Neither London nor Boston but internet solecisms.
Wednesday 3 May 2006
Our continuing mission: to boldly drivel where no running publication has drivelled before.
Sunday Morning, I'm Waiting for the Man.
Ah, autumn seems to suit us so much better. Not only does Mick run an impressive 2:34 to win his age category in the Berlin Marathon, but we won most categories of the Gwent League, with Barry Johnston winning the over 50 category, and with it selection to the Great Britain and Ireland Veterans Cross-Country Championships in Falkirk. Other definites are Mick McGeoch, Richie Bullen, and Dave Powell. Nigel Webb has been named as a reserve. They'll be joined by Mick Tabor and Kevin Wilkinson of San Domenico. The women's team are Annie Conroy, Wendy Edwards, Edwina Turner and Sue Neal. Ken Bray and Liz Clarke were managers.
Clare Johnson got a late call up, and she didn't even know that she had been chosen as a reserve. Wales came second in the Women 45 and 55 races with Edwina Turner running in the younger category and Annie coming in first of the four - a storming run - in the 55 age group and winning the Kay Davies award. (Kay Davies was a X-C Welsh veteran who died a couple of months ago.) The final results.
That's the title of a Jeffrey Archer novel, for those of you who don't read books. And for those of you who do read books -- that's the title of a Jeffrey Archer novel. (Sorry. Attack of the Angus Deaytons there.) Clare Jonson had a (mild) go at me for not including the vets' results in more detail. The reasons are these:
Phil Cook came a creditable 12th in the Puma Stroud Half Marathon (for which he won a Puma watch), and Simon Nurse and Andy Cleves finished near the top of Class B of the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon. None of us can understand the results, but we believe they did well. Although Andy can of course navigate (for those who don't know, he can fly a plane; and no, he's not a terrorist), neither of them have much of a background in orienteering. So their performance looks all the better with the knowledge that it was done the hard way -- by brute strength rather than canny reasoning.
The major shock of the adventure caused Andy to have a radical haircut, losing his trademark ponytail in favour of a very military style short back and sides. I found this especially poignant, as our barnets seem to have crossed paths. My hair is now too long for Andy to think I look like Clint Eastwood,-- I've moved 'on' to James Hunt, apparently. Just so long as that's not rhyming slang, Andy.
Sadly, it was only Mick McGeoch.
Identity crises (above) notwithstanding, I know I'm not David Bailey. The many good photos on this site -- were not taken by me. There's one of John Huggins, that I think Dick Brewer must have taken. And the one of me and Barry on the same page was Eunice Johnston's work.
I'm also very aware that there aren't enough pictures of our women, or of older members like Derek Williams. However, Rob Evans, who does have some ability behind the lens and who is responsible for the shot of Mick and Richie on the about page and this one of Dave Powell which occasionally appears on the conents page, has promised to trawl through his archives.
And one day I'll write more on the members section. John Cox received an anonymous letter of complaint, which short of have a fatwa declared against us, or being publicly censured by Alastair Campbell, is just about the highest accolade imaginable.
As Mick so succinctly put it one evening, "the best club deserves the best website". And it's not just me who thinks so. The Red Stag Awards chose to describe us thusly: "This is a wonderful profile of your team and a solid resource for members. We like the depth of content and clean layout, and particularly enjoyed reading about the individual races and events. It was a delight to evaluate your site and we hope to see even more in the future...thank you for inviting us!"
Seems it's fashionable to knock runners. Again.
6,000 Runners Fail to Discover Cure For Breast Cancer.
Latest Research: Marathon Runners May Be Putting Hearts at Risk.
Last updated 3 May 2006
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