Picture the scene this coming Wednesday evening……………. Darren Gray sits at home perhaps pondering over West Brom’s future in the Premier League when the phone rings “Hi Darren, Lancs Team Manager here……..fancy a run in the Inter Counties on Saturday?” Don’t bet against it happening – it would not be the first time such calls have been made.
As hard working and well meaning as they are, my experience is that Lancs team management do not fully understand what Isle of Man runners have to do to compete at a decent level. Take selection for this weekend’s Inter Counties. The policy is to select the first five senior men in the County Champs with four discretionery places held for others. Whilst that seems fair enough on the face of it, the reality is that with little opportunity to prove themselves in other events, it is more or less a case of finish in the top five or miss out on selection as other, more known, runners will be chosen instead. This often includes runners who have not competed in the County Champs so how can you measure their form against those who do compete in the County Champs? Recent selections indicate our runners have one bite at the cherry.
So let’s look at those selected ahead of Darren, who finished 7th in the county event. Incidentally, Darren has competed in the senior County Champs race every year at least since 2002.
One runner competed in Edinburgh on the day of the country champs – ok, good to gain experience at that level and no doubt one of the best runners in the county, but given that Keith Gerrard raced up at Blackburn why couldn’t others do the same? A second runner is a former county champion but has dropped out of the last two Inter Counties races. A third runner, whilst in great condition for his age will be a Vet 45 this year – hardly planning for the future. The fourth discretionary place goes to a runner who I cannot ever remember competing in the County Champs at senior level (or at junior level for that matter) who finished behind 5 IOM runners in last week’s National Cross Country.
Whilst all may have pedigree, one way or the other, the unfair situation is that they were unwilling to put themselves to the test against others at the county event when their form could be fairly measured. It is also doing a disservice to the county Champs as the best runners are not encouraged to compete. Lancs could strive to make their event one of “the” races of the county champs weekend, up there with the likes of Yorkshire and Middlesex and set themselves up really well for the county champs – everyone would know that this really was the best Lancs could produce.
I have used Darren as a example, no doubt there are others too but the main point is that we have one chance to impress and if you don’t make the top 5, that is it (other than the last minute call up), whilst others can pick and chose and point to other events to demonstrate their form.
I realise that an effort has been made to produce the best team for the day but sometimes you need to look at the bigger picture – what is best for the development of the sport as a whole and what is fair?
Monday, 2 March 2009
Thursday, 26 February 2009
National reflections
I was disapponted to miss the trip to the National in London last weekend but having injured my calf/achilles the wek after the Lancs Champs I knew it was unlikely I could make it.
Although Keith Gerrard was the first IOM runner, pride of place went to Kevin Loundes. To finish in the top 5% after just three years of running was a great achievement. Keith will be disappointed with his run and hopefully he can rectify things quickly in next weekend's Inter Counties/World Cross trial.
The course looked to be very muddy but it was good to see the largest field for around a decade - hopefully this trend will continue. The best way to measure your performance from one National to the next is to take your position as a percentage of the number of finishers - 300th from 1400 is better than 300th from 1000 finishers - so even those whose position is constant are still improving!
Gail Griffiths continued her improvement in the women's race and it would be great to have a women's team at some point in the future.
Next year the event is at Roundhay Park, Leeds so it should be more accessible for many. Indeed it should - just about - be possible to do in a day, weather permitting. It was a common Northern venue for the National in the 1970's, 80' and 90's but has not been used since 1998. I remember running there that year - the course was quite firm but features Hill 60 - a lung bursting 250 hill something like Crellins Hill!
Next weekend we have the Inter Counties/World Cross trial at Nottingham on Saturday and locally the last round of the Manx Gas League at Nobles Park on Sunday. The last round can be a bit of an anti climax as people start to concentrate on their own goals for later in the year i.e. Manx Mountain Marathon, London Marathon, track season etc plus some already have enough races completed to finish the league. Still, Nobles Park is our spiritual home of cross country so it would be good to see a decent turn-out.
I hope to make the start line myself. I managed my longest run for about three months last weekend covering around 11-12 miles. After only managing about 9 runs in each of December and January I have done much better in February. Most of my training is just steady running but I managed some intervals on the cross trainer on Monday. I hope it stays dry over the next 10 days so it is not too muddy!
Next time I will say a bit more on next week's events including my thoughts on Inter Counties selections - suffice to say, I don't think they always give our runners a fair hearing when making selections.
Although Keith Gerrard was the first IOM runner, pride of place went to Kevin Loundes. To finish in the top 5% after just three years of running was a great achievement. Keith will be disappointed with his run and hopefully he can rectify things quickly in next weekend's Inter Counties/World Cross trial.
The course looked to be very muddy but it was good to see the largest field for around a decade - hopefully this trend will continue. The best way to measure your performance from one National to the next is to take your position as a percentage of the number of finishers - 300th from 1400 is better than 300th from 1000 finishers - so even those whose position is constant are still improving!
Gail Griffiths continued her improvement in the women's race and it would be great to have a women's team at some point in the future.
Next year the event is at Roundhay Park, Leeds so it should be more accessible for many. Indeed it should - just about - be possible to do in a day, weather permitting. It was a common Northern venue for the National in the 1970's, 80' and 90's but has not been used since 1998. I remember running there that year - the course was quite firm but features Hill 60 - a lung bursting 250 hill something like Crellins Hill!
Next weekend we have the Inter Counties/World Cross trial at Nottingham on Saturday and locally the last round of the Manx Gas League at Nobles Park on Sunday. The last round can be a bit of an anti climax as people start to concentrate on their own goals for later in the year i.e. Manx Mountain Marathon, London Marathon, track season etc plus some already have enough races completed to finish the league. Still, Nobles Park is our spiritual home of cross country so it would be good to see a decent turn-out.
I hope to make the start line myself. I managed my longest run for about three months last weekend covering around 11-12 miles. After only managing about 9 runs in each of December and January I have done much better in February. Most of my training is just steady running but I managed some intervals on the cross trainer on Monday. I hope it stays dry over the next 10 days so it is not too muddy!
Next time I will say a bit more on next week's events including my thoughts on Inter Counties selections - suffice to say, I don't think they always give our runners a fair hearing when making selections.
Monday, 16 February 2009
Catching up
Apologies for the absence of recent updates - a combination of holiday, working late and laziness!
Since my last update we have had the IOM Cross Country Champs and Merseyside Schools. This coming weekend we have what for many club runners is the highlight of the season - the English National - this year being held in what for many is the spritual home of cross country, Parliament Hill Fields on Hampstead Heath. There will be good local representation through a large Manx Hariers party. This is one race everyone should do at least once in their career.
Since a separate trial for the World Champs was set up around 20 years ago, the National has tended to lose it status and the fields are around half of their 2500 records of the late 1980s. At one time you needed to be a World Class athlete to win the race. These days some will skip it to save thmeselves for the trial. However, it is still the biggest race of the winter in terms of numbers and the winner will follow a great list of previous winners.
It was at Parliament Hill that Keith Gerrard made a big breakthrough in 2003 when he finished 2nd in the Under 17 race. This time he will be in the senior race and, I would think looking for a top 10 placing at least. It is usually muddy so should suit him well. He has raced quite sparingly with just a run out in the Lancs Champs since the Euro Cross in mid December. I will also be interesting to see how recent IOM Champion continues his improvement having been around 130th last year.
A problem with my calf/achilles put paid to my own aspirations of making the trip and as a result things have gone a bit flat. I am easing back into training but need to set a clearer goal to help build some momentum to my training. It would be nice to run in the final round of the Manx Gas at Nobles Park on 8th March - we will see. That will be the last of the local events but there is, of course big events such as the English Schools and World Cross still to come - hopefully we will have local representation in both events.
Since my last update we have had the IOM Cross Country Champs and Merseyside Schools. This coming weekend we have what for many club runners is the highlight of the season - the English National - this year being held in what for many is the spritual home of cross country, Parliament Hill Fields on Hampstead Heath. There will be good local representation through a large Manx Hariers party. This is one race everyone should do at least once in their career.
Since a separate trial for the World Champs was set up around 20 years ago, the National has tended to lose it status and the fields are around half of their 2500 records of the late 1980s. At one time you needed to be a World Class athlete to win the race. These days some will skip it to save thmeselves for the trial. However, it is still the biggest race of the winter in terms of numbers and the winner will follow a great list of previous winners.
It was at Parliament Hill that Keith Gerrard made a big breakthrough in 2003 when he finished 2nd in the Under 17 race. This time he will be in the senior race and, I would think looking for a top 10 placing at least. It is usually muddy so should suit him well. He has raced quite sparingly with just a run out in the Lancs Champs since the Euro Cross in mid December. I will also be interesting to see how recent IOM Champion continues his improvement having been around 130th last year.
A problem with my calf/achilles put paid to my own aspirations of making the trip and as a result things have gone a bit flat. I am easing back into training but need to set a clearer goal to help build some momentum to my training. It would be nice to run in the final round of the Manx Gas at Nobles Park on 8th March - we will see. That will be the last of the local events but there is, of course big events such as the English Schools and World Cross still to come - hopefully we will have local representation in both events.
Monday, 26 January 2009
Hoping for the race of the season
One of my earliest running memories is taking part in the 1975 (!!) Isle of Man Cross Country Championships at Nobles Park – under 11’s race! The main things I remember about my race are that we ran further because it was the championship and the late Steven Mackie won the race effortlessly because he was very good. I think I was third wth Northern AC timekeeper in second place. I also remember that Steve Kelly won the senior race from Dave Newton and the buzz that pervaded throughout the afternoon. Who knows what impact that had on me as a ten year old but 34 years on that I am writing this suggests it was a favourable one!
This Sunday sees the 2009 edition of the Isle of Man Championships, being held at Pulrose Golf Course. David Griffiths has already provided an excellent preview on both the men’s and women’s races on the manxathletics.com forum. I am hoping it will be the race of the year as its championship status deserves –fine weather, good crowd creating an electric atmosphere, a large field and an exciting race would all go down well. If a few of the fell runners have a go that would add even more spice.
Kevin Loundes has had a great winter and will start as favourite in the main race of the day – the senior men’s race. If he does win it will be reward for hard work over the past three years. However, surprises can happen and Darren Gray is the one most likely to cause an upset. He already knows about upsets in this race - in 2004 Darren was probably the race favourite but Andy Cannell had a storming run to upset the form book to take the honours. I remember afterwards Andy telling me he had carbo-loaded or two days to build up his energy! He proved it was no fluke by winning again in 2005 since when John Halligan has been the man to beat. It looks like we could see a new name on the trophy this year.
It could be quite muddy on Sunday after so much recent rain so that may also have a bearing on positions throughout the field. I will look for internet access on my trip away and see the results on Sunday night. May the best man win!!
Let’s hope for good sized fields in all the age groups and close racing throughout – it is what Championship racing is all about.
I am also pleased to see that Sunday counts as double points for the Manx Gas Challenge – this was something I proposed a while ago to encourage those running the league to take part in the Championship – it isn’t just for those at the front of the field.
This Sunday sees the 2009 edition of the Isle of Man Championships, being held at Pulrose Golf Course. David Griffiths has already provided an excellent preview on both the men’s and women’s races on the manxathletics.com forum. I am hoping it will be the race of the year as its championship status deserves –fine weather, good crowd creating an electric atmosphere, a large field and an exciting race would all go down well. If a few of the fell runners have a go that would add even more spice.
Kevin Loundes has had a great winter and will start as favourite in the main race of the day – the senior men’s race. If he does win it will be reward for hard work over the past three years. However, surprises can happen and Darren Gray is the one most likely to cause an upset. He already knows about upsets in this race - in 2004 Darren was probably the race favourite but Andy Cannell had a storming run to upset the form book to take the honours. I remember afterwards Andy telling me he had carbo-loaded or two days to build up his energy! He proved it was no fluke by winning again in 2005 since when John Halligan has been the man to beat. It looks like we could see a new name on the trophy this year.
It could be quite muddy on Sunday after so much recent rain so that may also have a bearing on positions throughout the field. I will look for internet access on my trip away and see the results on Sunday night. May the best man win!!
Let’s hope for good sized fields in all the age groups and close racing throughout – it is what Championship racing is all about.
I am also pleased to see that Sunday counts as double points for the Manx Gas Challenge – this was something I proposed a while ago to encourage those running the league to take part in the Championship – it isn’t just for those at the front of the field.
Thursday, 22 January 2009
Catching up
Despite not being able to run since Saturday it has been a busy few days hence the slight delay in recent postings.
First to Saturday - I was out on a nice hour long run around the Conrhennie Plantation plotting my plans for the next few months and all of a sudden flet a sharp pain in my right achilles/calf. I stopped immediately but as luck would have it I was at the furthest point from my car! I jogged/walked back by a slightly shorter route and by the evening it was very sore. I think it is similar to an injury I had about nine months ago.
I have been following the advice of RICE - rest, ice, comperession, elavation - and had physiotherapy today. I have exercises to do and Paul the physio thinks I may be able to start running next week. Having missed quite a lot of December it makes the National on 21st February look at tall order.
We are now only ten days away from the highlight of the local cross country calendar - the Isle of Man Championships. David Griffiths prepared some great information to promote the event on Manxathletics.com - let's hope for a good turnout. I will not be there - not because of the injury - but will be away for a few days grabbing some winter sun! This was planned before the fixture list!
After the excitment of the Lancs Championships, I enjoyed looking at the many country champs results in Athletics Weekly - most went to first 50 men and first 25 women plus junior age groups. I noticed the names of some Easter Festival runners and also noted some decent results from Guernsey runners in the Hampshire Champs including the winner of the womens event. I also did a little exercise to see the time between first and 25th - my position in Lancs - to try and assess the depth of competition. It is not very scientific but it should be a bit of a guide. The likes of Middlesex and Hampshire had shorter gaps but we were on a par with quite a few including Greater Manchester who are a strong county.
Looking to the Inter Counties - hopefully some local runners have now been selected in addition to those who gained selection by right. Travel plans need to be made so early notification is vital to keep costs down as low as possible.
That is it for now - will try and put down a few more thoughts over the weekend.
First to Saturday - I was out on a nice hour long run around the Conrhennie Plantation plotting my plans for the next few months and all of a sudden flet a sharp pain in my right achilles/calf. I stopped immediately but as luck would have it I was at the furthest point from my car! I jogged/walked back by a slightly shorter route and by the evening it was very sore. I think it is similar to an injury I had about nine months ago.
I have been following the advice of RICE - rest, ice, comperession, elavation - and had physiotherapy today. I have exercises to do and Paul the physio thinks I may be able to start running next week. Having missed quite a lot of December it makes the National on 21st February look at tall order.
We are now only ten days away from the highlight of the local cross country calendar - the Isle of Man Championships. David Griffiths prepared some great information to promote the event on Manxathletics.com - let's hope for a good turnout. I will not be there - not because of the injury - but will be away for a few days grabbing some winter sun! This was planned before the fixture list!
After the excitment of the Lancs Championships, I enjoyed looking at the many country champs results in Athletics Weekly - most went to first 50 men and first 25 women plus junior age groups. I noticed the names of some Easter Festival runners and also noted some decent results from Guernsey runners in the Hampshire Champs including the winner of the womens event. I also did a little exercise to see the time between first and 25th - my position in Lancs - to try and assess the depth of competition. It is not very scientific but it should be a bit of a guide. The likes of Middlesex and Hampshire had shorter gaps but we were on a par with quite a few including Greater Manchester who are a strong county.
Looking to the Inter Counties - hopefully some local runners have now been selected in addition to those who gained selection by right. Travel plans need to be made so early notification is vital to keep costs down as low as possible.
That is it for now - will try and put down a few more thoughts over the weekend.
Thursday, 15 January 2009
Lancashire Cross Country - the good, the bad and the ugly
This week has been one of recovering from last weekend's race. I have done a couple of sessions on the cross trainer and a couple of runs as well. There has been quite few comments already on the Lancashire Cross Country - I thought I would note a few personal thoughts:
The good:
Six medals
Three in the the top seven in the senior race
Eight runners receiving letters for possible Inter Counties selection - hopefully we will have at least four in action at Nottingham
Gemma Astin - won by a mile
Young athletes experiencing off Island competition for the first time
Overall organisation - everything ran to time
Quick results on the day
Hot showers - less runners and less muddy this year so probably not used as much
£2 for a hot drink and home made cake in the cafe afterwards - bargain! Not quite textbook recovery food but very nice!
Our arrangements - all seemed to run very smoothly on the day both there and back (except for one small problem - see comments below re Flybe)
Local media coverage - do the Blackburn and Blackpool runners manage the same level of publicity in their local press
The bad (disappointing):
Keith not winning as expected. I don't think his heart was in it - last year he had a 15m lead after 800m last year
No senior womens team
Not enough younger lads in our teams
Injury to Mike Garrett - before and during the race!
The turnout in some of the age-groups
Too many vets and not enough seniors - 65% vets in the senior race
My shoelace coming undone - twice
Small turnouts from some clubs
Flybe - trying to charge for hold baggage when these where already included in what was an expensive fare
The ugly:
The underfoot conditions - only ever a foot plant from serious injury on certain parts of the course.
This is a great event as it is a level where we can be competitive. Whilst Backburn do a great job with hosting the event, it would be nice to see it return to another venue at some point - Lancaster was used several times in the past and was a popular course.
Manx Harriers provide a great subsidy for the trip. However, I would like to see the club select some of the junior teams and give more of the funding for the trip to help the younger athletes. I am sure this would encourage more of them to go rather than just asking "who wants to go " as we do at the moment and hopefully provide more teams and possible medals in the younger age groups.
The good:
Six medals
Three in the the top seven in the senior race
Eight runners receiving letters for possible Inter Counties selection - hopefully we will have at least four in action at Nottingham
Gemma Astin - won by a mile
Young athletes experiencing off Island competition for the first time
Overall organisation - everything ran to time
Quick results on the day
Hot showers - less runners and less muddy this year so probably not used as much
£2 for a hot drink and home made cake in the cafe afterwards - bargain! Not quite textbook recovery food but very nice!
Our arrangements - all seemed to run very smoothly on the day both there and back (except for one small problem - see comments below re Flybe)
Local media coverage - do the Blackburn and Blackpool runners manage the same level of publicity in their local press
The bad (disappointing):
Keith not winning as expected. I don't think his heart was in it - last year he had a 15m lead after 800m last year
No senior womens team
Not enough younger lads in our teams
Injury to Mike Garrett - before and during the race!
The turnout in some of the age-groups
Too many vets and not enough seniors - 65% vets in the senior race
My shoelace coming undone - twice
Small turnouts from some clubs
Flybe - trying to charge for hold baggage when these where already included in what was an expensive fare
The ugly:
The underfoot conditions - only ever a foot plant from serious injury on certain parts of the course.
This is a great event as it is a level where we can be competitive. Whilst Backburn do a great job with hosting the event, it would be nice to see it return to another venue at some point - Lancaster was used several times in the past and was a popular course.
Manx Harriers provide a great subsidy for the trip. However, I would like to see the club select some of the junior teams and give more of the funding for the trip to help the younger athletes. I am sure this would encourage more of them to go rather than just asking "who wants to go " as we do at the moment and hopefully provide more teams and possible medals in the younger age groups.
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Lancashire Cross Country - first thoughts
A quick post after the weekend. After reading Dave Griffith's report on www.manxathletics.com forum it is hard to add too much more.
A succesful if cold day at Blackburn. I will very pleased with own effort. I had been targeting the race for a few months. Back in October I set an "optimistic" target of top 30 requiring everything to go really well with a more "realistic" target of top 40. Even taking into account the reduced field on previous years I felt that 25th was a good effort. I think the firm going suited me although it was really too hard for spikes - in hindsight short trackspikes might have been best. Having said that, those in fell running shoes also reported problems as well.
The large number of Manx Harriers runners provided lots of races within the race. Also, I did have a problem with my shoe lace coming undone towards the end of the second lap. After a steady start initially running with Russell Collister, Mike Garrett and Christian Varley I felt I was making good progress picking off some quicker starters. When my lace came undone - I had checked it three times before the start - I was just ahead of Christian and Andy Fox. Both went past me and I had to be careful not too chase after them too quickly. I think in all I probably lost 15-20 seconds in stopping, loss of concentration and momentum plus also lost the chance of a "tow" from runners further up the field. I had to run at my own pace virtually all the way to the finish.
Then just after I caught them again the same thing happened. This time I just kept going hoping my shoe would not come off. Entering the main field with 600m to go I caught Gianni Epifani and had a big final effort into the finish just holding him off on the run in.
I hope Mike is ok now after turning his ankle badly on the rough ground.
I will post some more detailed thoughts of the day in general over the next couple of days
A succesful if cold day at Blackburn. I will very pleased with own effort. I had been targeting the race for a few months. Back in October I set an "optimistic" target of top 30 requiring everything to go really well with a more "realistic" target of top 40. Even taking into account the reduced field on previous years I felt that 25th was a good effort. I think the firm going suited me although it was really too hard for spikes - in hindsight short trackspikes might have been best. Having said that, those in fell running shoes also reported problems as well.
The large number of Manx Harriers runners provided lots of races within the race. Also, I did have a problem with my shoe lace coming undone towards the end of the second lap. After a steady start initially running with Russell Collister, Mike Garrett and Christian Varley I felt I was making good progress picking off some quicker starters. When my lace came undone - I had checked it three times before the start - I was just ahead of Christian and Andy Fox. Both went past me and I had to be careful not too chase after them too quickly. I think in all I probably lost 15-20 seconds in stopping, loss of concentration and momentum plus also lost the chance of a "tow" from runners further up the field. I had to run at my own pace virtually all the way to the finish.
Then just after I caught them again the same thing happened. This time I just kept going hoping my shoe would not come off. Entering the main field with 600m to go I caught Gianni Epifani and had a big final effort into the finish just holding him off on the run in.
I hope Mike is ok now after turning his ankle badly on the rough ground.
I will post some more detailed thoughts of the day in general over the next couple of days
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
