Putting the world to right

I've just spent the evening in the bar at the hotel at Gatwick Airport.

Talked quite a lot about the website. Talking is easy and doesn't require any effort. Might do it more often!

Time to take stock

Its a lesson I thought that I had learned many times before in my life, but the more anyone does the more is expected of them.

My online input has increased again in the past couple of years with lots of peaks but with the troughs also staying higher.

And yet just recently the expectations seem to have reached new heights. Why didn't I photograph every single finisher in the Parish Walk? Why didn't I cover one of the excessive number of events? Why did I feature an event when "my" event was much more important.

Every club has its own website. Every independent event should have its only website. Although a few people (in the Isle of Man only) continue to have problems accessing the forum, its there for you all to share news and views.

I want to get back to the point where my websites add an extra layer of publicity and are not used as the easy way out.

I want to get away from having to justify how I spend my time to people who think that they own me.

A funny thing happened yesterday

Despite saying (when I took a break from updating the site on a regular basis just over five years ago) that I was never going back to daily updates, I can't remember the last day that I didn't update it.

But yesterday the front page did not change. I intended to include a few photos from the World Tin Bath Championships (featuring people also involved with athletics) which I managed to see the later stages of for the first time for at least 15 years but when I took my camera out of the car I realised that once again I had left my memory card at home. At least I was able to chill out, or rather frizzle out, in the lovely summer weather.

In any event I really need to tackle a small percentage of the other things that have suffered during the past few weeks.

I did take my camera down to Port Erin this afternoon and have some photos of ice cream eaters and swimmers that I'll add to my secret reserve.

I'm going to be away for the next couple of nights which added an extra obstacle to trying to cover the Island Games. Paul Jackson is also away for much of the week but did kindly offer to help by putting a menu on the manxharriers.com site.

I'll see if I can do one or two feature photos but I'm afraid I can't commit to detailed coverage. I also have a family funeral this week.

Over the Parish Walk weekend I also made a decision to give up all hope of defending my Salclear Isle of Man Marathon Championship or running in any autumn marathon.

I closed off my Parish Walk website coverage at 9 pm on Friday. I have to admit to withdrawal symptoms. On three occasions I awoke in the night thinking about walkers I had not yet mentioned on the website before remembering that I had finished! That was how much the site took over my life in recent weeks.

If I get any spare time this week I am going to spend as much as possible of it with my hand on the mouse - hopefully reading about the success of the Manx team in Aland as a fan of athletics rather than as a webeditor.

COME ON THE ISLE OF MAN

Chris Maddocks goes public with book plan

Chris Maddocks, the five times Olympic walker and British record holder, has confirmed that he has written a novel .

I had been aware that Chris was writing this and I think its fair to say that he has the same mixture of excitement and frustration as when training for a 50km walk.

Have a look at the plot:

http://www.insidethegames.com/blogs.php?id=60

New route for London Marathon?

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?dt=4&UTN=143494&V=6&SP=

Games team depart at 17.55 today

I was a bit confused first thing this morning when a 15.00 departure yo Mariehamn was listed.

After checking with Andy Fox, the listing was updated soon after.

Athletics results from 1985

You can see the very first set of (typewritten) results here.

Very interesting reading

John Crellin in Peel to Douglas

John Grimson reminds us of John Crellin's Peel to Douglas runinng in a letter to the Manx Independent.

I have checked my database of finishes and in total John completed it 8 times - 7 in a row plus a comeback in 2004.

Here is the list:


Position
Time
Year
22
1:12:40
1983
11
1:10:07
1984
11
1:08:08
1985
13
1:09:35
1986
8
1:07:23
1988
8
1:06:52
1989
10
1:06:05
1990
28
1:24:56
2004

Still the events keep coming

With my input to the parishwalk.com site there has been no time for any build up for the next few events but keep an eye on the fixture list.

In the next three weeks the following will be held:


30 June
Scott Physiotherapy Dave Philips Road Races
30 June
Microgaming Sprint Duathlon
5 July
Glen Mona Fell Race
10 July
HSBC Ramsey Commissioners Park Runs
16 July
St Johns 10km Summer Walk
17 July
Scott Physiotherapy Dave Philips Road Races

I should be out in the sunshine

Beautiful weather in the Isle of Man but instead of enjoying the weather this lunchtime I have been trying to tidy up the front page. My life has been on hold during the past week with the Parish Walk coverage and I hope that the week leading up to it is kept clear next year. Its not good for any form of media coverage to have them all so close together (three events within five days of the Parish Walk last week).

I'll be checking out with the other web editors to see what they are planning to do before committing too much time to Island Games coverage.

Exciting times for the team though and I heard the story on Manx Radio this morning - there seems to be a hope that the Games will be very well organised. But maybe I will be enjoying the sunshine then.

50 hour marathon

My marathon website coverage started at 6 am this morning.

I planned to clear the decks on the http://www.manxathetics.com/ site so that I can focus on the http://www.parishwalk.com/ site.

But the first hour and a half have gone without even reaching the PW site - or having any breakfast!

Its not really very clever to have three events in the week leading up to the Parish Walk and I've tried to cover all of these. So first up I had to move the recent features from the front page.

But we also have one of the major events of the year starting next week - the Island Games. Andy Fox sent me an excellent team photo and publicity for the sponsorship from SMP Partners so this has taken pride of place. It was interesting to get the timetable of Manx interest too and so I have published this below the main feature.

The Parish Walk can't be too far down the page as this event attracts more people to the website than any other event in the year.

Yet in the long term interests of the sport, the news that recruitment of an athletics development officer has started is really the big story. Thanks to Alan Franklin for sending the link.

For some of the fell runners, the big event of the year is the Three Peaks Yacht Race and I have added a feature on this. This alone is big enough for a main feature.

But I've tried to ensure that nobody forgets the Ramsey Park Runs or the coaches evening tonight.

I often say, however, that one of my main objectives with the publicity I put on the site is to get people thinking about the events over the next couple of months. That is why I'll sometimes duplicate a list of the events in the medium return with the full fixture list.

Now for the short term however. I must get something to eat. I'm picking my brother Mike up from the airport in just over an hour. He is going to help with the photos for the Parish Walk. I've got boxes of equipment everywhere at the moment and a headache already!

Full of emotion

Those of you who have watched the video of the Great South Run I made tonight will see that I have combined it with a further tribute to John Crellin.

One of the soundtrack songs I used was "Its Over" by Roy Orbison which was on the radio just after my mother died.

There have been some fine tributes to John on various sites. And some great memories. Some of the stories I had heard and some I hadn't. I remember the one Richie Stevenson describes of him leaping a fence in the Carraghan race but I hadn't heard the one from Chris Quine about having a "John Crellin" night when they all dressed as he did.

I'm sure that there are others who would like to add to the tributes but can't find the words and some who prefer to keep their thoughts private.

John's mother, Celia, lives just four doors away from us and I have just been to deliver a sympathy card. We certainly couldn't find the words for that.

Parish walkers boost numbers

615 people visited the www.parishwalk.com site yesterday, more than 50% more than on the equivalent day last year.

There were also 417 on the www.manxathletics.com site, the highest for nearly two months.

Normal service resumed

I didn't do much on the website yesterday other than to add a few more photos of John Crellin.

I had just updated the website on Friday afternoon when I received a message from Nev Jewell about John's fatal accident. This was quickly followed by a phone from David Griffiths.

I was due to go out an hour later and it was an incredibly difficult task to compile a tribute page so soon after the event but, after consulting with David and checking that the terrible news was on the news websites, I set about the task you hope you never have to face.

The tributes to John on the forum help to paint the picture of John and his life. I hope that others will add their memories and I will try and put some more of mine together.

This evening I have put together a front page feature highlighting the many events this week. I am going to try and cover as many as possible although the Parish Walk has to take priority this week. I've been planning more of my coverage today and getting all my equipment and files ready.

Remote update

I've just updated the front page on my home computer but working from the office. Its quite tricky and a little slow but It has cleared a couple of promotional things I needed to get done. Still lots of others outstanding.

Track talk

Steam loco Number 10 at Glen Whyllin viaduct with a single coach in the early 60s and the same engine that helped me avoid the TT traffic yesterday (double click photo to see detail).

Yesterday I had my first trip on the steam railway for a few years as I took the official advice to use public transport. I took the bus to work as the first train would have seen me arrive at 10.50 but I left a few minutes early to catch the 16.50 from Ballasalla to Douglas.

I love all the nostalgia of steam trains, particularly the Manx ones. But like most people who say such things, I rarely support them with my wallet.

I guess that having had a father and a brother who made careers out of public transport management I am bound to be influenced by them. In fact, as I write this an email has just arrived from Mike who I asked to comment on what I wrote earlier and he said:

"Your point about not using services reminds me of a complaint about one of our bus services being withdrawn because his son would have no way to get to work if his car broke down!"

So earlier tonight (you could say that I was lettting off steam!) I submitted this little piece for the iomtoday comment:

It would be interesting to have a few facts before we hail the commuter trains too much of a success. How many people who used the trains would otherwise have used a bus or a coach? How many people contributed nothing extra towards the cost by using their resident tickets? How many extra cars were there on the roads compared to last year? How much did the whole service cost?

Similar questions should have been asked before the government spent so much extra money on the Manx Electric Railway last year. How many people travel on the trams to Ramsey? What percentage is this of the people travelling from Douglas? Would people still visit Ramsey without the MER? Could the track be converted to single track?

Few people seem to realise that the taxpayer pays £4 towards the cost of the heritage railways for every £1 paid by the passenger. The 2009/10 budget provides for a government subsidy of £3.7 million for heritage railways and a further £6.1 million for buses. These figures exclude any share of an additional cost of more than £2 million per year for “Corporate Services” and “Service Delivery Directorate Management” within the Department of Tourism & Leisure.

Thanks to the investment by the taxpayer, the track, the trains and most of the stations are in much better condition than for most of the days when the railways were an essential part of the economy, moving people to school and work, moving livestock and every type of freight at no cost to the taxpayer. But not many people think about what is realistic to provide only about what they like to see. Preserved railways in the UK rely largely on voluntary labour to survive. We really are lucky to have such a wonderful service so heavily subsidised but if the recession reaches the Isle of Man we’ll be even luckier if all these services survive.

I paid £3.80 to travel on the train from Ballasalla to Douglas yesterday evening. My £15 of government subsidy ensured I missed the traffic jams but the majority of people would still use their cars even if public transport was free.

I must be getting old when...

I've heard people think they must be getting old when they think the music is too loud.

Or when they prefer Match of the Day instead of watching sport.

Or when they can't remember any rainy sunny days in Summer, only the sunny ones.

Well I think I must be getting old when I say that tonight's firework display was the least inspiring of any that I have ever seen during TT week.

If it was in your back garden it would be fantastic. But as a feature for what is still advertised as the biggest motor cycling event in the world?

At 10 minutes it was only half the time it used to be and failed to impress the crowd with the "oochs and agghs" old the old days. But maybe it was just me getting old.

I've spent loads of time in the past week turning people away who want to stay in our holiday property for the 2010 TT. I always try and give a positive reply. But I won't be mentioning the fireworks.

Fotopic photos

I've been using the Premium service at www.fotopic.net for several years and was shocked a few months ago when it disappeared one weekend. I was really worried about the rumour that the site had folded , looked around for other sites but remain convinced it is the best one.

I hope that it doesn't let me down on Parish Walk weekend.

At the time of its problems I joined a Googlegroup for fotopic users and continue to receive digests of all the messages posted. I can't believe how important it is for some people to have their photo selected as photo of the day. Its a bit like entering your baby in a baby contest - your own are always the best!

Some bloke spoilt the picture

No time to do any athletics updates tonight although you will see from the front page I always think of the site wherever I go.

I took the above picture over my shoulder at the Whitesnake concert to capture the atmosphere. When I was reviewing the pictures a short time ago I said to Marie that it was a shame that I got too much of somebody's head in. I was somewhat embarrassed when she pointed out that it was mine! Not that I could hear her first time as I have been deafened! I thought that my days of standing near the front of rock concerts had passed about 30 years ago.

So much for advocating that athletes should always get plenty of sleep. I've been up for 19 hours but am stopping now as I plan to be training again six hours from now - not from the manual!

Double click

To see a larger version of any images on this blog, just double click them.

Sean's peak

I continued my scanning exercise tonight scanning all my newspapers cutting from the Parish Walk through to just before the End to End Walk in September. The period included a great few weeks for Sean Hands; not only did he set a record for the Parish Walk but he also retained his 100 mile walk title in the Isle of Man.

The period also included an article on Gail Griffiths which you may find interesting if you didn't see it at the time or fancy another read.

Hit counter low

Yesterrday was the second quietest day of the year for hits on the website. "Only" 162 different people visited the site which up until a couple a couple of years ago would have been considered a low count. Only Saturday 21 February (154 hits) has been lower this year.

By contrast, our holiday property website www.murrayandmarie.com had a record number of hits with 71 unique users viewing the site in a single day. It didn't lead to a single booking however as I suspect most of them (judging by the emails) were looking for accommodation for the 2010 TT. I feel sorry for them as it is so hard to find and the current weather has probably put people off camping.

Although there are no events for another eight days I intend to keep adding new content to the site as I still have a few things that people have sent me that I have not used and I have quite a few things do do for the Parish Walk.

6 weeks to finish a marathon

I have finally finished watching the recording of the London Marathon more than six weeks after the event!

Having read quite a few reports about the coverage I was quite surprised at just how good it was. The variety between the elite runners, the celebrities, the wheelchairs, the fun runners and the junior races was fascinating. Add to that, you so many people have the choice of using the red button (everyone next year) to follow their favorite part of the race then you could hardly feel let down.

My only complaint (as always) was the repetitive nature of big Bren. He was convinced that the pacemakers were going too fast even for world record pace but they always fail to take account of the downhill nature of the first few miles.

Where the world record was lost (if it ever was possible) was that 4.25 19th mile. That was awesome.

If only the rest of the media had given such good coverage as the BBC. Who was that woman who finished second? You wouldn't know if you read most newspapers.

Keith Gerrard's record

It was great to hear from Andy Fox last night when he reported Keith's record featured on the front page.

He gave me the time as 3.48.6 and when I compiled the article I checked and found it to be 3.48.61. I used the time in two places but in one place I got ended up showing it as 3.46.1.

I published the article just before midnight and Andy emailed me at 5.49 this morning on his way to the ferry with the Manx Harriers team. I had made the correction by 6.30 so its just as well that neither of us got much sleep.

Too much talk

Its been an early start this morning and I have just completed a complete overhaul of the front page. I can't believe how quickly it has built up again this week after doing something similar last weekend.

I was told by Adrian Cowin last week that the End to End Walk entry forms and race information were going to be available on the event website on 1 June but, with trying to find space for a few others things on the site that I had for a while, I missed the launch date. Sorry about that. The information was prepared by Parish Walk champion Jock Waddington. I've already mentioned that I will be publishing a video interview with Jock soon.

I remembered that I had forgotten (if you know what I mean) to publicise the publication of the End to End Walk stuff last night whilst enjoying the Talon concert at the Gaiety Theatre.

At least my thoughts were private unlike the idiots who think they are giving their opinion to their partners but share them with all around them and somewhat spoil some of the songs. Is it only in the Isle of Man that people rudely talk during a show?

Talon are an Eagles tribute band and it was a good warm up for Marie and I who are off to Manchester to see the real thing yet again next month.

In case you have not seen this film of mine showing Rob Heffernan in action, here is another chance. Michael has not quite made it yet!

More to come

I took quite a bit of video of the 10,000 metres walk last night but didn't manage to find time to edit it.

I'm out tonight so it will probably be Friday evening before it appears.

I also interviewed defending champion Jock Waddington for the www.parishwalk.com site. This will be published in the next few days in the count down (16 days) to the big race.

You'll be pleased to know that this heading has nothing to do with the Michael George sickness clip.

Finished three times in one run

In case anyone watches the video of the 10,000 metres track championships and is confused by Robbie Lambden finishing three times, I had better explain.

He misheard the lap scorers calling out someone else's laps and thought he had two laps to go. He produced a sprint finish after running two but he actually had four more to go after that!

He managed to get running again for another lap but then walked off the track, I thought to retire.

I told him that he still had another three to go so he walked and jogged a couple of them before runing the final one - and sprinting to the line again!

As if he hadn't made it hard enough for himself by gradually moving further and further out from the inside lane - at one point he was running in lane 5.

Failing miserably

My newspaper clippings from Manx papers goes back about 35 years.

They are in a mixture of scrapbooks, photocopies in lever arch files, plastic sleeves and all sorts. Although the archives have given me a valuable source of data and information for this website there has never been an easy way of keeping things up to date.

A couple of years ago I decided that I would convert them all into digital format and I have kept the current reports up to date by spending an hour or two at the scanner every month or two.

But the backlog is killing me. Tonighht. I tried to do a 9 month block from April to the end of 2006 and I have only got as far as the Parish Walk (the weekend beforehand). It will all be worth it in the end....I keep telling myself. At the moment I am failing miserably.

Anyway, before I start a little more work on the website I will attach a cutting from exactly three years ago with the report of the 10,000 metres. See you there tomorrow.

PS I am planning a major feature in the "near future" about the importance of retaining records for future generations. Alan Franklin has been archiving records at the Manx Museum but we can all help him. This is something I have been trying to find a gap in the agenda for for several months and I have a 13 gap between local events after tomorrow.