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]
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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.
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STEVE
TAYLOR PREVIEWS THE
10KM WALKING CHAMPIONSHIPS
(31-03-04)
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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.
Sean
Hands has come very close to breaking 55 minutes on several occasions this
winter and this could be the chance do finally do it, whilst 16 year old Robert
Moore will be looking for a strong walk if he has finally recovered from an
illness that has dogged him throughout the winter.
I
can't see anyone getting the better of Marie Latham in the women's event but an
interesting starter in the race is her daughter Emma making her debut at the
distance. Should Marie make any mistakes on the day then she could find herself
in a very exciting battle with her offspring. Jane Kennaugh is walking again but
unlikely to race so the final place on the podium could go to any one of three.
Jan Hodgson, Karen Locking and the fast improving Jane Leece look set for a
battle royal on Sunday and they could push each other to new heights. They
should watch out for Dot Watterson however as she has improved significantly
over the winter and could well surprise them all.
There
is unlikely to be any upsets in the junior races and Manx titles should go to
RWA champions Callum Taylor (under 15) and Lauren Whelan (under 13). However it
will be an exciting race behind Lauren with Fay Latham likely to
challenge Bronwen Kaneen for the silver medal. 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.
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LAST CALL FOR MANX MOUNTAIN
MARATHON ENTRIES (but not for helpers) (30-03-04)
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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.
I still need a few helpers if there is anyone
available. Most places are covered but if possible I need a couple of people to
help out at St Johns. It will be a bit busy there this year with the Half
Marathon starting at 12.30pm and I would like to cover the road crossings to get
everyone safely through.
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THE HARRIER TO BE PUBLISHED
TOMORROW (30-03-04)
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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..
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DOSSERS IN STRENGTH (30-03-04)
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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
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CLOSING DATE FOR EASTER FESTIVAL
WAS 28 MARCH (29-03-04)
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According to the entry form (pdf
copy attached) entries closed yesterday. I
haven't heard if the entry deadline has been extended.
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SUMMER RACES (29-03-04)
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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!
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DOUGIE DOES MORE THAN JUDGING
by
Steve Partington (27-03-04)
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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.
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GRAPEVINES NOT JUST FOR PETER
KANEEN'S DRINKS by
Chris Quine (27-03-04)
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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.
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ATHLETES GO FOR CURRYS by
Steve Partington (25-03-04)
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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!
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MOUNTAIN MARATHON LATEST by
Richie Stevenson (25-03-04)
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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.
Helpers are still required for Easter
Saturday. Please contact Richie Stevenson 629267 [email protected]
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FULL MANX GAS REPORT by
GRAHAM DAVIES (25-03-04)
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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 thats
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. Foxs 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 50s class from Les Brown and Murray Lambden the 45s 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.
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QUALIFIED PRAISE (24-03-04)
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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."
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MIDDLE DISTANCE COACHING CONTINUES
Latest news from Chris Quine
(24-03-04)
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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.
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10KM CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE NOT
JUST FOR CHAMPIONS (24-03-04)
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Manx Harriers are holding the 10km
walking championships on April 4th ( sunday) starting at 10 am
reports Bridget Kaneen.
Within this are younger walkers championships will also be held. There will also be races for all the younger age groups with the distances depending on the age of entrants.
So possibly 1k, 2k, 3k, 5k and the senior 10k.
Signing on at the clubhouse from 9.30am
I would like to stress that although it is the Manx champs, that
all walkers will be made most welcome and even those who
are currently training for the Parish might find an hour of speedwork very beneficial in their quest for fitness before
the big day.
Refreshments and presentation after the event.
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HAVE A DRINK ON KEITH (24-03-04)
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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!!
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LEAMINGTON GRAND PRIX WALK
REPORT (23-03-04)
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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.
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Norwich Union GB at World Cross
Country (23-03-04)
From the UKA website (thanks
to Paul Jackson)
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The Norwich Union Great Britain and Northern Ireland Team was 12th in the
Junior Mens 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 50th 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. Im still young enough for this race next
year and Ive love to earn another crack at it.Chris Lamb, an
undergraduate at St Marys University Twickenham who was born in Gateshead and
competes for Chester-le-Street AC, finished 78th 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 Lambs run was gutsy and unfortunately
Anthony and Jonathan just didnt 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 43rd, 29
seconds behind the leaders. Gerrard was 46th, Lamb
59th, Thewlis 86th, Vernon 90th
and Moran 96th 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,
47th, 1:10 behind the leaders. Davenport was 58th,
Lamb 68th, Vernon 73rd, Moran
94th and Thewlis 106th. 49 seconds covered the six
GB athletes.
At the bell, with 2km to go, Gerrard was 45th, 1:59 behind
the leading pair. Davenport was 61st, Vernon
62nd, Lamb 73rd, Moran 108th and
Thewlis 110th. The time spread between the six was now
1:42.
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(ALMOST) DIRECT FROM BELGIUM
(21-03-04)
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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.
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WESTERN AC SIGNING ON (20-03-04)
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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:
A gentleman was Denis and I think he broke the 6
hours on the TT course probably mid 60's. He was a more than useful walker in his
day.
He walked for Surrey Walking Club
and for the Post Office also.
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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
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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".
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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.
Entries for Easters Manx Mountain Marathon are
coming in at a rather slow but steady rate. One particularly pleasing aspect is
the overseas interest this year. Already runners form Nepal, Netherlands,
Switzerland and Czek Republic have been received. Entry forms are now available
from MMM web site or from Tony Rowley 674968.
|
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
|
Chris Quine and Andy Fox are organising an athletes
night to Ramsey this Saturday. The plan is to leave Douglas around 6 pm, have a
bite to eat, meet up with some of the athletes based in the North for a few
drinks before returning to Douglas at 11 pm.
Spaces are very limited and will be allocated on a
first come, first served basis. Cost for the taxi
will be around £6-£7 each.
Anyone wanting to go should contact Chris on 670521
or e-mail [email protected]. |
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.
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