Although I always open my copy of Athletics Weekly on the day it arrives, I rarely have time to read very much at the time. But I never throw them out until I have been through them all making the odd note or scanning pages.
I've fallen well behind and this weekend (partly to try and tidy the house up a bit) I read over a year's worth in one go. What is interesting when you do such a thing is reading about all the hopes and aspirations of the top athletes at the start of the year and then seeing what they actually achieved. The Olympic team would have a lot more medals if the quotes had turned into reality.
Although Keith Gerrard was performing well last winter, it was quite noticeable that he was beaten my a few athletes that he has beaten in the early stages of this winter.
I've collected a little bit of fodder to use on the website in the coming days and months and the recycling bin is overflowing once again. But I didn't find time to make a front page story last night. Neither did I make any visible progress with the Parish Walk site although my brain has been occupied with lots of thoughts.
I've been subscribing to Athletics Weekly for around 29 years and I used to save all the copies until a couple of years ago.
Monday 24 November 2008
Friday 21 November 2008
One of the more active weeks on the site
After saying last week that the http://www.manxathletics.com/ site was taking a lower ranking in my time priorities I managed to raise it this week at the expense of my sleep.
There has been a fresh front page every day this week and in case you have missed them here are the links.
Sunday and Monday saw two separate features on the Isle of Man Bank Junior Fell Running Championships and Senior Hill Running League Round 2 which are now combined at: http://www.manxathletics.com/HillLeagueRD208.htm
Tuesday was the Keith Gerrard feature - http://www.manxathletics.com/Keith08.htm
Wednesday saw the relaunch of the Mann & Partners Millennium Way Relay - http://www.manxathletics.com/MWR08.htm
Thursday was the John Cannell feature - http://www.manxathletics.com/JC08.htm
and today was the launch of the Development plan which is still on the front page at this stage.
Last Saturday I had breakfast in Newcastle, morning coffee in Dublin and lunch in Douglas. I didn't stay long in Douglas however and I was itching to go and see the running at Peel. I missed the senior race and with so many photographers around I didn't bother to use my still camera but focused (pun intended) on some video of the youngsters. There was a great turnout although also missed the first junior race so not everyone was included on the film.
The video is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr8sFHRry_Q
The Gateshead Cross Country used to be one of the few athletics events on TV and it was fabulous to see Keith Gerrard's great result there. It was strange to think that I had been within a few hundred yards of the venue the previous evening when travelling on the Metro.
I bumped into John Cannell on Sunday morning in Brunswick Road where I live so that was where I got his story from although I had to do a fair bit of research to dig out facts and photos.
Great news that the Millennium Way Relay has been saved although I have argued in the past (having been one of the organisers for several years) that the strain placed upon the organisers (particularly with the handicapping of teams which is far more complex than handicapping an individual event over one course) is unreasonable and the event should be moved from Boxing Day. It will interesting to see what happens after this year. But full marks to everyone involved - and there are too many to name here.
Having tried and failed many years ago to restructure the sport in the Isle of Man I am delighted to see the launch of the Development Plan which I have had sneak previews of from Andy Fox. He and his team have been working so hard behind the scenes. Nobody likes change but most people don't realise that it is happening all the time - athletes retire, roads get busier, athletes drop out. The sport has to change at least as fast as the environment in which it operates.
I've been to a couple of great concerts this week at the Villa Marina although they were so different in style and content. The total lack of seats was a bit too much for the audience profile at the Dylan Project but the concert was fine. To be able to chat to the band (and even get a chance to go and drink with them in their hotel) was so different to watching Queen and Paul Rogers at the MEN Arena in Manchester the previous week. As for Robin Gibb, take out his repetitive "the Isle of Man in the Greatest Country in the World" (my addition "that is why I lived elsewhere most of my life") and the show was really enjoyable. Is it only in the Isle of Man that people insist on chatting through the music or does someone always plant the idiots behind me?
You've heard this before but I need to spend less time on this website. Apart from anything else I have another one to work hard in the next 9 and half days and I haven't started yet. I have a meeting with the Parish Walk race director Raymond Cox on Monday evening.
There has been a fresh front page every day this week and in case you have missed them here are the links.
Sunday and Monday saw two separate features on the Isle of Man Bank Junior Fell Running Championships and Senior Hill Running League Round 2 which are now combined at: http://www.manxathletics.com/HillLeagueRD208.htm
Tuesday was the Keith Gerrard feature - http://www.manxathletics.com/Keith08.htm
Wednesday saw the relaunch of the Mann & Partners Millennium Way Relay - http://www.manxathletics.com/MWR08.htm
Thursday was the John Cannell feature - http://www.manxathletics.com/JC08.htm
and today was the launch of the Development plan which is still on the front page at this stage.
Last Saturday I had breakfast in Newcastle, morning coffee in Dublin and lunch in Douglas. I didn't stay long in Douglas however and I was itching to go and see the running at Peel. I missed the senior race and with so many photographers around I didn't bother to use my still camera but focused (pun intended) on some video of the youngsters. There was a great turnout although also missed the first junior race so not everyone was included on the film.
The video is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr8sFHRry_Q
The Gateshead Cross Country used to be one of the few athletics events on TV and it was fabulous to see Keith Gerrard's great result there. It was strange to think that I had been within a few hundred yards of the venue the previous evening when travelling on the Metro.
I bumped into John Cannell on Sunday morning in Brunswick Road where I live so that was where I got his story from although I had to do a fair bit of research to dig out facts and photos.
Great news that the Millennium Way Relay has been saved although I have argued in the past (having been one of the organisers for several years) that the strain placed upon the organisers (particularly with the handicapping of teams which is far more complex than handicapping an individual event over one course) is unreasonable and the event should be moved from Boxing Day. It will interesting to see what happens after this year. But full marks to everyone involved - and there are too many to name here.
Having tried and failed many years ago to restructure the sport in the Isle of Man I am delighted to see the launch of the Development Plan which I have had sneak previews of from Andy Fox. He and his team have been working so hard behind the scenes. Nobody likes change but most people don't realise that it is happening all the time - athletes retire, roads get busier, athletes drop out. The sport has to change at least as fast as the environment in which it operates.
I've been to a couple of great concerts this week at the Villa Marina although they were so different in style and content. The total lack of seats was a bit too much for the audience profile at the Dylan Project but the concert was fine. To be able to chat to the band (and even get a chance to go and drink with them in their hotel) was so different to watching Queen and Paul Rogers at the MEN Arena in Manchester the previous week. As for Robin Gibb, take out his repetitive "the Isle of Man in the Greatest Country in the World" (my addition "that is why I lived elsewhere most of my life") and the show was really enjoyable. Is it only in the Isle of Man that people insist on chatting through the music or does someone always plant the idiots behind me?
You've heard this before but I need to spend less time on this website. Apart from anything else I have another one to work hard in the next 9 and half days and I haven't started yet. I have a meeting with the Parish Walk race director Raymond Cox on Monday evening.
Friday 14 November 2008
More travel
I've had less time and, perhaps if the truth be told, less enthusiasm for the website during the past couple of weeks.
I had a great night in Manchester to see Queen and Paul Rogers and stayed in a great hotel. A Manx couple I only met the day before were sitting behind us in the MEN Arena!
I started doing some housekeeping on my computer last weekend and overran on that. I run so many different programs on my PC and the various updates always create shortcuts and folders in places I don't mean them to. With the best will in the world, during the periods when I rush to get photos on soon after the event I end up with videos, photos and other files in places I don't mean them to be. Good organisation is important if I am going to produce the website so the time was well spent - although I didn't think so at one point when the PC crashed and had to go back to restore point that was well short of where it should have been.
I was looking forward to the cross country on Sunday although I found it hard work when I have done so few miles recently. The fact that I ran meant that I couldn't take photos so the website coverage was less detailed than sometimes.
My employers have had a board meeting this week so work has been busy and we had a dinner on Tuesday night that prevented me attending the Manx Harriers AGM.
The most important event for me, however, has been Robbie's attendance at a special college in Sunderland during the past couple of days. Marie took him away on Wednesday and came back yesterday and this took priority for me over Island Games fundraising. Its a massive step for him to even travel for the assessment and I am off to the airport shortly to fly to Newcastle. I collect Robbie this afternoon before flying back to the Isle of Man via Dublin tomorrow morning.
So its another airport hotel tonight and my fifth trip in seven weeks. I would swap them all for one proper holiday!
I had thought about running in the Hill Race tomorrow but it was always going to be a tight schedule. But this week has also seen me with a few asthma problems as well so I am going to try and get fit before racing too much.
So I hope to take some photos tomorrow afternoon but at the very least I will be using other people's to feature the Isle of Man Bank Hill Running and Junior Fell Running Championships.
Although the website has been a lower priority in the past week I have continued to tweak it every day and I still take pride in ensuring that the links are usually current. Please bear in mind that I won't be in a position to update the site tomorrow morning with "Hill Race Today" as I am more likely to be receiving insults from Ryanair crew as I take Robbie from Newcastle to Dublin at that time.
Finally, although I try to make it easy by reviewing the other Manx sites and linking to their updates, don't forget to use the navigation bar on the left to check out all the other excellent Manx sites.
I had a great night in Manchester to see Queen and Paul Rogers and stayed in a great hotel. A Manx couple I only met the day before were sitting behind us in the MEN Arena!
I started doing some housekeeping on my computer last weekend and overran on that. I run so many different programs on my PC and the various updates always create shortcuts and folders in places I don't mean them to. With the best will in the world, during the periods when I rush to get photos on soon after the event I end up with videos, photos and other files in places I don't mean them to be. Good organisation is important if I am going to produce the website so the time was well spent - although I didn't think so at one point when the PC crashed and had to go back to restore point that was well short of where it should have been.
I was looking forward to the cross country on Sunday although I found it hard work when I have done so few miles recently. The fact that I ran meant that I couldn't take photos so the website coverage was less detailed than sometimes.
My employers have had a board meeting this week so work has been busy and we had a dinner on Tuesday night that prevented me attending the Manx Harriers AGM.
The most important event for me, however, has been Robbie's attendance at a special college in Sunderland during the past couple of days. Marie took him away on Wednesday and came back yesterday and this took priority for me over Island Games fundraising. Its a massive step for him to even travel for the assessment and I am off to the airport shortly to fly to Newcastle. I collect Robbie this afternoon before flying back to the Isle of Man via Dublin tomorrow morning.
So its another airport hotel tonight and my fifth trip in seven weeks. I would swap them all for one proper holiday!
I had thought about running in the Hill Race tomorrow but it was always going to be a tight schedule. But this week has also seen me with a few asthma problems as well so I am going to try and get fit before racing too much.
So I hope to take some photos tomorrow afternoon but at the very least I will be using other people's to feature the Isle of Man Bank Hill Running and Junior Fell Running Championships.
Although the website has been a lower priority in the past week I have continued to tweak it every day and I still take pride in ensuring that the links are usually current. Please bear in mind that I won't be in a position to update the site tomorrow morning with "Hill Race Today" as I am more likely to be receiving insults from Ryanair crew as I take Robbie from Newcastle to Dublin at that time.
Finally, although I try to make it easy by reviewing the other Manx sites and linking to their updates, don't forget to use the navigation bar on the left to check out all the other excellent Manx sites.
Wednesday 12 November 2008
Links reinstated
I discovered earlier this week that some of the links to old features were incorrect.
There were a block of seven which had been transferred from the front page which no longer worked.
These have now been fixed and you can find virtualy everything that has appeared on the frevious front pages at http://www.manxathletics.com/Features.htm
There were a block of seven which had been transferred from the front page which no longer worked.
These have now been fixed and you can find virtualy everything that has appeared on the frevious front pages at http://www.manxathletics.com/Features.htm
Wednesday 5 November 2008
Dublin, Manchester & Sunderland
I have a week off work this week and I'm trying to avoid using all the extra time on websites and only failing slightly.
The early morning of Monday was spent more or less rounding off coverage of the Syd Quirk Half Marathon before setting off for a day trip to Dublin. It was Robbie's 23rd birthday and it was the first time for nearly three years that he had been on a plane. He was really keen to visit Dublin Zoo and what a great day we had. I'm ashamed to say that despite the Isle of Man's proximity to Ireland, the five hours or so that we spent on Irish soil, together with a similar number of hours in Dublin on a Steam Packet day trip in my youth, and an even shorter visit to Belfast a year or so earlier, is the sum of the time I have spent there. I hope to rectify that in the years ahead.
Yesterday morning I spent an hour or so tidying the website up and although I had a very pleasant day I didn't get many of my tasks I had set for the day completed. After watching Chelsea retain their lead at the top of the Champions League last night and, for some reason not wanting to watch any of the post match analysis, I set about hurriedly designing a brand new website at around 10 pm last night. It is my brother Mike's 60h birthday today and, at the last minute I decided to make a website with some old family pictures. The result of my two hour website is at www.lambden.info you might recognise the template.
I've just added a feature about Lloyd Taggart to the www.manxathletics.com website and tried to use it to promote the Isle of Man Bank Fell Running Championships next Saturday. It will remain as the main feature for at least the next 36 hours as in a couple of hours I am off to Manchester with Marie to see Queen & Paul Rogers at the MEN Arena tonight. Its only the third night this year that Marie and I have been able to spend off the Island together and the first time that we have ever left Robbie in charge at home. For a change I am not taking my laptop with me.
Sunderland is at the end of next week.
The early morning of Monday was spent more or less rounding off coverage of the Syd Quirk Half Marathon before setting off for a day trip to Dublin. It was Robbie's 23rd birthday and it was the first time for nearly three years that he had been on a plane. He was really keen to visit Dublin Zoo and what a great day we had. I'm ashamed to say that despite the Isle of Man's proximity to Ireland, the five hours or so that we spent on Irish soil, together with a similar number of hours in Dublin on a Steam Packet day trip in my youth, and an even shorter visit to Belfast a year or so earlier, is the sum of the time I have spent there. I hope to rectify that in the years ahead.
Yesterday morning I spent an hour or so tidying the website up and although I had a very pleasant day I didn't get many of my tasks I had set for the day completed. After watching Chelsea retain their lead at the top of the Champions League last night and, for some reason not wanting to watch any of the post match analysis, I set about hurriedly designing a brand new website at around 10 pm last night. It is my brother Mike's 60h birthday today and, at the last minute I decided to make a website with some old family pictures. The result of my two hour website is at www.lambden.info you might recognise the template.
I've just added a feature about Lloyd Taggart to the www.manxathletics.com website and tried to use it to promote the Isle of Man Bank Fell Running Championships next Saturday. It will remain as the main feature for at least the next 36 hours as in a couple of hours I am off to Manchester with Marie to see Queen & Paul Rogers at the MEN Arena tonight. Its only the third night this year that Marie and I have been able to spend off the Island together and the first time that we have ever left Robbie in charge at home. For a change I am not taking my laptop with me.
Sunderland is at the end of next week.
Sunday 2 November 2008
Video editing cost me a great sporting moment
I've been editing the video this afternoon in between other interest and committments. I thought that Lewis Hamilton was on his way to victory when, with 15 laps to go, I resumed by video work not expecting the high drama at the end of the race. All these years of following Formula 1 and I miss one of the great moments!
Saturday 1 November 2008
Why I intend to provide more coverage of the Syd Quirk Half Marathon than I ever will again!
After a 15 year break, I ran in the 1996 Syd Quirk and have run in 12 of the last 13 including the last 9. I entered this year's event last Thursday evening but by Friday morning I realised that it would be foolish to undo the rehabilitation work I've done in the last few weeks under the direction of Mark Hempsall. I've only run 38 miles in total during the last 9 weeks - and that includes 3 today! And for those of you know my secrets, it was my own decision this time!
So I am hoping that the ability and opportunity I have to provide extra coverage of the event this year will be a one off. I hope that I will be back in the race for the next few years!
I'm planning to take video and still film of the start of the walk and to publish it by 10 am using the offices of my employer, Buchanan Holdings Limited, at Portland House in Ballasalla near to the railway station.
I'll then repeat the exercise for the run and get extra photos of the leaders on the second lap before heading to the finish.
For the past few years I have done the results and its a big advantage for me this year (for this purpose) not to be taking part and its also great to know that we don't have to spend time inputting all the late entries (thanks Marie).
Adrian Cowin, the webeditor of the IOMVAC site, is on the night shift tonight and has delegated his photo duties to his family, Jan and Adam, so look out for their coverage tomorrow too. I'll provide the links.
Stan Hall is also going to be taking his normal selection of photos and I plan to leave it these guys again next year.
I'm well known for my desire to appear on the Grumpy Old Man programme and I have been practising again tonight. I popped down to Shoprite this evening and could not believe that they are selling Christmas trees and decorations. Can someone remind the retail industry that it is 1 November and that Christmas is supposed to be a 12 day celebration? I'm not a Christian but I do know that the faith is based around Jesus saving our souls not our retail industry.
So I am hoping that the ability and opportunity I have to provide extra coverage of the event this year will be a one off. I hope that I will be back in the race for the next few years!
I'm planning to take video and still film of the start of the walk and to publish it by 10 am using the offices of my employer, Buchanan Holdings Limited, at Portland House in Ballasalla near to the railway station.
I'll then repeat the exercise for the run and get extra photos of the leaders on the second lap before heading to the finish.
For the past few years I have done the results and its a big advantage for me this year (for this purpose) not to be taking part and its also great to know that we don't have to spend time inputting all the late entries (thanks Marie).
Adrian Cowin, the webeditor of the IOMVAC site, is on the night shift tonight and has delegated his photo duties to his family, Jan and Adam, so look out for their coverage tomorrow too. I'll provide the links.
Stan Hall is also going to be taking his normal selection of photos and I plan to leave it these guys again next year.
I'm well known for my desire to appear on the Grumpy Old Man programme and I have been practising again tonight. I popped down to Shoprite this evening and could not believe that they are selling Christmas trees and decorations. Can someone remind the retail industry that it is 1 November and that Christmas is supposed to be a 12 day celebration? I'm not a Christian but I do know that the faith is based around Jesus saving our souls not our retail industry.
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