island recently and was formerly an 80m javelin thrower. We are hoping to involve him in some coaching soon and maybe competition as well.

THE INTER COUNTIES CROSS COUNTRY

Chris Quine accompanied the Manx runners to the Inter Counties on Saturday and reported that  it was quite a hectic day!!

As mentioned on the front page, as well as Keith Gerrard's starring role, it was a great credit to the Isle of Man that we had two other runners representing Lancashire:

Chris Shimmin - under 17s - 94th

Andrew Newton - under 15s - 104th

Both ran cautious races and moved through the field - Andrew gaining about 200 places in 15 minutes of running!

Chris reported that both have seen that a small margin can mean a large number of placings. If Andrew had been 30 seconds faster he would have finished in the top 45!

Chris hopes to have more info on the weekend tomorrow.

 RECORD BREAKING CHRIS STOBART by Gianni Epifani

After all the excellent performances by local athletes, I feel that Chris Stobart deserves a special mention following his recent performance at the BUSA Championships. In his semi final Chris won in a time of 6.89 secs, breaking his own manx record which previously stood at 7.00 secs, a massive improvement ! After a poor start in the final, Chris just missed out on a bronze medal, in a very high class field. At a rough guess Chris time of 6.89 secs equates to about 10.55 secs for a 100 metres and without putting too much pressure on Chris, a time well within his capabilities this summer.

Chris has suffered more than most over the last couple of years with injuries and bad luck but through shear hard work Chris is back running PB's, and hopefully can look forward to fine summer over 100 and 200 meters.

IS YOUR FITNESS RELATED TO THE NUMBER OF COLDS YOU GET?

Many years ago, when I was allegedly at my peak, one of my work colleagues described me as "the most unfit fit person who he had ever known".  He was making reference to the number of times I'd spend the work day coughing and spluttering through colds when I should have been a picture of health.

My impression of several of my favourite athletes and friends on the island is that they always seem to either have or be recovering from colds. By contrast I've managed the odd winter without any at all.

This winter I'm into my third cold already and second since Christmas - does that make me a real athlete again?

20 MILES ON SUNDAY

I've just had to retype this sentence as when I started it I had not heard the entry for the 20 miles but as I was typing, I received news from Mike Gellion that there are at least 34 entries - a record.

I entered on the first day that the forms were available as it has been one of my two secondary targets (along with the Lancs Cross Country) towards my London Marathon ambitions since January 2003.  As I sniffle away at the moment however, I'm not a certain starter.

One of my training partners, Mike Garrett, who has done a stack of long runs this winter in preparation for his marathon and 20 miles debut, has had to pull out due to injury although he has just resumed training again. We're keeping our fingers crossed that he will still be fit to run a decent time in London.  He has run over four minutes faster than his official half marathon time in training this winter.

Because I'm trying to get an early night tonight, I won't be able to post the full list of entries that Mike Gellion has promised for later tonight until the morning. Surely something worth logging on for on Friday.

PHIL RILEY REPORTS FROM THE BRITISH UNIVERSITY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Chris Stobart ran really well in the 60m and just missed a medal in the final. He comfortably won his heat, and also won his semi with a storming run that was timed at 6.91 seconds. His final run was pretty quick too but from my vantage point in the stands he seemed to be pipped on the line for the bronze, although he may even have run faster than the semi. The final was won by one of the rising stars of GB athletics, Tim Lambie, in a time of 6.75 seconds. I spoke to Chris after his semi, and he said it was amazing how much better shape he's in now than in Guernsey last year.

I finished 9th in the Triple Jump with a new pb (indoor or outdoor) of 13.29m. Considering the lack of training i've done since the start of the year owing to my dissertation, i was really surprised but very happy with this. The jump was enough to put me 9th in the final, and followed an new indoor pb of 13.03m in order to qualify. Long Jump was a bit of a nightmare as my legs were stiff following the Triple Jump the day before, jumped around six metres but didn't make the final.

Hollie Bass competed in the 400m, Triple Jump and eventually the High Jump as well. She jumped 1.60m in the High Jump for 8th place. Again, I don't have her exact 400m or Triple Jump results.

Glynn competed in the shot put on the Sunday, the only distance i saw him throw was a pretty impressive 11.75m but he may well have thrown further than that.

Disaster struck for Hannah Riley though. Her car broke down on the way to Cardiff, and she was not able to make it to the event.

The official results should be available soon at www.busaresults.org.uk

VETS NUMBERS SWELL AGAIN   

Thanks as usual to Peter Cooper for letting me have a copy of the Isle of Man Veteran Athletes' Club February newsletter even though I am not a member of the club.

Their numbers have gone up yet again following the recruitment of Lesley Christan, David Quine, Adrian Cowin, Paul Cubbon, Ray Shooter and Lynne Quine.

If you are over 40 (male) or 35 (female) you will be made most welcome should you wish to join the club. Membership secretary is Peter Cooper - contact at [email protected]

Subs are just £8 per year for first claim members; £7 for second claim and £3 for social membership.

Don't forget their website. There is permanent link at the top of the homepage and the news page or you can click here.

Middle Distance training on Thursday nights - by Chris Quine

Here are details of the Middle Distance training sessions at the NSC.

Meet at 6 pm, finish at about 7.30 pm.

Open to all from under 15 upwards. No charge other than normal NSC track fees.

During the winter there have been around 20 different athletes joining in the sessions

There are around 8-10 athletes at each session and sessions are usually modified to suit individual requirements.

Anyone with any questions contact Chris Quine on 670521 or e-mail [email protected]

PETER IS THE MAN - says Steve Taylor   (02-03-04) 

The forum asks the question who was the athlete of the weekend and the only responses so far relate to the walks but I dare say that in the  10km and Bradda Fell race there were some remarkable performances that didn't necessarily happen at the front of the field.

For me I feel only qualified to comment on the walks and Peter Kaneens 50km effort certainly jumps out and hits you. I have questioned Peters pace judgment in the past but on this occasion he started at a more reasonable pace and finished with a pb by exactly 4 minutes. I am sure that he will thank Steve Partington for his early company, Steve himself looked comfortable until his planned retirement at approximately 35km. I feel confident that between the two of them a serious challenge can be mounted to beat Murray Lambdens 22 year old M>anx record of 4.20.51. Simon Cox walked his fastest 50km for a number of years but I am not sure if it is an outright pb. I do think that Alan Kinvig is worthy of a mention for sticking it out in the 50km. I am told that he had been suffering with the 'flu' recently and only decided to compete the night before. It must have been very difficult for him to see his competitors finish and then have the runners whiz past him and still have to continue on for another 40 minutes on his own. A big thank you for the officials for agreeing to wait for him despite there being a 6 hour time limit.

In the 20km Daniel King dipped below the senior qualifying time for this years World Cup and I wouldn't be surprised if he was joined by his twin brother Dominic is being selected. David Kidd, walked a technically sound race to smash his pb and looks sure to become the latest Irish walker to break the magical 90 minute barrier. Local athletes in this race were thin on the ground but it was good to see Neil Bates break the 100 minute barrier for the first time, and for me walking better than I have ever seen him do.

Not officially listed in the results but arguably the finest technician on display on Saturday was Catriona McMahon of Ireland. She opted out of the 10km and instead started the 20km looking for better competition. She walked with Estlé Viljoen initially before showing her a clean pair of heels and finished at 10km with a time of 51.21 just outside her pb in what she tells me was her first race since August last year!

The juniors never seem to fail us in providing exciting racing and fast times. Emma Latham and Callum Taylor produced a fantastic race that went right to the wire with Callum taking victory by a yard in the end. Their fast and furious finish certainly taught me a valuable lesson in my position of chief judge on the day. Both were rewarded by setting age group bests. Lauren Whelan also set an age group best but I believe she was below par and certainly didn't make the most of the opportunity to shine in front of the people who help select the England team for the forthcoming Nihill Shield match against Ireland next month. Kirsty and Sinead both set pbs whilst it was good to see Chloe Astley and Sarah Leece having a go, Chloe certainly paid the price for a fast start but both looking technically competent and I hope that they continue to train and compete with what a believe to be a great bunch of juniors. 

4 Manx age group records set plus a further 6 personal bests for definite.Simon, John and Alan may well have set age group records in the 50km but I do not know their dates of birth.

And a big well done to Adrian Cowin who competed over 10km for the first time on Saturday. He has competed over 5km in the winter leagues starting off with 37.00 and reducing his time with every race down to 33.38 two weeks ago on the Access Road. Although he has been the slowest in most of the winter leagues he his a good bet to take the 5km league title due to his continuous improvement throughout the winter. He has trained hard since that first winter league race back in October and he was justifiably over the moon with his time of 69.44 on Saturday.