MWR first leg stats

Having updated the database of times for the first leg, I thought that Kevin Loundes' fourth fastest time ever on the course was worthy of further analysis.

Chris Quine writes on his blog that, given the detoriation of the tracks over the years, Kevin's time is possibly on a par with Keith Callister's record. Having run most years since 1979 and posting the third best time on the course, Chris is well qualified to comment and I wouldn't necessary disagree.

But because the exercise is so subjective (what about the fastest times on the years runners had to content with snow and headwinds?), I thought I would throw together some more facts to fuel the debate.

The average times on the first leg each year since 1999 (the leg was not run in 2001 and 2004) were as follows:

1999 01:08:14
2000 01:11:28
2002 01:08:29
2003 01:15:47
2005 01:10:01
2006 01:16:07
2007 01:11:51
2008 01:10:21

With relatively small fields each year, the average times can easily be weighted by a few slower runners or even by someone getting lost.

So I looked at another consideration, the average of the fastest six each year. Again, this doesn't prove anything by itself as there were undoubtedly some years when the conditions were conducive to fast times (or perhaps the quality of the entrant was higher).

Anyway, here are the averages of the fastest six:

1999 00:57:57
2000 00:56:16
2002 01:02:26
2003 01:08:00
2005 00:58:36
2006 00:59:00
2007 01:00:26
2008 00:59:59

There are so many interpretations we can put on these stats but here are the most telling ones (as far as 1999 to 2008 are concerned).

I've compared the fastest time to the average of the top 6 and Kevin is just so far ahead of the average compared to the others despite a good time by Tom Cringle.

He is only 87% of the average for top 6:

1999 00:53:59 93.16%
2000 00:54:33 96.95%
2002 00:58:23 93.51%
2003 01:04:41 95.12%
2005 00:54:14 92.55%
2006 00:54:14 91.92%
2007 00:58:44 97.19%
2008 00:52:06 86.86%

But finally, if you look at the fastest time each year as a percentage of the average time, Kevin also has the best statistic (this is a correction from the original poost) . His time was only 74% of the average with the next best being Andy Fox with 75% in 2006.

1999 00:53:59 79.12%
2000 00:54:33 76.33%
2002 00:58:23 85.25%
2003 01:04:41 85.35%
2005 00:54:14 77.46%
2006 00:57:32 75.59%
2007 00:58:44 81.74%
2008 00:52:06 74.06%


There is enough to keep you warm in your anoraks over New Year - and that is without carrying out the same analysis over every single year.

Sports Personality Awards

I took some film of the Isle of Man Bank Sports Awards in March of this year. The video was only taken using my compact camera (as an afterthought). I usually like to get these things done straightaway when they are topical but there was something that my video editing software din't like about the file type generated from this camera. I've finally found a workaround using Windows MovieMaker to do the editing. The sound is very poor but the content, hopefully, is still of interest. I've just read that there is a special programme about Mark Cavendish on Eurosport at 8 pm tonight.

End to End Walk emails

I still have a number of email which I did not reply to in connection with the above. As virtually everyone reading this will recall, there was a controversy about the judging and I was bombarded with emails from people who did not think that the subject should be discussed in public to those that thought that only one side of the argument should be permitted.

I try very hard to resond to all the emails I receive but it is also difficult to give a one line response and I just don't have the time to enter into a dialogue on every topic.

I apologise, therefore, to the people who wrote to me on this subject that I have now decided that I am not going to try and reply.

Manx Wiki

One of the best new local sites is http://www.manxwiki.com/ although even here there are people who suggest that the information would be better integrated into Wikipedia.

Someone has already written a good piece on the Parish Walk at http://www.manxwiki.com/ There are a few small errors. I registered on the site with the intention of correcting them but have not done so yet.

I wonder if there are any manxathetics.com readers who would like to contribute to this site with some features on Manx events and Manx athletes.

The story about the launch of the site is contained here: http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/Manxwiki-to-offer-comprehensive-online.4716252.jp

Search Mann

Another Manx site I was asked to link to (some time ago but I've only just looked into it) was http://www.searchmann.com/

Its another good idea which seems to have died a death. The market is saturated.

Fixtures update

Bridget Kaneen circulated a revised 2009 fixture list on 16/12/08 which I have now updated on the site. The link is exactly the same as before:

http://www.manxathletics.com/Forms/09fixtures.pdf

The Manx Harriers club 5k walk has been adsed and there were corrections to the
dates for the March 10k walk champs and final winter league.

The only fixture that Bridget is aware of being missing now is the IOM track & field
champs. The track is likely to be closed from early July so the IOMAA are hoping to
find the most favourable date before that. Bridget says that any suggestions will be welcome!

50 mile walking

There was some discussion around the time of the Sara Killey memorial walk about various 50 mile events and Rob Elliott sent these old cuttings 0n 09/04/08 (double clip to see full size image). He had just received Australian Centurions Newsletter from Tim Erickson. He had enquired if an old GB time had been bettered for 50 miles walk. It had way back in 1974 by Ray Middleton, with Derek Harrison in it as well.

Richard Wild completed Dublin Marathon

After I had published a feature on the Dublin Marathon I learnt that Richard Wild (pictured above in the winter walking league) had also completed the course (I was in the middle of the Syd Quirk Half Marathon coverage by then).

Richard ran 4:14:21 despite recovering from a with a stomach virus which he picked up in India a fortnight earlier.

Lose weight after Christmas

This one goes back 14/01/08 - from my wife! Unfortunately I can't get the nice graphics to work which as why I never used it at the time:

Importance of Walking

Walking can add minutes to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $5000 per month.

My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. Now she's 97 years old and we don't know where the hell she is.

The only reason I would take up exercising is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.

I joined a health club last year, spent about 400 bucks. Haven't lost a pound. Apparently you have to go there.

I have to exercise early in the morning before my brain figures out what I'm doing.

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.

I have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.

The advantage of exercising every day is that you die healthier.

If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.

And last but not least, You could run this over to your friends but why not just e-mail it to them!

Lugano Cup Walks photos from 1985

I think I have linked these before but I still had Rob Elliott's email in my "to do" folder so maybe I didn't. He sent me the link on 16/11/07 to his photos when the World Team Championships were held in the Isle of Man in 1985.

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=isle%20of%20man&w=54713031%40N00

I'm sure that there are a few people who can comment on the content better than me.

Spot Alan Callow, Ian Hodgkinson, Phil Bannan, John Watterson in 1960

This link came from Graham Young on 25/11/08:

http://www.manxscouts.com/1960.html

Athetics International Offer

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e-mail: mel@gardencourt.fsnet.co.uk

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Manx Olympians

Dr Mark Robson at mrobson@earthlink.net wrote on 17/08/08 to ask the following question:


I am curious to find out about Isle of Man athletes who have been part of the GB team. I know that Mark Cavendish is on this year's cycling team in Beijing, but do you know of any Isle of Man athletes who were part of the GB Olympic team in 2004 or earlier?




Although I am interested in such questions they are best asked on the forum as I am afraid that I don't have the time to answer all such questions - or I put them aside hoping that I will!

Caption needed

This photo came from Dave Kneen on 12/09/08. I didn't publish it at the time - I was keeping it for a "rainy day" to ask for caption suggestions but I never found the time.

Now is your chance!

Dave's photos from the Great South Run are at:



http://www.davekneenphotos.com/Great-South-Run-Photographs-12th-September-2008/index.html

Alan Franklin wrote the following on 18/09/08 (I think that I have published all three but I'm not sure so I will include them all.

Have just had donated to the library two issues of IOM Sportsmag dated November and December 1967, do you know off hand if these were the only two issues, we don’t seem to have any copies in the museum collection.

With the E2E coming up I liked the race walking features so have attached copies, very young Robbie Lambie!

TIP: just double click on the photo/file to see in a larger format.

Trophy engraving

Malcolm Newton wrote on 06/07/08 to tell me the following:


Just a bit of publicity for the Manx Workshop for the Disabled . I have just had my Parish Walk trophy engraved there and they have made a very good job - I got my name and year added for £8 - photo attached. They can add on an extra line including position and time for a total price of £12.

Contact the Manager, Graham, on 620149 during working hours. Its just around the corner from Dave Newton's shop off Ballakermeen Drive in the old hospital.

Running Fitness Magazine

Here is the final missing link from the selection of news that Sue has sent me over the past few months but whhich I have failed to use (09/05/08).

It features the Easter Athletics Festival.

Running slows your aging

Here is another story from Sue from the BBC site (12/08/08):


Running 'can slow ageing process' Runners avoided premature deathRunning on a regular basis can slow the effects of ageing, a study by US researchers shows. Elderly joggers were half as likely to die prematurely from conditions like cancer than non-runners. They also enjoyed a healthier life with fewer disabilities, the Stanford University Medical Center team found. Experts said the findings in Archives of Internal Medicine reinforced the importance that older people exercise regularly. Survival of the fittest The work tracked 500 older runners for more than 20 years, comparing them to a similar group of non-runners. All were in their 50s at the start of the study. Nineteen years into the study, 34% of the non-runners had died compared to only 15% of the runners. Both groups became more disabled with age, but for the runners the onset of disability started later - an average of 16 years later. The health gap between the runners and non-runners continued to widen even as the subjects entered their ninth decade of life. If you had to pick one thing to make people healthier as they age, it would be aerobic exercise
Lead author Professor James FriesRunning not only appeared to slow the rate of heart and artery related deaths, but was also associated with fewer early deaths from cancer, neurological disease, infections and other causes. And there was no evidence that runners were more likely to suffer osteoarthritis or need total knee replacements than non-runners - something scientists have feared. At the beginning of the study, the runners ran for about four hours a week on average. After 21 years, their weekly running time had reduced to around 76 minutes, but they were still seeing health benefits from taking regular exercise. Lead author Professor James Fries, from the University of California at Stanford, said: "The study has a very pro-exercise message. If you had to pick one thing to make people healthier as they age, it would be aerobic exercise. "The health benefits of exercise are greater than we thought." Age Concern says many older people do not exercise enough. Figures show more than 90% of people in the UK over 75 fail to meet international guidelines of half-an-hour moderate intensity exercise at least five times a week. Gordon Lishman, director general, said: "This research re-confirms the clear benefits of regular exercise for older people. "Exercise can help older people to stay mobile and independent, ensure a healthy heart, keep weight and stress levels under control, and promote better sleep. "While younger people are barraged with encouragement to lead healthier lifestyles, the health needs of older people are often overlooked."

Stilletto Heels

Here is a story that Sue Ackroyd passed onto me on 2/9/08 which I'm afraid has been sitting in my mailbox:

The world record for the number of high-heeled sprinters in a race has been smashed by a group of women in Australia.

Two hundred and sixty-five women took part in the 80m dash in Sydney wearing three-inch heels.

Professional hurdler Brittney McGlone easily outran her competitors, taking home $5,000 Australian dollars (£2,500) and a pair of gold stilettos.

Baildon Boundary Way

I sometimes receive emails from race organisers. So in an attempt to clear some of my backlog of emails, here is an extract of one I received on 18/11/08.

Baildon Runners wish to announce that the 15th Baildon Boundary Way - a multi-terrain half marathon - will take place on 5 April 2009. Runners from your club have taken part in the event in the past and we would be very grateful if you would kindly publicise our event within your club. We are attaching an entry form in ‘WORD’ format. An entry form in ‘PDF’ format and more information about the event, in particular details of the route and the results from the previous 14 events, can be obtained from our website www.baildonrunners.tk.

Some videos may be removed

I don't know if many of you have read this story but one of the big music publishing companies have withdrawn their permission for their music to be used on YouTube.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKTRE4BJ1EY20081221?feedType=nl&feedName=uktechnology

The good news for some people who criticise my taste in music is that I might not get away with using Eagles music anymore as they are among the Warner artists.

Just as well that Marie and I booked to see the Eagles again in Manchester on 10 July. It will be the fifth time that I have seen them - the fourth with Marie during each of their last "world tours" in 2001, 2006, 2008 and 2009. Its funny as they get older how they can work harder to fund their retirement funds. I first saw them in Stafford in 1977 when my hair was as long as theirs.

Lots of things going on in the background to make the website better in 2009. I'm astounded by the growth in use of the site this year. The bad part is that it encourages my addiction. Some stats tomorrow.

Parish Walk blogs

I've just been catching up on the three Parish Walk blogs - and what a good collection of bloggers there are this year too.

If you have not been reading them, go to this page on the PW website for the links. They are well worth it.

There has been some good interaction this year with plenty of feedback.

It would be even better if a few more people added to the feedback. You can comment as a guest but these best way is to create an account at www.blogger.com You don't have to create a blog but you can make a shortcut to what they can the dashboard. If you click on the various blogs to follow them, then you will be advised of new postings each time you check the dashboard so that you don't have to check them all individually. If you really get hooked you can use the dashboard as the homepage!

I've got a few more ideas (and people pencilled in) for blogs for 2009.

Sports Awards

Thanks to Bridget Kaneen for letting me have the Sports Awards nomination form for publication.

I've added to the front page or you can access it from here.

There are certainly plenty of categories to think consider.

No secret santas

Some people seem to have been celebrating Christmas since the Summer but I had not even tasted Turkey until yesterday. I was supposed to be on my best behaviour last night when I went with Marie to the Speaker of the House of Keys' Christmas dinner.

We are having our Christmas party at lunchtime but as there are only two of us in our office playing secret santa creates a few problems! We will, however, be joined by one of our illustrious non-executive directors for lunch and with two of the three wives (Marie is unavailable) and so we can get our numbers up to five at the Garrison.

I'm always looking for ways to keep the entries rolling in for the Parish Walk and this weekend will be half way through the year for Parish Walk fans. That is today's little feature on the website.

Thanks to Andy Fox for the list of start times for the MWR. Normally Paul Jackson covers the relay but he has been on holiday this week so I have stepped in until PJ has a chance to get the Manx Harriers website updated.

Great coverage of athletics in the Manx Independent this week. I particularly liked the way John Watterson featured the star performance of Keith Gerrard and linked it to the schools cross country and "Who will be the next Keith Gerrard?"

Mann & Partners Millennium Way Relay Handicaps today

Teams should have already received the handicaps and start times but they are to be published in the Manx Independent today before being released online. If PJ is back from his holidays at the time the embargo is lifted they will be published at www.manxharriers.com otherwise I will put them on this site.

I have linked to all my MWR videos on the front page. We bought our first video camera in 1995 and I got involved in the MWR again the following year, helping Chris Quine to organise it for a few years. So the video was put to good use on Boxing Day. In previous years, the prize presentation had been downgraded and we wanted to make it a bit more worthwhile so we re-introduced food and thought that the video would help to pass the time whilst waiting for the results. I digitised the film last Christmas and put them onto YouTube.

Currently available is 1996, 1997 and 2000. The 1999 film is not currently available because I had a copyright issue with the music. I can't find any film from 1998. I started again in 2007 and hope to have some film of the middle stages this year.

I've also added a link to Adrian Cowin's YouTube channel.

We have a birthday today - Marie catches me up again after being 1 year behind for the past couple of months.

Going up next year

I've just added some photos to feature the first three fell races of 2009. I wonder if anyone can work out which year I took each photo?

Dave Ronan's remaining pictures of Keith Gerrard are also available now.

(I've just realised that I posted this to the wrong blog this morning at 6.55).

I'll write in the new year

How many times have you written that in a Christmas card and then not got around to doing so? Well, last night I started writing to some of the people I said that to last year! I got four off the list and although I was tracking my email and added one comment to the forum I kept away from web editing.

Thanks to Dave Ronan for the photos of Keith from Brussels. I have just added two of the four photos that he sent to me and I'll publish the other two tomorrow. I've just been doing the least rewarding part of the web editing job this morning when I clear things off the front page, create additional pages and then add the links from the front.

Don't forget to follow the link to Chris Quine's blog. You can do so here. http://manxcrosscountry.blogspot.com/

I'll be reviewing the Parish Walk entries and updating the blog there after breakfast.

Its more fun with alcohol

If I had known how many hours I would have spent on the website this weekend I doubt if I would have started!

I only just made it in time for the hill race as I had been busy in the morning cleaning one of our holiday properties. Marie normally cleans the apartment adjoining our house when we have a change of tenant but she has not been well so I took it on.

I intended to film from the same position as last year but I saw Steve Partington there so I moved to plan B. I tried to get enough video "in the can" of the runners going up the path before the sharp turn off (which I achieved) and then trying to get into position to catch them with Tynwald Hill in the background for some stills. I failed hopelessly with this task (I probably had the wrong lens) and I only used two of thirty seven and even one of these was totally out of focus.

The competition was good with Simon Skillicorn running well and, also as usual, being put under pressure from Tom Cringle. But sport has to be a mixture of serious endeavour and fun and so it added to the event to catch Simon (and several others) struggling on the way down. I mentioned beforehand that sometimes I wondered if the effort of producing videos justified the time but this one seemed to be well received - thanks for the feedback.

I vowed not to bother with video at the walks this morning though but after clicking 200 odd times I got out the video for the finish. It was a beautiful morning but there was too much sunshine so I had to take all the film from the same direction which didn't make it too exciting.

David Griffiths reminded me just in time that Keith Gerrard's race was on BBC interactive at 12.20 and I just managed to get home for this at the same time as putting the vegetables on to boil (that's another story).

Great excitement for Keith's race. His achievements are documented elsewhere but, suffice to say, they make an athlete of the year poll a bit meaningless.

But I couldn't resist another challenge for the website and so, when I realised how well he was going to do, I wanted to find a way of adding some of the film to the website. For those of you with Sky+, you will know that you can't record onto the hard disk on the Sky+ player from BBC interactive but it was Marie who came to the rescue. We "pump" the Sky channel around the house and have a very old Video combo in the kitchen and she said "why don't you just put the video on". Job done. Low tech solution!

So after publishing the photos and editing the winter league video this afternoon, I set about playing the video back through an adaptor and onto the hard disk of my PC (I thought I had got away from that when I bought a video with a hard disk). The video editing is not as professional as the BBC but I hope that it allows a few more people to get a little more enjoyment for their licence fees.

I spent five months from April to September without any alcohol and after a poor run in the second round of the cross country I decided it was time to forgo one of life's pleasures again. Last night, however, we were given some free wine from our regular Chinese takeaway. Despite my enjoyment of the run yesterday I was totally frustrated with not being able to train through injury, and so I decided "what the heck" I may as well enjoy a couple (I'm not so good with statistics after all!).

Tonight I prepared about half our Christmas cards and was ready for another glass or two. I've just watched my video from yesterday and it is quite funny watching some of you (apparently) descending to the rhythm of the music. I'm sure that it wasn't that funny before I had the wine. What a great weekend for local athletics.

I have some breathing space before providing some fringe coverage of the MWR although I have quite a few more things planned for the front page before then.

Keith Gerrard 7th in Europe

You can read what others have said about this great performance on the forum.

Here is some of the video footage from the BBC:

NB - this is only intended as news coverage (fair usage) and will be removed within 48 hours of publication.

Back at last

I've not really got back into the routine of communicating with the website readership since before I worked on the parishwalk.com site.

I have tried to make that a fairly static website with any new input coming from the blog at parishwalkcom2009.blogspot.com/

Its already two weeks ago since I went to the presentation by Andy Fox and his team on the planned coaching scheme, which is but a small part of the Development Plan which is soon to be underway. Despite me not having had the time to do so, I really want to play a part in the publicity of this scheme. I have had a few ideas including a separate website for all the information that coaches and potential coaches would need.

The questionnaire and Power Point publication have now been published elsewhere and I particularly like the way that Tom Cringle has them on the www.manxfellrunners.org site.

I enjoyed covering the Peel to Douglas Walk last Sunday and the video had the most interest of any video for a while. I blow hot and cold with my video coverage as it is the most demanding part of the website coverage but I am proud that some people enjoy them and within the next month I am expecting the total downloads of my videos to exceed the 100,000 mark. the www.youtube.com/murraylambden site was launched just over 21 months ago.

Its a busy weekend for local athletics but I am hoping to cover both events at St Johns. In fact, I will definitely cover them but it remains to be seen of I will be there in person.

I'm looking forward to watching the European Cross Country Champs on Sunday - I haven't really watched much cross country on TV in recent years but Chris Quine's build up the event helps create the interest.

I might have a run at the weekend after missing this week after an aborted session on Monday morning. I'm really keen to run in Blackburn but with only four weeks remaining and no consistent training for more than three months, the prospects are not great,

Biggest gap in the blog

The idea of this blog was to keep you informed about what or what wouldn't be covered on the http://www.manxathletics.com/ site to which the blog is attached.

Although I ran a number of stories on the site last week, virtually all of my spare time was spent on preparing and launching the http://www.parishwalk.com/ site. I only just made it for my self imposed deadline and work has continued on the statistical side to produce more material. I'm running a blog on that site too.

Back to my day job now but I hope to fill the gaps in what has been happening and will be happening soon.

54 issues of Athletics Weekly in one day

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

Kevin Interview

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.

Syd Quirk Half Marathon entries

I'm having some problems publishing the lists of entries in pdf file format so if you can't read them here they are:

Walk:


No.
Surname
Forename
Club
M/F
Age Cat
Callister
Ian
Manx Harriers
M
V55
George
Irene
Manx Harriers
F
V45
George
Michael
Manx Harriers
M
V40
Hempsall
Mark
IOMVAC
M
V40
Smith
Russell
IOMVAC
M
V50
Kinvig
Alan
IOMVAC
M
V50
Moore
Colin (Stephen)
IOMVAC
M
V45
Henrard
Ann
Unattached
F
V55
Edwards
Ivan
Unattached
M
SM
Lynch
Vinny
IOMVAC
M
V45
Goldsmith
Sarah
IOMVAC
F
V60
Ball
Tony
Unattached
M
V55
Killey
Margy
IOMVAC
F
V55
Gault
Alan
IOMVAC
M
V50
Green
Andy
Manx Harriers
M
V55
Waddington
Jock
IOMVAC
M
V40
Bonney
Michael
Unattached
M
V45
Senogles
Gillian
Unattached
F
V40
Senogles
Carl
Unattached
M
V45
Kelly
Debbie
Unattached
F
V40
Starkey
Simon
Unattached
M
V35
Ball
Bernie
Unattached
F
SL
Callister
Selwyn
Unattached
M
V45
Kniveton
Fliss
Unattached
F
V45
Kniveton
Phil
Unattached
M
V35
Oates
Ann
Manx Harriers
F
V50
Sweeney
Sarah
Unattached
F
SL
Sweeney
Shaun
Unattached
M
V40
Geddes
Jenny
Unattached
F
SL
Redmond
Jonathan
Unattached
M
SM
Hodge
Sue
Unattached
F
V50
Shipsides
Michael
Unattached
M
V40
Clague
Pauline
Unattached
F
V40
Erskine
Gordon
Unattached
M
V65
Motley
Lisa
Manx Harriers
F
V40
Butler
Marion
Unattached
F
V55
McCombs
Anne
Unattached
F
V45
Callister
Mike
Unattached
M
V35
Sykes
Jo
Unattached
F
V40
Neale
Diane
Unattached
F
V45
Jackson
Marie
Manx Harriers
F
V45
Cale
Chris
Manx Harriers
M
V35
Crooks
Colin
Unattached
M
V35
Dillon
Stephen
Unattached
M
SM
Webb
Les
Unattached
M
V40
Tinkler
Adrian
Unattached
M
V55
Birtles
Les
Unattached
M
SM
Barratt
Mike
Unattached
M
SM
Gerrard
Richard
Unattached
M
V35
Quirk
Charlie
Unattached
M
V65
Manley
Gillian
Unattached
F
V45
Taylor
Rose
Manx Harriers
F
V35
Colquitt
Kath
Unattached
F
V45
Castle
Andrea
Unattached
F
V45
James
Murphy
Unattached
M
SM


Run:


No.
Surname
Forename
Club
M/F
Age Cat
Moore
Barry
IOMVAC
M
V35
Loundes
Kevin
Manx Harriers
M
SM
Tewkesbury
Rachael
Manx Harriers
F
SL
Kennaugh
Stephen
MFR
M
V35
Griffiths
Gail
Manx Harriers
F
V40
Doyle
David
IOMVAC
M
V45
Sellors
Rob
IOMVAC
M
V40
Ackroyd
Sue
IOMVAC
F
V50
Clague
Mark
Manx Harriers
M
V35
Deakes
Kevin
Northern AC
M
V45
Salter
David
IOMVAC
M
V45
Gillanders
Rob
IOMVAC
M
V40
Bolton
Anton
Unattached
M
SM
Taylor
Anthony
Unattached
M
V55
Moore
Sarah
Unattached
F
SL
Swindlehurst
John
IOMVAC
M
V45
Cubbon
Paul
IOMVAC
M
V45
Radcliffe
Richard
Northern AC
M
V50
Cowin
Barry
Northern AC
M
V35
Postlethwaite
Alan
Northern AC
M
V60
Bell
Andy
Manx Tri Club
M
V40
Furner
Sue
IOMVAC
F
V50
Young
David
Manx Fell Runners
M
V60
Cochrane
Jason
Western AC
M
V35
Pierce
Peter
IOMVAC
M
V40
Cushing
Neil
IOMVAC
M
V40
Varley
Christian
Unattached
M
SM
Sandford
Wendy
IOMVAC
F
V35
Callister
Robbie
IOMVAC
M
V50
Cullen
Helen
IOMVAC
F
V45
Willmott
Steve
IOMVAC
M
V45
Pilling
Alan
IOMVAC
M
V55
Harrison
Judith
Unattached
F
V35
Rogan
Emma
Metros
F
SL
Armstrong
Nigel
Manx Harriers
M
V40
Marsdin
Katie
Unattached
F
SL
Blackburn
Patricia
IOMVAC
F
V50
Osborn
Kevan
IOMVAC
M
V60
Griffin
Gareth
Unattached
M
SM
Valfridsson
Malin
Unattached
F
SL
Lodge
Chris
Unattached
M
SM
Glassey
Joanne
Manx Harriers
F
V35
Lowe
Simon
Western AC
M
V40
Parker
Robert
Unattached
M
SM
Crook
Michael
Western AC
M
V40
Shipway
Richard
Unattached
M
V40
Gray
Stephen
Unattached
M
V35
Bayliss
Marc
Unattached
M
SM
Lambden
Murray
Manx Harriers
M
V50
Brown
Les
Manx Harriers
M
V55
Hall
Geoff
Western AC
M
V55
Hall
Moira
Western AC
F
V55
Freestone
Peter
Unattached
M
V60
Bathgate
Christine
IOMVAC
F
V60
Ross
Wendy
Manx Harriers
F
V45
Crellin
Donna
Unattached
F
V40
Sugden
Ingrid
IOMVAC
F
V55
Broughton
James
Northern AC
M
V35
Lewthwaite
Paul
Northern AC
M
V35
Christian
Stephen
Unattached
M
SM
Kelly
Maureen
IOMVAC
F
V50
Kelly
Alan
IOMVAC
M
V55
Loader
Debbie
IOMVAC
F
V40
Loader
Alan
Unattached
M
V40
Wilson
Neil
IOMVAC
M
V45
Gray
Darren
Manx Harriers
M
SM
Wozniak
Jan
Unattached
M
V50
Boyde
Nikkii
Northern AC
F
V35
Whyman
Louise
Unattached
F
V35
Lodge
Andrew
IOMVAC
M
V50
Gelling
Kevan
Unattached
M
V35
Brown
Stephen
IOMVAC
M
V45
Kinley
Juan
Manx Tri Club
M
V40
Andrew
Colm
Unattached
M
V40
Isherwood
David
Manx Harriers
M
V40

Something for everything in this sport

As so often happens with the www.manxathletics.com site, the plans I had in my head have been changed several times when I have learnt about performances by athletes with a range of experience and ability. The things that I planned were replaced with the news of various achievements.

I was able to feature the Dublin Marathon at a very early stage this year because Mike Garrett sent me a text within minutes of the finish on Monday lunchtime. That text in itself showed what a variety of emotions we go through in the sport. Mike was so disappointed to have another race destroyed with a stomach problem but he brought me the news of Kevin Vondy's fine personal best of 2.50.50 for the man who is 50 years and 50 days old today!

Later in the day David Griffiths added details of Debbie Loader's performance in the Irish capital and I was able to add a photo of her. By all accounts her performance was well earned after putting in a lot of hard and well planned training.

So at this point we had the experienced marathon runner who finds something extra every year, the experienced marathon runner who was running his third marathon of the year with only one matching his expectations, and the (probably) once in a lifetime big improvement that leaves the athlete buzzing with excitement.

Yesterday it was the turn of the first time runners. Debbie Storrie, who ran in Dublin with her training partner Peter Bettridge, brought me news of their great runs and that of another first time runner Mark Heywood.

It was lovely to have a call last night from Kevin Vondy who felt great from the start on Monday. Like I did a couple of years ago, he received a Garmin for his 50th birthday present and found this invaluable during the marathon. He was knocking out 6.21 miles most of the way around and reached 20 miles in a personal best of 2 hours 7 minutes. He returned to something I wrote about recently. The furthest he had run in training was 23 miles. Guess where he started to slow dramatically? 23 miles.

Kevin also brought me news of Katie Cullen who he met on the plane on the way to Dublin and so I was able to use the Dublin Marathon website as we were chatting to confirm that she had run 3.51.32.

Earlier last night Marie was out at at special presentation to Arnie Jacobs who recently celebrated his 70th birthday. I'm told that he delivered a nice speech in his very modest way and he told his many friends that when he was 60 he ran in the Steve Jacobs Memorial Mile (which is held in memory of his son) and was disappointed not to break 10 minutes. He is still running despite a number of setbacks and says that he is still trying to break 10 minutes. Who would bet against him still lining up when he is 80?

The theme of the conversations that Marie brought from the little function was that so many people said that they would not be taking part (and enjoying the sport so much) if it were not for the support from Arnie. He is so good at making people, who perhaps doubt their ability, feel good about what they achieve, no matter how fast they run, how high they jump or how far they throw.

Arnie is as good as anyone at putting that across but the rest of us have those intentions. If you are new to the sport, or have found this website by chance but have not yet taken part, the sport really does cater for everyone. Use the website to find out how to join the fell running scene, prepare for the Parish Walk or to get your children (or yourself) into the track and field scene. There really is something for everyone.

If you do have a question though, I would prefer you to use the forum than to contact me as I am still struggling with my mail folder which still contains a vast range of information which I hope to share with you on the website. Something for everyone I hope.

Busy weekend

Lots of updates on the site this weekend (just updated again today to feature the half marathon yet again).

Lots of other things on at the weekend.

Lots of emails unanswered - bear with me.

Looking forward to hearing the news from Dublin today. Check the forum later.

Robbie watered down

Robbie Callister (above) was the fastest runner in the Blackrock sponsored handicap runs in the rain tonight. He is benefitting from concentrating on his running (at the expense of his walking) for the first time for a few years.

A couple of months ago Robbie was still a bit rusty (and tired from the Parish Walk) but several months of running are paying off and he is looking for his quickest time at the half marathon for a few years next week.

Robbie and I were chatting about Ed Gumbley's great recent marathon in Berlin and again the theme of consistent training over a long period arose.

As it did when I learnt that Stephen Brown had run his second best ever half marathon (and his best on the course) in the Great North Run).

Don't water your training down - but sprinkle in a bit of variety. Big splashes take time - witness recent successes by Ed Gumbley, Kevin Loundes & Michael George among others.

This week's coverage

I've been continuing selective publicity for forthcoming events and that task should get easier now as many of the events in the next few months are within leagues which have already kicked off.

That said, I have always hoped that if the first event in a series is a success we could attract an even bigger entry in future rounds. Although it rarely happens, we should keep trying to encourage more people to join.

There have been some very good examples recently of how to explain the things that seem obvious to those that have taken part in events before but are not so to those that haven't. I thought the press release for the Welbeck Hotel and Restaurant One hour Challenge achieved this aim with some distinction.

I'm planning to get some photos of the Blackrock Veterans Autumn Handicap tomorrow night (although its always hard to get any good shots in the dark) and then plan to go back to the NSC on Sunday morning for the HSBC Securities Services Winter League Walks.

No bright lights in Amsterdam

Ben Lambden in Amsterdam

I was back in the house at 9 pm last night - the best part of the weekend was that each of my four flights were either on time or early.

It wasn't the best weekend that I have ever taken away from home and Ben's half marathon was not a great success - adding to my non- participation in the marathon.

He hadn't trained much recently, largely due to factors outside of his control, and should probably have provided for this in his race strategy (with better advice from Dad!). On a 90 minute schedule, he was forced to walk in the latter stages and ended up over 1.40 (his time is missing from the results website).

So tight was our schedule that he was still in his vest and shorts at Amsterdam airport and I hurt my back again carrying a load of bags (including my laptop and his medical books) from the hotel to meet him at the finish. Add to our frustrations that I did not see him at either spot I watched on the course and he was delayed by several hours on his train (well it should have been but it was actually a number of bus journeys) back to Hull last night, and you will see that there is plenty of room for improvement next year!

The biggest smile of the weekend came on opening Michael George's text on the train to the airport.

Alex Wijsman makes us feel at home in Amsterdam

Alex Wijsman finished 43rd in the Clerical Medical Parish Walk in just over 20 hours. The former Gold bullion dealer kindly directed us the Olympic stadium for registration yesterday and we met several of his friends who were running, and their wives.

It was fantasic today, whilst standing at the side of the road in amsterdam, to have several people come up to us to say "hello" - people that we had met yesterday.

I got several pictures of Alex walking the course, one of which is published above (left).

I registered for the marathon yesterday and got the T shirt - and then my decision was taken not to start. Oh well, at least I was able to tuck into a nice big breakfast - unlike Ben who is preparing for the half marathon which starts in exactly an hour.

Parish Walk Convention at Amsterdam Airport

I'll see if a get one of Stan's photos from the hill race onto the front page from my hotel room in amsterdam.

I'm also going to get some chances to take photos of the marathon tomorrow!

Dutch courage

Michael George is off to the Netherlands in the morning to compete in the Dutch 50km championships. I'm hoping that he will break the 5 hour target this time. He is hoping to get his news to Paul Jackson on Sunday to report on the http://www.manxharriers.com/ site.

I might be joining Michael for a coffee at Amsterdam airport tomorrow! I'm leaving the Island and hour and half ahead of him, flying to Manchester where I wait for 3 and a half hours for my flight during which time I will be joined by my son Ben, who is travelling from Hull by train. Michael and Irene fly to Birmingham at 8.30 but get to Amsterdam half an hour ahead of me.

I trained every day but one for almost five months for the Amsterdam Marathon which is to be held on Sunday. I made no secret of my desire to break 2.40 but I also admitted that the intensity of my training was putting me on a high risk strategy. Sure enough six weeks ago I succumbed to injury and have barely trained since (less than a marathon distance in total). A couple of weeks ago I decided that I would not take part but I would still go with Ben who is running the half marathon in the afternoon. I have done a couple of short runs this week and have been toying with the possibility of taking part at a much more modest pace. I know it is the wrong thing to do but it will take some Dutch courage to watch.

I'm taking my laptop with me so I hope to publish some photos of certain parts of Amsterdam!

Although I admit I got my training wrong, one thing I strongly believe in as that your training has to be based on the distance that you will race. I ran up to and past the marathon distance five times this summer (the slowest was 2.55 on a windy day) but guess what? The more my body got used to the distance the more consistent were my mile times and I had just about mastered an even pace marathon.

It is fascinating to publish Ed Gumbley's times from his brilliant Berlin Marathon a few minutes ago. The mile splits are from his Garmin and I then ran them through a spreadsheet to calculate the other splits. Even he was fading significantly during the last few miles.

The question is how do you train for a marathon to maintain an even pace without breaking down in training? I think that only about 5% of a marathon field achieve this - and they are usually in the top few percentage of finishers.

I had intended to publish the feature on Ed this morning but the photos of Gemma arrived from Andy Duncan. Thanks Andy. He has done such a good job for the media.

Fixtures speak for themselves

One of the problems with having so many different features on the website (as there have been recently) is that unless I delete them (which I prefer not to do as one of the great things about the internet is the comparitive lack of space) it takes time to reorganise and archive the old features and to add links.

So that job has taken priority this morning with four new oldies pages (if that makes sense).

By moving the fixtures table around is amazing how much more notice people take of them even though they are always there.

The features on forthcoming events that I run tend to be for those in several weeks time rather than those in the next day or two as I think we have to influence people well in advance of the event we hope that they will take part in. So, for example, you don't need me to repeat the feature I ran a couple of weeks ago on the Isle of Man Bank Hill Race series to know that it is on this Saturday.

Just time this morning to add a short feature on the Great North Run. I met Jo, Debby and Gary at the airport last Sunday evening but didn't have my camera with me - the photo is from the London City Airport on our way to the 2006 Flora London Marathon. We miss those cheap flights into London City.

I don't remember Arnie's 18th birthday

Arnie Jacobs, who celebrated his 70th birthday yesterday, is one of life's nice guys. There is hardly an event on the roads on the Island at which he is not helping with and he has time to encourage everyone every day. And he still runs a bit too!

My birthday was also yesterday which meant that I was born on Arnie's 18th. I went for an Indian meal with Marie last night but I did spend some time on the website when I got in and some more about an hour ago.

There are so many good photos I could use from the cross country but it is almost time to move on again. Maybe a couple more tonight.

There is so much to look forward to in the next few days although I won't be on the Island to cover the Hill Race. More about that another time.

I got he OK to run the story about Eammon Harkin's illness yesterday. Most people were unaware of the problems he had been having and he preferred to keep it that way. Now that his quality of life is set to improve it should help by spreading the word rather than him telling everyone individually. He sent a text to the office where I work (where he has only been a non-executive director) an hour before he went under the knife with his target time for the Parish Walk next year - he is going to have to live up to it!

Eammon is the only person to have recruited me twice in my career. The first time it took him four years to get away from me; the second time only four months!

Second Wind

Only just getting my second wind as far as the website is concerned.

As predicted, it was all go from 10 yesterday morning.

There were perfect conditions for the Welbeck Hotel and Restaurant One Hour Challenge Walk. I left as soon as the final gun was fired and had the photos online by noon.

The editing of the video takes a bit longer and this was still uploading as I maintained my new stretching regime before departing for the cross country.

Sorry that I couldn't get any pictures from the Manx Gas Cross Country Challenge online last night but I did a bit of tinkering with the layout and, like everyone else, waited for the results. Thanks very much to David Griffiths (and all the timekeepers and helpers) for these. Even though other websites are getting better, it is still only a minority of events that have same day results even when electronic timing is used (which we weren't using yesterday).

The website is my hobby and (although I frequently fail) I try not to be a slave to it but prefer to try and surprise people a little with the content with old photos or stories or particular interest. The main place for reporting events has to be the websites of the promoting clubs.

So it was nice to receive an email from Andy Duncan this morning. It gave me a chance to run a story about the Commonwealth Youth Games and to again highlight the coverage on the http://www.manxharriers.com/ site.

Thanks to Paul Sheard and Matthew Haddock for the photos from the cross country today. I have some more from each source but, as I already have more than normal on the front page I'll save them for another day.

I want to leave enough space for a special picture tomorrow. Its not often that we celebrate three score and ten.

Its taken me more than an hour and half this evening to get everything structured and published so there will be fewer changes tomorrow night as I have other things to do.

Double trouble

Tomorrow is going to be one of those days when it will be impossible to do justice to every athletic performance.

Tomorrow morning is the Welbeck Hotel and Restaurant One Hour Challenge and I hope to bring you both video and photos of the new found stars.

There won't be much editing and publishing time, however, before I pack up my spikes for the cross country at Nobles Park. I've just published a photo from last year's championships showing the mud that we can expect tomorrow and also the two main protagonists in the men's league, John Halligan and Kevin Loundes.

So I shall be relying on links to other sites and photos from other people if I am going to cover the cross country. I shall take my cameras in my bag just in case things don't work out for me though. Last year I ended up merely jogging around after being troubled by what turned out to be exercise induced asthma. After missing the rest of the cross country season for the first time since 1990 and having a rubbish London Marathon, I embarked on a conditioning phase of early morning training after which I set my sights on breaking 2.40 in the Amsterdam Marathon next weekend - 25 years after "retiring". That plan ended in tears but I hope to run tomorrow although I had a frightening thought yesterday - I haven't run further than 2.5 miles for five weeks! I hope that I have no time for my camera tomorrow.

Time for the footie.

First time ever at the Ramsey Firemans

Finally, after more than 20 years I made it to see the Ramsey Fireman's runs. And I changed my mind dozens of times yesterday as to whether I was going to go. I was torn, on the one hand, between a desire to finally see what the event was like and take some photos and film and, on the other hand, the knowledge that I would be leaving more paperwork and emails unattended to. There was also the awful weather.

There were gale force winds for the runners but thankfully it was not too wet. The main event was won by Christian Varley after he had followed Robbie Callister for more than half the race. The second time in five days that Robbie had been the hare.

Northern AC and the fire services provided a warm welcome, as with all of their events, although I couldn't help but cringe at one or two of the crossing points in such dark conditions.

I hope that you like the video but I'm afraid the dark, the rain and my frozen hands put paid to the idea of getting stills as well. As it was my fingers were white when I got home and I had to painfully warm them in a bowl of hot water. Yes, gloves would have been a good idea.

Later last night I trawled through my photo collections of the novice walks and selected the 2005 event as a good one to demonstrate how the Welbeck Hotel and Restaurant sponsored event has unearthed plenty of talent. Watch out for the 2011 Parish Walk winner on Sunday.

Syd Quirk Half Marathon entries to close...

...in 23 days.

I've just added a small feature on this classic half marathon (it also includes a walk over the same distance).

There will be absolutely NO late entries so get your form in now. Go to:

http://www.iomvac.co.uk/

I've produced the results for the past few years for this event and I can tell you having a close off for entries will make a massive difference to the logistics. The time after the race can be used merely inputting times against names (rather than typing in the names) and the certificates can be written in advance. It will make the whole show a lot punchier. Thanks to Marie Jackson.

One of the things I like about entries in advance is that there is (near) certainty about who is taking part and a good race preview confirming the entry and speculating on the result makes the event a lot more enjoyable for everyone.

I'm still working on those emails....

Fixtures for the first three months of 2009

I believe it to be important that there is always a rolling programme of fixture dates and I have therefore extracted, from the list of provisional fixtures for 2009 which Bridget Kaneen has been working hard to collate, the dates of the events for the first three months of 2009. Apart from anything else it provides the full picture for those people planning to run in the leagues (cross country, race walking and handicap runs) that start in one year and finish in the next.

I must stress two things - 1) that my list is not the official list but is merely a service to athletes just as a list in the newspaper would do the same thing; 2) the 2009 dates are only provisional.

Interesting to note the inclusion of a half marathon in Manx Harriers meeting on 14 March.

Ramsey Fireman's runs

Just spotted that the Northern AC has been updated to include a really useful information page.

I've added a link on the front page or you can find it here: http://www.iomnac.co.uk/home/Firemans.htm

Commonwealth Youth Games at manxharriers.com

There is good bright coverage of the Commonwealth Youth Games is available on the excellent manxharriers.com site which is edited and produced by Paul Jackson. It includes features on the Manx athletes by the hard working David Griffiths (I think publicity doubles our enjoyment of the sport). So I shall leave it their safe hands and not compete head on with their coverage save for the odd picture to highlight it.

Very best of luck to Tom and Gemma.

Andrew Duncan is reporting the games for the Manx media and has promised to report on the athletes performances in addition to reporting for Manx Radio, Isle of Man Newspapers and the the Commonwealth Games website. He may also make some films for YouTube.

I mentioned the other day that just about all the winter events are about to kick off and I have tonight added a feature on the very popular hill racing series which this year is sponsored by the Isle of Man Bank.

A lot of people would like to try an event but are put off because they think they are not good enough. Don't be. All the members of the Manx Fell Runners Club will make you welcome (most of them take part themselves) and if you follow the links for help they will provide it. You can use the hill running series as a stepping stone to running in the 2009 Rentokil Manx Fell League or you can merely make the series the summit of your achievements.

I had the audacity to spend a little bit of time with my family tonight so that is all you are getting. If you are one of the many people awaiting a reply to an email (I still have a couple of hundred!), you'll have to wait a bit longer.

Please use the forum as much as possible.

Update on Western 10

I've just refreshed the coverage of the Western 10 with pictures of Hetty Bostock, Peter Kaneen and Alan Pilling who all achieved noteworthy performances.

Whilst checking the stats for Alan (his 24th finish in the Western AC) I noticed that Nigel Armstrong has extracted a remarkably consistent streak to collect his third plaque. I'll fill you in - he retained his title with a time of 59.43 to add to 59.33 last year and 59.53 the year before that.

In doing so he avoided (by 12 seconds) having the slowest ever winning time. My 2005 time takes that booby prize along with my slowest winning time in the Syd Quirk and the oldest winner of the marathon!

Going back to Nigel, I'm not sure if it was reported (I can't remember if I did) but he ran his slowest ever marathon recently. It took him over 5 hours in France - but he was drinking red wine instead of water at the feeding stations!

Boys on winter

I used Don Henley's "Boys of Summer" as the soundtrack to the video I made of the Western 10 today but on checking the fixtures for the next few weeks (as I always do when I consider what I am going to put on the website next), it is definitely "Boys (and Girls) of Winter" with an incredible number of events coming up.

Thursday sees the start of the Ramsey Fireman's runs. Regulars to the Manx scene know all about this winter series but I always feel that we could do a bit more to explain to those that don't already know about it.

Sunday is the first round of the Manx Gas Cross Country which is well featured here and elsewhere.

Sunday is also the date of Welbeck Hotel & Restuarant One Hour Walk and this event is the prelude to the Manx Harriers Winter Walking league.

The following Saturday (just 13 days away) is the start of the Isle of Man Bank Hill Running series.

As if that is not enough, the Thursday after that is the Blackrod Veterans Autumn Handicap.

So just about everything connected to winter on the local scene is about to start including Manx Harriers circuit training and middle distance training sessions.

Given the overloaded fixture list, the one thing that is surprising about the winter season is that between today (Western 10) and Manx Harriers 10km (usually around first week of March) there is only one straight road race - so make the most of the Haldane Fisher Syd Quirk Half Marathon on 2 November and get your entry in today.

I'll do my best to promote all of the above on th manxathletics.com website but, as always, the more detail that the clubs can provide on their own sites the better. I want to take the horse to water rather than man the feeding station myself.

Western 10 coverage

One of those days when I've had no time for the website today. Only four hours sleep after using last night (Marie is away for the weekend) not, as you might expect, to go out on the beer but to catch up on some of my paperwork and get my tax return done in the nick of time. I've spent the rest of the day on my Saturday job (cleaning our holiday cottage) and have just let our other property for a good chunk of the winter. I'm off to a party shortly so I hope I can stay awake.

I planned to provide photo and video coverage of the Western 10 tomorrow but realised a few minutes ago that I would have to go tomorrow in any event to return the over 50s trophy.

I hope that the weather is better than today - some of the heaviest rain you could imagine.

Watch out for the coverage around lunchtime tomorrow although it may be curtailed a bit of the rain is heavy.

Once again, good luck to all taking part.

Chris goes live

As promised, Chris has started his blog.

There is a link at the top of the home page or http://manxcrosscountry.blogspot.com/

Chris Quine to blog

Due to be launched over the weekend, Chris Quine has kindly agreed to write a blog about the winter cross country season. He will add to the publicity of local races, provide some advice, comment on the wider cross country season and its links to other branches of the sport and also let you know how he gets on with his own plans to compete.

Watch this space.

Island Games video of Gemma Astin

Some months ago I published several films using David Griffiths content of the 2007 Island Games. Last night I finally published the fourth in the series to coincide with a feature that David has written which is to appear on http://www.manxharriers.com/

Having just viewed the film at YouTube this morning it appears that I have missed part of it off. Sorry about this. I will try and re-edit and publish again over the weekend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iwMc0X1HbU

Western 10 awards

Martin Bell - 20 times finisher of the Western 10

Western AC award a special trophy to anyone who completes the course 10 times.



Recently, they have added further awards for 20 finishes - Alan Pilling was the first to reach that milestone.

See you there on Sunday. See the Western AC website for details.