Too many laps; too little sleep

I'm up far too early this morning. A number of things disturbed my sleep and perhaps my election to run in the 10,000 metres this evening, only my second race of the year, is one of them.

I remember the decision by the IOMAA to introduce the 10,000 metres to the Isle of Man Championships in 1990. We spent about an hour deciding whether, in the event of an over subscription, we would run an A and B race or two heats and a final. In the end just two athletes entered!

That was on the grass track in Peel and my first entry came in 1992 at the NSC as a challenge with Andy Garrett. Somehow, I beat him in the 1,500 metres and he beat me in the 10,000 metres. It should have been the other way around.

My memory seems to recall only every other year because in 1994 the event was held in September and whilst managing the Commonwealth Games team in Canada another challenge arose - I would take walk hero Steve Partington on in a track challenge when we returned. He pulled out of the challenge with injury (I think) and I was left in a field of just 3.

The 1996 race was held in the midday sun on one of the hottest days of the year. Paul Curphey ran his lifetime best and Mike Garrett, who had been training with Paul and I, left me behind with a few laps to go. It would be another 6 years before Mike returned to run!

There were only small fields and the event was dropped for a while. I campaigned on www.manxathletics.com  to have it reinstated and Bridget Kaneen, on behalf of Manx Harriers, offered to put it on during TT week.

On a few occasions it attracted bigger fields than all of the other track races held during the championship weekend. My best two races were winning at the age of 48 in 2005 (a field that included Mike Garrett and Nick Percival) and going under 36 minutes aged 51 a few weeks after starting my morning training runs in 2008.

Last year I won again but with a small field of just three in a slowest winning time of all time.

There is a buzz about the event tonight and I think it will be the best field of 32 to 34 minute runners assembled.

I last raced in the Lancashire Cross Country Championships on the first weekend of the year. I had to pull out of the rest of the cross country season due to family events and planned to run in the Northern 10 before a silly running accident seven and half weeks ago when I think I cracked my ribs.

My furthest session in the 11 days since I started to run again is just four miles so I have to go more than 50% further tonight.
 
But the event is close to my chest and only Andy Fox has run it more than I have in the past 24 years. The extra distance might possibly have contributed to my lack of sleep.

By the time I finish tonight the lap scorers will have gone to sleep. My target is to stay inside my best time for race walking the distance.