“MY Cat sleeps 21 hours a day - I sleep the other 3”

If you listen to most runners there are always reasons why they can’t or won’t do better in races. We have excuses for excuses and more than an unhealthy share of hypochondriac’s.

Seven days in my diary read like a loony character in Viz:

• Wednesday 9^th May - planned run with Caroline at 09.30 altered at 08.50; Caroline’s Mum has a doctor’s appointment; run at 9.05 a speed session of sorts rather than the steady 8. At midday I drove to Glasgow and stayed over, then driving to Killen to spend the next four days in a log cabin for a family ‘get together’ to celebrate my Mothers 70^th. The smelly trainers were taken but the rain and the dangerous, non-pavemented roads did not offer much encouragement to run.
• Monday night - I was on nights at work and was woken up at 09.20 with the barn conservation work under going 20 metres from my bedroom. 12.30, another lesson for Steff: “Don’t mess with me when I have a badminton racket in my hand,” (even though she took another game off me).
• Wednesday morning - again with less than three hours in bed Fraggle Rock kicked into life. Do none of those Muppets realise that I am running for my club that evening? That night I picked up Charlie, followed Peter to the Fairfield then jumped into his car. I can never work out Charlie’s running style. He is like Mozart in a world full of heavy rockers! I felt like shit warmed up as I stood at the start but I am on a mission. I have an extensive list of people I think I should beat so I don’t want them in front of me at the end. After I passed the human road block in the form of Johnnie Winters, I gave 100% the whole way round and never let up even though I was physically exhausted.
• Thursday evening - my mission continued at the Cuerden Valley 10k Trail Race. No vest pressure tonight but I had not entered for a training run. If you do nothing else this year, run in one of the remaining races if you are fed up with the gold fish bowl of eye balls out road racing, run at Cuerden.
• Friday evening - Captain Barlow and I went for the hat trick at the Chorley 5k. What a lovely little, tough three miles - another one I will be back to for sure. That night the Captain and I headed to Poulton as we hoped to bump in to Wesham’s Dancing Queen, Jo Frodsham. She must have been doing the quick step as we never saw her.

On a recent long run the old chestnut popped up: “Who is the best local all round runner?” Unusually we seemed to agree that there is only one man who ticks all the boxes. From 800 metres to the Marathon, he tackles them all and at a very good level - Mr Alex Rowe. The lady was more difficult because no one ticks all the boxes but we had opinions. This year one person stands out for me. She could easily have written this game off because of serious injury that would have stopped most runners. She has kept plugging away and is almost running as good as ever. Nothing phases her; any distance is attempted; any race no matter how tough the terrain, it is run. When they where handing out guts she was at the front of the queue - Michaela Dempsey. Those two are the exceptions rather than the rule. Did I say I think I am going bald?

Written by: George Kennedy

Submitted: 19^th May 2007

Edited by: Brenda J Earnshaw WRR Editor