Mind the gap

The Sunday before last I had the pleasure of a run around central London. I started from the Tower Hotel, where I was staying, and after a short trip around Wapping, I ran back past the hotel and over Tower Bridge.

Thereafter I ran along the south bank of the Thames to Vauxhall Bridge and back on the north side. I diverted past the Houses of Parliament, pretending I was running in the London Marathon again as I went down Bird Cage Walk and along the Mall, before going along the Strand and retreating along the river bank.

The previous time I had run across Tower Bridge, the day before the London Marathon, I had stopped to talk to a couple of 2 hour and 4 minutes marathon runners! This time I saw dozens of runners and joggers that would take twice that time, or more, to cover the marathon distance and my pace was closer to the latter than the former.

I had the amazing luxury of closed roads in the centre of London as preparations for the Tour of Britain cycle race unfolded - I saw a little of the time trial later in the morning.

My main thought whilst running though was what I am about to say now.

30 years ago we could never have imagined so many middle age people running around the towns and cities of the British Isles. But neither could we have imagined the lack of young people doing the same.

Middle to long distance running standards peaked in the early 1980s. Yet, by the time I ran the Great North Run in 1998 I expected to have to go sub 74 minutes just short of my 42nd birthday to be sure of making the top 200. I would say this, but there was a strong head wind year that year and I only managed 75.21 but it was good enough for 140th.

This year's stage managed Great North Run had the poorest standard ever with the 100th finisher much slower than the same position in the very first year when most of the field were locals. My 1998 time would have achieved 57th this year in much better conditions.

There were just 25 runners in the good club runner standard of 70 to 75 minutes.

I'm greedy. I want to keep the slower runners that are so welcome to our sport but I just wish there far more 20 to 35 years old running and committing to some hard training.

In the early afternoon of that Sunday I went walking close to the Olympic Park.

 

The grandeur of the architecture and facilities is to be admired. But there must be so many young men capable of running under 75 minutes, and women the equivalent standard of sub 83, just by using the parkland, the canal paths and the pavements.

We're told to mind the gap in London and of course the gap doesn't exist on the modern underground lines. But above the surface the gap between the elite runners and the average time has never been more exposed.

Towering memories

"Have you stayed with us before" the receptionist asked me as I checked into the Tower Hotel in London on Saturday.

"Yes" I replied. "But it was 31 years ago." I didn't tell her that by the time I checked out on the previous occasion I effectively ended my race walking career after failing in my attempt to win the National 50km championship and ending up in the position below.

Nor did I tell her that I was there to meet some of the people I had raced that weekend at Enfield in July 1983 - even I did not know that I would be seated on the same table as Roger Mills (left) and Amos Seddon (right) at the lunch to celebrate British walkers at the Commonwealth Games since 1966 - had Graham Young been between Roger and I and Chris Maddocks between myself and Amos this would have replicated the seating plan!

In 1983 the 50km championship started at midday in temperatures high into the 80s. So what has changed other than that we measure the heat in centigrade?

There used to be four national road walking championships at 10 miles (March), 20km (May), 20 Miles (June) but replaced by 35km, and 50km (July). They were all preceded by regional championships at the same distances.

30 or 40 years ago there were calls for reform. Too many championships, so they introduced another at 100km.

Who would have thought that in the Isle of Man 30 years later we were disappointed at a field of just over 200 for the End to End walk. On the other side of the coin, who would have thought that great clubs like Sheffield and Leicester would have vanished.

 

Or that Stella Corlett, pictured with me on the Steam Packet ferry on the way to the race, would have achieved 9 finishes in the 85 Mile Parish Walk - more than her husband Roy, who took the photo, and myself combined.

 

Some things don't change. Amos Seddon, who was leading the race in the photo above, can still eat everyone else under the table and 1974 Commonwealth Champion, John Warhurst on the left of the photo above, still has the same hairstyle!

Friends were just as important than as now and I was so grateful to Roy (in photo with me) and Stella for going to support me and record the moments in 1983.

My sister Margaid used to support me at quite a few races so it was nice that she and her husband Alan joined me for breakfast on Sunday.

This blog has not really gone the way I intended so I shall just concentrate on my last 50km race. Here are the reports:

"How was your stay sir? I hope you won't wait another 31 years before you return" she said. Not sure that I will be round in 31 years but you won't have to wait that long to read, or avoid, my next story from the Tower Hotel as I have some more stories to tell reflecting on the past 30 years.