Business name

There has been loads of interest over the past couple of weeks from people looking to book holidays in the Isle of Man and we have had our fair share of bookings.

What has only recently come to my attention, and arguably I should have known given my professional qualification, is that we have been using a name through our website that requires registration under the Registration of Business Names Acts 1918 and 1954.

So a cheque for £42 is in the post to register murrayandmarie.com

I've also completed the booking of our own summer holiday today. As a proprietor of a self catering business that has been provided internet access for its guests for 10 years or so, I can't believe that in many parts of the country there are properties charging more than £700 per week that don't provide it. Needless to say, we won't be staying at them!

60 minutes for 60 years

A week ago I put myself under a lot of pressure to produce a special website for brother Martin when I had hardly any time at all. 

Just had another look at it and ran a spell check this time! Here is an extra photo of the 1988 Parish Walk winner who beat Steve Kelly in the School Cross Country race - but was out-sprinted at the top of Somerset Road by 1974 Commonwealth Games sprinter Steve Higgins. 

Here is the website:

http://www.lambden.im/

Easter Festival was the story of the week

Just doing some further tidying of the front page, finishing off what I started yesterday.  I thought I would save my comments about the "big names" from the 1973 event by pasting them below.

The Easter Festival of Running really has been the story of the week. New sponsorship was announced at the start and the history of the event has been brought back to the publicon the website (as usual these things don't happen overnight).

During the past five or six years, the organisers have gone some way towards bringing back the University teams who used to form the backbone of the event. But strangely, very few locals have been running in a series that brings competition to their doorsteps. 

The return of the local runners. That will be the story of the year. Now here is that story of yesteryear.  

Charlie Spedding went on to win the London Marathon and take the bronze medal in the 1984 Olympics; Julian Goater won the 1981 National Cross Country in one of the biggest wins of all time and was 4th in the World Championship Cross Country; Steve Kenyon was the last British runner to win the Great North Run (1985: 1:2:44) and contested nine world cross country championships. If it was good enough for them......enter today!

Its started to snow

Just been out running around Tromode Park and there are a few flakes in the air.

Not sure if it will be as bad as in this photo I published on the Parish Walk Facebook wall last night. Its the snow on the Parish Walk Course near to the Devil's Elbow about two miles Peel side of Kirk Michael. It was taken by my mother - in the late 80s I think.

Remembering Easter

The Celton Manx Easter Festival of Running is now featured.

If you have not visited the easterfestival.info website recently its worth doing so - plenty of old and new material there.

I was delighted to find the old results from the 70s as nobody would believe me that the relay used to be in Saturday afternoon and the hill race on Sunday morning - and I was right.

I reckon that plenty of athletes would have stayed at the Mannin Hotel at Easter over the years. Here is where it used to be (see photo above).

That was better

I took my camera with me to Glen Lough to take some photos of the junior events in the Microgaming Island Cross Country Championships but when I saw Paul Sheard with his camera I decided to give that part a miss - although all morning it had been the running part that I wanted to give a miss!

I then went to set up a video camera at one of the river crossing only to repeatedly receive an error message from the camera. Oh well, at least it has saved me a hour or two of video editing tonight. I don't suppose it had anything to do with dropping a camera at St Johns on New Years Day. If it is, although I have more than one video camera I shall still be cross with myself.

I remember seeing a flash from Paul's camera on one of the climbs when I wasn't running too badly. In fact I was ahead of Lloyd Taggart as per the photo above. What a shame it was his fifth lap and only my fourth! I've been lapped on the fifth lap before but never on the fourth before. Today Kevin Loundes, Lloyd and Alan Corlett all lapped me on that lap.

It was still a much improved race for me even if I was a bit hasty to pass Andy Fox just before the end of the third lap. Chatting to Andy afterwards I had a couple of laughs. At one point he heard footsteps coming fast behind him and thought I had revived - but it was Kevin coming up to lap the former champ. Later someone told him that he was in 4th position unaware that he had been lapped!

Full marks to Western AC today. It was incredibly muddy but they did a great job with the course. The extra lap around the top field and the shortening of the main lap to remove the cambered section was well received. Unfortunately it does remain a bit riskier than other courses and Mike Garrett and Jason Moore were both injured after falling today.

Another massive field (not the muddy one but the size of the entry). Well done to all organisers and to the many athletes who ran well. I'm glad I ran now; but also glad that I only have one more shoe cleaning session left this winter!

PS Thanks for all the shouts today. As usual I had my eyes closed so couldn't see who they were from!

I wasn't going to do this tonight

I've been with Marie tonight but I have sneaked my laptop into the front room now. It was with good intentions, to order another DVD in a series we have been watching, but I am now linked across out network and have just updated the Parish Walk entry list and blog.

I've had my fill of holiday cottages today. Last night we were searching for one for our own holiday and today I have been cleaning the one we own. Driving out to Port Soderick today I don't think I had ever seen so many runners, joggers and walkers on the road.

I'm not running  in the morning but plan to be up in good time to publish something that has implications for athletics and my family. Hopefully it will provide a chuckle or too. I bought yet another domain name today to prepare.