No Quiver

Many a time I have stumbled upon the photo from an 80s marathon and wondered which year it was from. Tonight I have put it to the test as a front page feature. Who do you recognise?

One thing is for sure, it is Alistair Sutherland in the foreground. He might have only been an occasional runner but he was from a good pedigree - he features in the Douglas High School for Boys cross country team alongside the likes of Steve Kelly, Steve Higgins and Martin Lambden.  A Parish Walk finisher too.

His brothers were in the same four year cycle as our family. I went to school with Craig who I was delighted to see at Christmas time when he called at our home. Craig shared a house with me when as a student in Manchester he put up with me for my six months when I moved from Stoke (where I was studying) to Manchester where I did my industrial training, or as they would call it in these American infiltrated days, my internship. Craig did a few Manx Mountain Marathons among other things but as yet I haven't found any photos of him - they are yet to be scanned.. Craig is pretty keen on running again now and I have just looked him up. Among his finishes this year is the Manchester Marathon

http://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=427425

And Alvin, in the photo, is the same age as my brother Mike. What is more, he is married to my cousin Ruth. Alvin played football for Braddan alongside former Parish Walk winner Derek Harrison who made his walking debut in the TT Relay Walk for a Braddan team.  I used to watch Ruth play in a band in the 70s at places like the Majestic Hotel covering Fleetwood Mac and Little Feat songs.

And there is a fourth brother too, the eldest. Timothy was a top motor cycle trials rider and car salesman who sold us our Toyota Avensis. He retired without much chance of us changing cars in his working life.

I've got a few records by the Sutherland Brothers too. One of them, wrote one of Rod Stewart's greatest hits "Sailing". They teamed up with another band to become Sutherland Brothers and Quiver. The only time I saw one of the Manx Sutherland brothers quiver was when, on New Year's Eve with a a drunken teenager in  the family home Alvin suggested: "Perhaps Murray could stay at your house Timothy." The Quiver ended with: "In that bloody state - no chance."

Take three

My first task yesterday morning involved walking to DMS in Desmense Road. As I walked back I went via Eastfield I bumped into Manx Telecom Parish Walk winner Michael George. He was lacking enthusiasm for his training session and stopped to talk.

Later, I headed for Ramsey where Robbie enjoys running around the course used for the Ramsey Park Runs. Who do I meet up with but Michael (plus Irene, Lucy and Harry).

This afternoon, Marie and I went to the Southern Agricultural Show and you can geuss who we met. More photos here:

http://isleofman.in/southernshow

Looking back

The archive page now includes the features from the past few weeks which weren't previously linked:

http://www.manxathletics.com/Archives.html

Robbie Lambie has just been to bar

Dignity

I've got nothing against the Royal family. Notwithstanding the privileged lifestyle that she has enjoyed, the Queen has lived her life in way that many of us could learn from.

The dignity that she displays is a world apart from the trash that is being printed and the rubbish generated in the media about the new member of the royal family.

Let's get on with our own lives. Or those that we have more interest in.

So welcome back to the Island Games team. There has been full coverage of their exploits elsewhere, and I have enjoyed a reading David Griffiths's reports in the local papers. I just hope that this week's local papers have some space left for sport and that they too are not filled with royal stories.

Its reigning

I was really lucky when I went out for a run at around 7 am. It had been raining heavily just before (and I am sure it will again) but it eased off for me. If only the idiot in the four wheel drive who tried to beat the lights at the bottom of Bray Hill, where there was deep water, hadn't sprayed half of Cronkbourne Road I would have almost remained dry.

I am glad that I avoided the news last night - it was 10.45 before I heard about the birth of the heir to the throne. Good news that you only need to hear once.

Digging out some old marathon photos

You can usually tell when I am putting off a job that I don't want to do as I allow myself to get sidetracked into something that is enjoyable but much less important.

I was reflecting on how many people know Robbie Callister better as a walker than a runner and so decided to do a bit more publicity for the Microgaming Isle of Man Marathon by publishing the previous winners of the event which would show just how good Robbie was.

Once I had put this together it also showed that Steve Kelly had run one of several 2.27 marathons on home soil so I should look for an oldie of him.

I knew I had an old photo at the start of one of the events in the 80s but could I prove that it was 1983, the year when Steve set the event record? To prove it I would have to find the press cuttings to see of one of the runners I knew was in the results. I found the cuttings but he wasn't!

But I remember the 1983 marathon extremely well. And how it was extremely hot - we haven't always had wet and windy summers you know! For I felt the heat for nearly 4 hours. I planned to race walk it in about 3.40 but the heat got the better of me and it took 3.53. There was some shelter at Billown but the photos of me below show how my head dropped as the race progressed.

Terry "Beggar" Evans was on the feeding station.

To late to do those emails now!

Change of focus

For those of us who run in the early morning throughout the winter, today is the sort of day to die for. The trouble is, after being spoilt with such good weather, feeling lethargic and in my case, facing the prospect of very few weekdays away from work for the remainder of the year, I probably didn't appreciate how nice it was when I went for a run a short time ago.

I got back into the swing of things yesterday by going walking with Robbie (photos below), gardening at the cottage, a planning session in the office and tidying up at home. At least by working on my laptop whilst on holiday I did not have a mountain of email.

Looking at the fixture list, its the lull before the storm with an incredibly busy couple of months for endurance events with the Isle of Man Ultra Fell Race, the End to End Walk, the Isle of Man Marathon, the 100 miles and the Ellan Vannin Fell Race, not to mention that lots of athletes will be doing the End to End Mountain Bike Challenge and there is an event every evening the week after the marathon.

Unlike anyone off on their summer holidays, I shall be here to see them all!   

15 medals

Congratulations to all the medal winners in the Island Games and indeed to all competitors.

I have had an unexpected opportunity to update the website with the final results after being woken by the fire alarm at 5.30 this morning. Instead of going back to bed I have spent the last hour on my hobby - even though my aim of returning from holiday totally refreshed is now blown!

One for Nige

I thought that Nigel Armstrong would be interested to know where we went to tonight. Had quite a skinful as after sharing a bottle of red with Marie, I opened a beer when I got back and then Ben and Jenny called unannounced (at least I hadn't seen the text) and we opened the bottle of champagne that our landlord had left us for co-operating with a perspective buyer.Did we really complain that it got chilly on the balcony?

York City

I had  a quick look back inside the National Railway Museum this morning and it was incredibly quiet now that the exhibition of six engines of the same type (A4) has been broken up. I just took of photo of one of them (4464 - Bittern) from our balcony as an East Coast mainline train passed its parking spot outside the museum.

Moving east a little we can see the floodlights from York City's Bootham Crescent football stadium. The currently play in League 2 which to people of my generation is the 4th division!

Move round a bit further and we can see York Minster where the stone  work is currently being painstakingly renovated.

More upstream chat

Had a later start than normal this morning and boy was it hard on a 30 minute run by the river. We are on our last full day in York and shortly go to finish as we started with breakfast at Bettys. But first a chance to go back to some of the conversations during the past few days.

Andy Garrett had his mum, Peggy, staying with him at Tickton near Beverley a couple of weeks ago - except that she spent the first night in the Royal Hull Infirmary after feeling unwell. She was feeling much better when she went back to the Isle of Man.

Denis Jackson also reported on visitors from the Isle of Man. John Cannell and Richard Creer were both in York on Sunday 7 July for the 30th and final Postman in Uniform Walk. Unfortunately Richard was ill and not able to properly compete. Denis is still getting close to the hour for 10km and that is his target for when he reaches 70 in a couple of years time.

Down the road at Doncaster, Kevin Deakes reported that the heat felt like he imagined it would be like in Bermuda. The fastest over 5km by an over 50 he can find is 17.51 by Kevin Vondy. Kevin Deakes clocked 17.35 on Wednesday.

Breakfast is about to be served!

2 hour chat

As the fantastic weather continues, I sat down for a cup of tea in the garden with an old friend today. Without moving we chatted for two hours without any thought for the time.

My friend was the 4th fastest British 50km walker of all time, Denis Jackson, and I took a photo before I left.

Just over 30 years ago I chatted for about the same length of time as we paced each other through the first half of a 50km walk just a few miles down the road in one of my failed attempts to break 4 hours and 10 minutes.

It doesn't do to think about where we will be 30 years from now and the conversation over dinner with Marie, Ben and Jenny tonight about mourning customs (after visiting the York Castle Museum) was entirely coincidental.

There has been drama over York tonight with a police helicopter flying overhead for an hour or so with no reason apparent. I am sure it has nothing to do with the arrival in York of Denis's nephew Paul and wife Marie who is racing near the city on Saturday.

AG - 34 years later

We met up with Manxman Andy Garrett and his New Zealand wife Karen today. Andy who holds a PhD in Sports Science is a lecturer at the University of Hull. 

Andy's own athletics career was hardly textbook. According to the press coverage of the Boundary Harriers Half Marathon of 1979 (which I researched tonight) he set a personal best of 1:27:31. Personal best? Well I don't know how many others he ran before that because he was only 13 at the time!

Andy will on the Isle of Man for the weekend of the Tower Insurance 100 Miles and hopes to "catch up" with as many of his Manx friends as possible.

Rivalry close to home

During the past 24 hours I have exchanged emails with someone back in the Isle of Man. The winner of the Up & Running Ramsey Park runs; the man who improved his personal best by 14 seconds last Friday.

He invited me to race him around the streets of Doncaster tomorrow night but I have declined.

I've had a fair bit of rivalry over the past few years with Kevin Deakes since he moved to the Island from Doncaster in 2006. I set an over 50's Manx Half Marathon record in November 2006 (a few weeks after I qualified in that age group) but I lost it to Kevin - where else but York. So he has the best over 50 mark, I have the next two but his fourth best was recorded in Scunthorpe at the end of April and went unreported. The email describing his 1.19.38 performance has been lying in my "to do" folder.

Kevin is the publisher of at least three websites and so we have a bit more in common. Anoraks perhaps?

Well its been much too hot to wear an anorak in York these past 10 days but I did the next best thing today spending three hours with Ben at the National Railway Museum. Opened in 1975, and very much in the photo view from our balcony, its had record attendances during our stay when all six surviving A4 steam engines have been on display (see photo).

Guess where the engines, including Mallard, which holds the record as the fastest steam engine in the world,  were built? Doncaster. I bet that Kevin will be steaming to another record in Doncaster tomorrow.

Scar

Any pretence that we are doing anything cultural in Yorkshire this week was blown away when lunch in a Weatherspoons in Scarborough followed a Lidl takeaway yesterday.

Ben added some classy photos of the butterflies in the grounds of Scarborough Castle to some some that I am told have to stay in the password protected files - not that I would say anything about what Marie looks like when paddling in the sea. The other photo is of his emergence from the pub.

This was probably the day I appreciated being healthy more than any other. The average person at the Yorkshire seaside town made me feel rather fit.

But thinking about the really fit athletes among the 80,000 Manx residents (let's face it there are quite a few less healthy people at home too), I've added a link to the performances of each of the Island Games athletes. Fingers crossed for all in Bermuda,

Lost direction

There has been so much good sport to watch on TV today - cricket, cycling and athletics apart from anything else. But our TV has not even been on and so I have lost direction a bit.

The same thing was true when our SatNav packed up today and we didn't get to the intended destination. But lunch in Harrogate and the afternoon in Knaresborough (above) more than made up for it. And after being somewhat extravagant eating out in the past week, finding a Lidl of the way back and buying some cheap beer was reason for cheap cheer for the fine sporting performances that I read about but did not watch.

Never a dull moment

There have been record crowds passing below our apartment in York this week as they head to the National Rail Museum. We had a look past yesterday but deferred our visit when we heard that the queue would last 30 minutes in the extreme heat.

The traffic jams were also caused by visitors to the York (horse) races and those visitors were hitting the town last night - and a lot seem to pass our place through the night.

I've had my best run of the week this morning by reverting to my usual "getting up" time - managed an hour on the riverside paths before the sun got too hot.

This morning there is Dragon Boat Races on the River Ouse - a bit like our Long Boat Races in Peel. The photo was taken a few minutes ago from our balcony. There is a very loud PA - that's not Dot I hear is it?

We are going out of York for the day before the traffic builds up.

Doctor, doctor

Wonderful day at Ben's (and Jenny's) graduation in York today. The Hull York Medical School (one from each site) has produced 1/6th of the intake of new doctors to the Isle of Man this month.

Hull of a day

Sight seeing in Hull. Its more interesting than you think. Especially with adverts like this! Hope that Marie didn't see it!

Too many tourists

I left the comfort of my settee a short time ago (where Ben photographed me this time last night) to pop into the York shops to get a few vital supplies (well really it was an excuse to get a bottle of red!). Its so much faster to walk through the streets in the evening than it the day when the streets are full of tourists!

I know, if it wasn't a popular place to visit we wouldn't be here either. And if I didn't update my websites regularly nobody would bother to visit them. But I am having a "should I make the effort" day today particularly when I spend time of my holiday to try and deal with emails too and I receive one from someone complaining about the very poor quality of the images published for the Parish Walk - more than two weeks after I took the trouble to upload the full resolution version of the files (the complainant had downloaded the small file that was published whilst he was still in the race), the photographers do not get paid or receive expenses and all but the marginal costs charged by the host site go to charity.

Nightlife

Ben and his girlfriend Jenny, who has a flat in York, arrived back from their holiday in the early morning and called to see us. It was close to 3 by the time we "hit the sack" today.

When describing the places we had eaten during our stay here, they were surprised that we had been to the Revolution Bar ("revs"). We are hardly known for trendsetting.

Maybe I should have gone for my daily run at that time as it sure is hot now and I'm about to run along the banks of the Ouse again.

The Island Games are getting very close and I have brought David Griffiths's statistics about past performances back to the front page.

Hot

On Saturday morning I caught sight of a group of race walkers passing our cottage and I went out to give them "a shout". To my surprise, four times Parish Walk winner Jock Waddington, joint record holders Richard Gerrard and Vinny Lynch, and Dave Walker turned around and stopped to chat.

With the exception of Dave, who will be on a family holiday at the time, they are all racing on the Tower Insurance 100 miles four weeks later and with the Manx Telecom Parish Walk only two weeks earlier, they could not achieve much on their training walk other than ticking over.

I published a photo of John Cannell on the home page this morning. He is one of the walkers I am sure could have gone a lot faster in the Parish Walk had he placed as much emphasis on it as he did on his 100 mile and 50km events in the UK. I raise the question, how good are the the current stars compared to JC's 17 hours 10 minutes? But its almost a case of role reversal as it will be very hard for the fastest of the PW entrants, Richard Gerrard, to reproduce his form six weeks later.

One way or another, it will be a hot pace at the NSC and the guys I spoke to did not seem worried about the multi lap course.

Hot is a very short description of my day. We're chilling out in York and not even moved the car from the basement car park yet. The sixth floor flat where we are staying went on the market last week and its a hot price of £649k!

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/homes/property_news/10512277.Penthouse_at_Westgate_Apartments_in_York_city_centre/

View as I write - time to fill that glass!

Murray's day

Looking forward to watching Andy Murray from our rooftop apartment in York. Before a wonderful breakfast in Betty's, I published Stan Hall's photos of the Laxey Fell Race. Going to catch up my sleep a little in the next couple of weeks. Its a day for writing a load of balls and to avoid hitting the net too much.

Best time of year

Premium Lounge on the Manannan. Away for two weeks.

Well dressed dog walker

"We're leaving at 6.45" she said. I had been dashing around all afternoon for various reasons but I kept to my word and was back to the house with 10 minutes to spare, got showered and changed into a suit and was ready on time. Marie drove to the Villa Marina where I noticed men in dinner jackets. "You didn't tell me it was black tie" I said. "Well it has been every other time you have been to this dinner for the past six years she said".

I had to dash back home and change into my fourth suit in three days. After too much food, and certainly too much wine, I was certainly overdressed for a dog walk that stretched into a new day. A day I plan to be up at 5.30.

And then there 8

When I checked last night there were just 9 places remaining for the Tower Insurance 100 mile challenge. This morning there are 8. That means there are 92 entries so far.

Entry list

Website

Marshal appeal

Two lifetime achievers in the family

In April, my elder brother, Mike, who I have often mentioned on my pages, received a special award at Alton Towers. He didn't go into the Black Hole or even have to face the mud of the nearby cross country course, but much to his surprise he was invited onto the stage at a hotel to be honoured by his fellow professionals in the bus and coach industry to receive a life time award. He retired from his position as corporate affairs manager in December after 46 years with National Express.

And you know what they say about waiting for buses and then two come along at the same time? This week my brother in law Alan Gosschalk, a  week after walking  45 miles in the Manx Telecom Parish Walk, received  the Lifetime Achievement award from the Institute of Fundraising for 24 years of fundraising with Help The Aged, RNID, Shelter and Scope.

Alan making an appearance (whilst on holiday) in the Ramsey Park Runs 

The next athletics awards to be presented will be at the Laxey Fell Race on Saturday (I have done a final promotion for that tonight) but I will be all at sea by then. But first I have a day and a bit of being my wife's husband as I continue to play second fiddle to my esteemed family members.

Links:

http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/fundraising/blogs/user/Alan-Gosschalk

http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/Fundraising/article/1188576/action-children-merlin-top-iof-awards/

http://www.ukcoachawards.co.uk/content/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=280&Itemid=195

http://thebuspeople.co.uk/?p=1639

Next challenge

I have just replied to about 15 emails from the past couple of weeks, mainly Parish Walk related, from people asking me how to buy photos or contact so and so etc.

I'm am doing my best but there are still lots that I haven't replied to and this lot was at the cost of missing out on the fresh air I intended to take!

Cheque in the post (almost)

I am pleased to say I have written another cheque for £300 to this Isle of Man Agricultural Benevolent Trust this evening. Its from some of the profits from the photo sales at the Manx Telecom Parish Walk.

I didn't actually take many photos this year (give or take 500!), so thanks to Vincent Campbell, Karen Kneale, Neil Wilson, Ben Lambden and Mike Lambden for their contributions. Altogether there were close to 9,000 photos!

That takes to £1,800 the profits distributed in the past couple of years and working in blocks of £300 it shouldn't be too long until the next.

I have another photo project to announce that keeps getting put off and put off. Unfortunately it has been put off again! This one is less about making money than reinstating some photos that you might have thought you would never see again.

I was going to go to the post with the cheque but I realised that it (and the other post I want to reach local destinations tomorrow morning) can be posted when I get up in the morning as I will be so early. How many people realise that local post collected before 6 am gets delivered around the Isle of Man on the same morning?

Not just the bald statistics

I've just completed one of those overdue tidy ups of the front page and created a few more archive pages. The front page is nice and clear in the hope that I may add some photos tomorrow evening.

Things have remained hectic for me since the Parish Walk and tomorrow I am on the "red eye" for a work meeting in Manchester. I'm back before 6 pm however so I am packing my camera (but not my video) in the hope that I might manage to get to take some photos of the Bushy's Great South Run when I get back.

I chose a photo from the Pier to Pier run last night to promote the 10km run so I apologise to the runner who was edited out.

But to prove that this site doesn't publish bald statistics here is a bad photo from the same event.