Dear Blog,
Nice weather for a trudge today, methinks. I am now trudging so slowly that my wife has hired a bloke to walk in front of me with a red flag while I trudge. I told her that I am not an old crock, a veteran car … in the early days of the automobile, a red flag bearing gentleman in front of said car was a legal requirement for safety reasons! She said that that was the reason she had hired the bloke … for safety reasons. My safety. If I fell over and did some damage, he could summon help if it was serious; if it wasn’t, he could have a rest until I had recovered enough to trudge on. I do think the old gentleman appreciates the employment, however. It may be only an hour or so a day but it gives him a focus in his life. And the small fee my wife pays him goes towards supplementing his old age pension. I must confess that I find it most annoying on the frequent occasions I have to tell him to slow down. Each time it happens, I think his fee should be reduced pro rata.
It was the first part of the country track championships today Blog. Warwickshire County combines with Leicestershire and Rutland to hold a joint Championships with medals awarded to each separate county winner. The meeting was held at the track in Leicester, Saffron Lane. Did you know Blog that the first all-weather track in this country was built at Saffron Lane? The porous surface that was laid down turned out to be too thin and, because it was such a novelty, no one knew for certain what size spikes to wear. In reality, no spikes were really suitable. The result was that athletes ended up either blistered or with seriously aching feet from the pressure of the spikes. Too often the spikes were too long and the track got ripped! The first appointed manager was a Godiva club mate, European and Commonwealth Marathon Champion and Olympic marathon fourth placer, Brian Kilby. The complex also included a velodrome, with spectator stand and state of the art surface. What a state it was in on my last visit; neglected infield, ruined stand, wrecked surface, the whole area debris strewn. Clearly unused for years. Today, all that exists is an enormous weed covered hole, the concrete steps which linked both sporting venues stand in splendid isolation, the flight of steps lead to nowhere, a pointless climb to view nothing. Sad. Really sad, Blog. An unusual feature of the stadium was the building of the steeplechase water jump on the outside of the track rather than the more usual siting on the inside top bend. Alexander Stadium, the home of Birchfield Harriers in Birmingham, has a similar arrangement. A couple of years ago I had an on-going discussion with a senior member of NUTS about the water jump in steeplechases. YAWN. As I started in athletics as a steeplechaser, I claimed that the distribution of effort in a race would be different for the different sitings of the water jump. And because the spacing of hurdles would be different, records for an inside / outside jump should be considered separately, because the events were not the same. YAWN. He disagreed. YAWN. I pointed out the case of the water jump in Eugene, USA, where the barrier is basically just off the end of the back straight. What would happen if a world or national record was set on such a track? Would it count as valid?? YAWN. I do believe a book is to be published on the steeplechase very soon by the NUT. Note Blog, I TOLD YOU FIRST. I kid you not. Make a note of the date!!!!Yawn. Sorry Blog, my apologies … NUTS is an acronym for National Union of Track Statisticians. An association of anoraks to you Blog!! A dedicated band of athletic enthusiasts to me, Blog.
The senior steeplechase at the county championships had only one competitor. He bravely ran the race by himself. Do you know Blog, the finish for both steeplechases was in the back straight. The officials forgot to take the bell with them across the track from the usual finish. The bell is rung to signal the start of the last lap. Although they had time to rectify the situation before the race started, they couldn’t be arsed. An official shouted “tingalingaling” as the runners passed for the final 4oom. Blog, I kid you not!! Watching the 1500m steeplechase for youngsters …. The lead runner came to the water jump on his penultimate lap, his spikes caught on the top of the barrier as he went over and he belly flopped face down into the water. All due credit to him, undeterred he bravely sprang up and continued his race. On the last lap he showed no hesitation as he approached the final water jump, his spikes caught on the top of the barrier as he went over and he belly flopped face down into the water. All due credit to him, undeterred he bravely sprang up and continued his race. Blog I kid you not. I don’t think I would have showed the same degree of aplomb as he did.
I only hope my elder daughter doesn’t have the same problem tomorrow when she runs the steeplechase at the same county championships.
Colin
No comments:
Post a Comment