Steeple chasing

Photographic Quiz.

 

Photo number:- eleven

Question:- Where is this, which football ground??? Would today's top clubs allow a hole to be dug in their precious pitch???

Dear Blog,

                   Apparently I now have nearly two million words about the 'History of Coventry Godiva Harriers and Other Clubs in the City over the last 140 years' if I include the comparative study of a northern harrier club which folded some years ago! Blog, I kid you not .. two millions!!

                  I have been meaning for some time to post you another of my occasional articles about the club. This is not specifically about Godiva, but it impinges. I was in a lengthy correspondence with a famous coach on the subject of steeple chasing when he rather inconsiderately went and died. I have had words with a well known author on the same subject. As a result I have now a considerable amount of material relating to the history of the event.

                Athletic statisticians are sticklers for details, OTT on occasions in my humble opion. My tenet on the subject of steeple chasing is that separate records/lists should be kept for each steeplechase race dependent on where the water jump is situated. Barrier spacing and placements are affected relative to where the water jump is on the track. Most water jumps are on the inside on the top corner, but even these have straight run up approaches and others have a curve on the apron. Outside the same situation occurs, and on some tracks, notably for important international meets, the water jump can be virtually on the top of the back straight ... so that gives five different race layouts without going into too much detail. My argument is that with different configurations, the effort distribution of the athletes racing is different from one course to the next, so how come times recorded are compared when the comparison is spurious as no consistency is demanded in the type of layout?

                Oh dear Blog, do I detect a stifled yawn and a glazed stare being to form .... better stop while I am ahead. More later when you have made yourself a very strong black coffee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                      Colin