Last post of the year

I've not had much chance to talk about what I have been planning for the website during the past week for a number of reasons.

I have signed off for this year with a short comment / summary of the year on the front page and I'll leave it for you to comment on the forum.

I sound like a teacher (or a parent) here but how many times do I have to say that the forum users must register with their real names? Its not too much to ask for a free (and unsponsored) service.

Happy New Year messages tomorrow.

MWR Coverage complete

At last, I have my entire video collection from the M & P Legal Millennium Way Relay online again (see front page). All the stats are up to date too and you can see all the individual running times since 1999 (the first year I produced the results, a role now performed by Manx Timing Solutions).

No work for me today and after 12 days I finally got a long run in again - I avoided the ice at 7 am this morning by running on the Marine Drive.

I also went to two places I had avoided all year. I took my mother-in-law for her second cataract operation (saw a couple of athletes at the hospital) and visited Tesco with Robbie. After to a party now.

Level 1 coaching

This came from Manx Harriers email updates:

Trevor Christian is looking for people interested in taking a level one coaching course
next year to get in touch with him and show their interest.

If you are interested in getting involved in coaching, contact him at the sports development office on 688576 or email trevor.christian@gov.im for details.

1955 programme for sale on ebay

I wonder if anyone is interested in this - I picked it up through a "Google alert" because it contained the words "manx" and "athletics".

I've spent a lot of time in recent years scanning old stuff like this before getting rid of it so I must resist any temptation.

I'm trying to clear my backlog of emails tonight so there will be a few more small blogs.

Here is the link:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Isle-of-Man---Manx-Athletics---1st-TT-Course-Race-1955_W0QQitemZ370308752366QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxq20091219?IMSfp=TL091219203002r4055

MWR videos

I'm racing against time, but I am trying to get all of the MWR videos together in one place before the event this year. I now have the 1999, 2000 and 2008 videos linked to the front page.

The 2007 video was blocked when YouTube had their dispute with Warner Music so I have deleted it and will republish it. Hopefully that will be available tomorrow morning.

I am committed tomorrow night so I will see if I can get the 1996 and 1997 back up tomorrow lunchtime. Thanks to Chris Quine for confirming that one was from 1999 and not 1998. I think that my video from 1998 must therefore be lost for ever.

There were no videos made between 2000 and 2007.

I hope to do some stats yet too but time, like my running at the moment, is slipping.

One long session replaced by another

My hands were so cold when I came into the house from my run yesterday morning that I felt like putting them in the fridge to warm them up.

Mind you, my strange thoughts may have had something to do with the activities of the previous evening. I had been to “back to back” functions in my capacity as Marie’s husband. I’d drunk more than my share of the red wine and I started my run only six hours after the final sip.

I’d taken yesterday off work to have a quiet day with Marie. Her birthday is a week before Christmas and all too many times it has fallen on days when I have been over-working, over-eating or over-drinking. The nice thing about having a quiet day and going out for lunch was that I was not at all inclined to spend much time on the website.

I had hoped to continue my long Saturday morning runs today but as soon as I stepped out of the door I knew that it was going to be impossible. After my first mile I decided to abandon it and stay in one piece.

As soon as I got back to the house I started writing our Christmas cards. I always forget how long they take.

As I planning to take photos and film at the winter walking league tomorrow but I think I am more likely to be taking photos of the snow around Douglas.

A couple of ironies

During the world conference on climate change the Isle of Man was taking pride that more people used planes to get to and from the Island than in the previous year. And there are more Christmas lights left on overnight than ever before. I nearly ran in the hedge around West Baldwin the other morning -not because I couldn't see in the dark but because I was dazzled by the illuminations.

I think it was 1988

I've taken the day off work today but not to spend all day on the website.

I thought I would have a bit of fun highlighting one of the old Millennium Way Relay films but I have confused myself as the caption and file name suggests 1998 but the description I gave it on YouTube was 1999.

I shall look it up later unless anyone else wants to remind me.

Actually, we look so much younger I was hoping that it miught have been from 1988!

I'd like to run a marathon but I doubt if I'll ever have the time

I was a bit shocked to read this quote tonight. I said those words in 1983.

Not many of the other things I planned at the of my interview for the Sheffield newsletter came true:

http://www.manxathletics.com/forms/ML1983.pdf

All too familar theme but still like to surprise

As I drove home from work I was full of ideas about what I might do on the website tonight.

But I have no regrets at not doing them as I sat happily with my pile of newspapers and Marie caught up with Corrie before Robbie enjoyed an exciting final half hour of the football on Sky.

But a late start found me publishing a small tribute to Kevin Madigan. In the (nearly) 16 years since his passing an awful lot of people have come and gone from the sport but its important that the men and women who contributed to our sport are not forgotten.


So where are the girls now who appear doing their warmups behind Kevin (and Sheffield's John Eddershaw) now?

Relay closed

Unless you live as close to Andy Fox as I do (we are in the same road) it is now too late to enter the M&P Legal Millenium Way Relay - entries close in 10 minutes time and I have changed the detail on the front page to reflect this.

No need for magazines

I'm always tempted to buy more magazines than I can ever read and whilst I was in town this afternoon I glanced at some on photography.



But there is no point in me buying such magazines until I learn to hold the camera still! Seriously it is quite hard to take photos whilst also operating a video camera (and getting out of the way when you realise that out of control runners and coming straight for you) but I am still sorry that som many of today's photos were out of focus.



Considering how much I rushed the video editing (I had a lot set up in advance) I was quite pleased with the outcome even though I didn't get any fallers like last year. I missed a classic fall by Peter Bradley who came storming down the hill but when he turned to go left his legs carried on down the hill!



I hope to be filming at the first of the 2010 Rentokil Fell Races (back at St Johns on News Years day) but won't be at Greeba this year. I enjoyed that one last year but I shall be off island that weekend.

No turning back

Just back from my Saturday long run - what a nice day at last!

Two miles into my run I realised that I had not updated the link to the hill run and the MWR entries closing from "tomorrow2 to "today". I wasn't turning back but I have made the update now.

I hope to be filming this afternoon.

Never give up

That was the message that came from Dru Hamm's life which has just been celebrated at her funeral service.

Although I have already written about how, my tribute seems so inadequate after other people talked about her today.

To not walk until the age of 8 and to achieve so much is humbling for the rest of us.

Final email of the day was the best yesterday

I couldn't resist the challenge tonight when I read in the Manx Independent that Steve Partington didn't know how many times he had been in the Peel to Douglas Walk.

A few years ago I compiled the list of how many times he had won it when the question was asked of Steve by John Watterson. Unlike me, Steve doesn't wear an anorak!

Unless he has any other "DNFs" or "DQs" that I don't know about then there were three attempts that he did not win.

1983 was the first time I took photos of the event and it was an incredible race with 2 under 20s battling it out with Allan Callow (what a difference in the age profile this year - more about that another day). Poor young Steve suffered in the way that Michael George does these days or perhaps the result might have been different.

In 2003 I was there with camera in hand to see him pull up injured in Crosby.

Last year he was beaten fair and square by two visiting walkers.

Pictures of all three events on the front page.

I've not been online long tonight. I had the chance as I was on my own in the house but I chose to tackle my newspaper mountain (I learnt about the Lib Dem conference!). It was quite different last night when I was tired and grumpy after my mid-week early morning run and took far longer than I should doing as I had promised adding to the Peel to Douglas feature.

My mood was totally lifted when I received a funny email.

I have published it here: It starts quiet well but it worth waiting until the end.

www.manxathletics.info/download/WelshPizza.mp3

Peel to Douglas Walk extra coverage

I'm planning to update my database of finishers tonight and will republish the files containing fastest times/ number of finishes etc. Its always best to get these things done when they are fresh in my mind - I hate opening the file a year later only to realise that I am a year behind.

I've also got one or two tales about visiting walker Peter Ryan to tell.

I put the Millennium Way Relay back on the front page last night. It still needs a lot more people to help if it is to go ahead. These are not ideal threats. Many people seem to have missed the point with their comments about the Peel to Douglas Walk. There were not as many marshals as were required and event organisers cannot continue taking unnecessary risks. I'm certainly going to continue speaking out on road safety matters as I have done for the past 25 years.

The Millennium Way Relay is another special event for me as I took part in the first one and up until recent years I was one of the most prolific entrants. But it always put a strain on our family life when I used to help to organise it and / or had to arrange transport for runners that I had coerced into taking part. I eventually decided that if it was to remain on Boxing Day that I would no longer take part or be involved, although I have continued to take photos and video on my own terms ( short stint in middle of the race usually). I thought about rejoining this year (because it is on 27 December) but have now decided to stick with my media role. Plenty of coverage on the site therefore.

In the meantime

All my hopes of refreshing the weekend coverage were dashed when after some family time I spent some time reading the papers. I had Manx Radio on and the music was good but how anyone can put up with the same adverts so many times. I couldn't possibly listen to it all day long like some people do.

So in the words of the worst of them all, "in the meantime" you'll have to put up with the same front page for a little while longer.

Peel to Douglas walk coverage

The planning has paid off and I am just waiting for the video to upload to YouTube before finishing my provisional coverage of the Empire Garage Peel to Douglas Walk.



I hope that the fixture clash can be avoided another year.

The dreaded day arrives

I have been dreading tomorrow for a while due to the fixture clash between the Empire Garage Peel to Douglas Walk and the Manx Gas Cross Country Challenge.

For a number of years I have taken photos of the Peel to Douglas Walk and for the last couple of years also produced videos.

But I am also running in the Cross Country in the afternoon and now I have made this task even harder. For the first time in all the years that I have run cross country I have taken the risk of running 20 miles+ the day before. What was more I thought I had taken up astromogy - I was certainly seeing stars during the last mile!

I'm going for a run first thing in the morning to try and get ride of the stiffness.

I've been charging my batteries in more ways than one as I have four cameras ready for the morning.

I've also got files and projects set up in the various computer packages ready for my attempt to get photos and videos published before leaving for Ramsey.

Finally I must say how happy I am for Steve Taylor, Andy Fox, Peter Kaneen and all those other people who support Man City now that they are only 11 points behind Chelsea with a game in hand.

Good luck to everyone tomorrow.

Its not to late to offer help in the Peel to Douglas Walk.

Nose out of joint

I was particularly nervous about road safety last night whilst watching (and taking photos of) the Ramsey Firemans runs.

A short time earlier Ben (son number 2) had phoned from Denmark to say that he was in A & E after an accident on his bike and he had self diagnosed a broken nose.

As is the way with these things, it could have been worse and it was confirmed that nothing else was broken. He has to return in the next couple of days to get his nose re-set. The car-driver, who was fined by the police was at least responsible in every way. He admitted it was his fault but also stayed with Ben for several hours in hospital, gave him money for bus fares for the next few weeks (he cycles 6 miles each way to the university) and is to get his bike repaired.

At least Robbie stayed in one piece although the photo from the front page displays the nasty remains (on his shoulder) from the accident he had on the track in the summer.

And I should have been more careful dashing in front of a car at the bottom of Bray Hill this morning just before the lights changed.

Fixtures until the end of May

I've extended the "at a glance" list on the home page for another two months until the end of May. As usual, if event organisers wish to change or correct anything please do as soon as possible and not the week before the event.

Recovery time

After a hectic 7 days including board meetings, family parties (with guests staying out our house) and Parish Walk websites I would have liked some recovery time tonight. But instead it was catching up with a stack of paperwork. I've just about got that under control (people are still booking our accommodation right through the winter) but I have had to ignore emails altogether (other than than those where I smell money). I'm going to try and do emails tomorrow night so I'm still going to take a while for anything new on the websites. Then its Ramsey Firemans on Thursday and two events on Sunday to cover. I'm getting tired again already. But first it is early training tomorrow morning.