Memories are made of this, The memories you gave me ....

Dear Bloggo,

I hope you don’t mind but I am beginning to think of you as my mentor, my confidante, my personal agony aunty. Re assuring man.

Having got that off my chest, I have to report that I am worried, - seriously worried with a capital ‘S’. You see, it’s like this ... Last Sunday, during my long run, I had completed a couple of hours and was entering the early stages of an amnesic stupor with a capital ‘M‘, when my mind began to wander, as it does at that stage of exhaustion. I was mentally going over my last blog posting to you.

What if – just what if, I imagined, just what if I do have a Doppelganger;  a sort of athletic stalker? If I hadn’t been completely dehydrated, I swear on my favourite racing shoes, that I would have broken out into a cold sweat. The thought had certainly made me up the speed of my run without my realising. It was only when I got really out of puff that l corrected my pace back down to a shuffle.

I had remembered that last summer I had had a phone call. Not just any old phone call from a call centre mind you, but a call from a member of NUTS (no not that – it stands for National Union of Track Statisticians) At first I assumed that the call was a wind up, but when I checked later, the phone call was genuine enough. “Was I” enquired the NUT on the end of the line “the Colin Kirkham who had recently won a marathon [I wish] in East Anglia. If so, did I know that this would constitute a World Record for the time span between a first marathon win and the latest marathon win!” He went on to explain further that he was involved with the Guinness Book of Records and his remit was to deal with athletic related events. Unfortunately I had to disappoint him (and me); I was not the same person. Now how scary was that? Two Colin Kirkhams. Can you believe it? It would take a whooping pinch of salt. Even more incredible is the spectre of two great athletes of the same name doing the same event; stretching the bounds of incredulity a little too far, don’t you think? I mean, 100m yes. Perhaps even 200m. I could accept that; but 26 miles??  No way Jose. I checked in AW, and sure enough, there it was ’1^st Colin Kirkham’ ... and you don’t see that printed much nowadays. Indeed, you don’t see that printed !

Coincidentally, about the same time, I had been researching a few facts for the History of Coventry Godiva about the Morpeth – Newcastle New Year’s Day Road Race. The year in question was 1967. I stumbled purely by chance on a result from the November, which had me in 4^th place at the North Shields ‘5’. (Check in AW, if you think I am telling porkies ) I had dismissed the result as a printing error because I had started work in Coventry a couple of months previously and was seriously broke. No way had I any spare cash to squander by travelling half way up the country. And why would I traipse all the way up to the North East for a poxy 5 miler? At the time I gave it no further thought.  I dismissed it from my mind. I dismissed from my thoughts and continued with my researching. But now in my heightened exhausted state, the enormity of having a long term stalker was seriously worrying, with a capital ‘W’. I swear there was a further increase my pace, although I suspect that might have been me hallucinating, as happens when you are really, really knackered. 

In the afternoon, after a period of recuperation from my long run and my return to full consciousness, I got out of bed and went swimming with my grandchildren. During the session, as I went under water for a third time, the above events flashed before my eyes. I am told such things do happen when you are drowning. Unable to exact a fitting revenge in public on my granddaughter for my rather unpleasant feeling of panic at the prospect of an early death, I resolved to at least to check out the facts on the North Shields Road race on my return home; If only to lay my subconscious fears to rest.

Yes the AW had not lied.

1. J.Hillen (Salt) rec. 23:48 ...4. C.Kirkham (Cov) 24:40. (AW vol. 21 no. 48)

 I dug out my old training diary. To my utter astonishment

‘Fri am:  Ran into work 8m. pm: Lift pt wy hme, 4m.

Sat North Shields RR 4^th – ran tired.’ and ‘Sun am  4m w.u., Collins clamber * 15, 4m w.d.. pm 5m Framwellgate Moor run.’

Mon am: Ran into work 8m. Pm: ran hme v. Slow’

I have no recall of the weekend. I was obviously in Coventry on the Friday and Monday, working as per usual. I have no idea why I would have travelled a couple of hundred miles to the North East. A possible reason I might have gone to all that trouble had left University at the same time as me. I have no idea where I would have stayed. I certainly couldn’t have afforded it. As I did not own a car, the logistics of the travel involved are most interesting?

So Bloggo, I conclude that not only have I got a doppelganger or a latter-day stalker who has the ability to erase past memories and alter documentation, but also that the time is rapidly approaching for me reserve myself a place in a secure unit, preferably with a view of a running track.  This marathon thing is beginning to take its toll, mentally and physically.

What do you think Bloggo? Cracking up or shortening the long runs on a Sunday? O.K. O.K..Long runs on a Saturday it is.

                                       Seethi,       Colin