A

is  for Atlantic City, New Jersey in 2002 in the line of  work when  studying  the impact of  casinos an the local  economy and  associated training needs. (Get supporting it if you want a prosperous town – there is no Plan B for regeneration).  If  the trip  sounds a  ‘jolly’, try  running the  wooden  boardwalk past  the  line of  twelve casinos in a howling Atlantic gale in December. It’s more boring than the last few miles of the Freck Half and colder.

B

is for Barcelona for a March 2006, lads’ footy weekend with a match at the Nou Camp with 80,000 home supporters - with 120,000 members who own the club who needs away supporters? A run along the Olympic marathon course in the sun with lots of climbs; a look in the stadium and past the spectacular diving pool on the side of the hill. A great city to visit and Ronaldhino is something special.

C

is for Cyprus for our first Wrinkly Holiday in 2000 and the Paphos Half, a boring out-and-back course on a hot day but compensated later by an 8k hill race and our own Tour ‘Championship Race’  from  the hotel. Those were the days …when Wrinkleys were dedicated athletes who raced till they dropped, (or the bars opened).

D

is for Dubrovnik, Croatia, a beautiful walled city just recovered from the civil war. Runs on the surrounding hills encountered empty shells of modern hotels stripped of everything by the Serbs and surrounding villages with bullet marks snaking along the walls of cottages. Scenic but thought provoking.

E

is for an Egyptian holiday, visiting out daughter working there. I had the daft idea of running round the Pyramids and we spent Xmas Day 2000 there with our own guide which was unforgettable. But no chance of running- those Pharaohs knew a bit about building hills. Instead, a delightful run along the corniche, (posh word for prom), in Alexandria on a busy local holiday.

F

is for Fuengerola. Nice for a bit of spring sun after all those Mondays round Wrea Green but totally flat and boring.  Good for hard reps and sprints to get away from Timeshare sellers.

G

is for Greece, which has to be Olympia in 2005 with the Wrinkleys. A day trip to the source of the modern Olympics and jog along the original track. It may only be about 400 metres but....the rest is history as they say.

H

is for the many hotel gyms I have run in when an outside running not advisable. A default training regime watching CNN or MTV while joining the gym posers in places like Atlanta, (too lazy to run), Cairo, (too polluted), Dubai, (too hot), and Bangkok (too scary).

I

is for Ireland for the Ballycotton 10. My first ever away trip with the club in 1999. A great event in good weather and a quality sweatshirt.  Spending the night before the race with hundreds of runners in the many bars of BallyC is great for socialising but not for a good time the next day. But great crack and no one cared.

J

is for Jedburgh (Scotland) I know it’s not overseas but definitely a foreign land. I ran the Scottish Borders Half in 2005 with runners seen off by pipe bands on what was advertised as a ‘flat, fast, scenic country course’. I was on course for a 1:40PB until 11 miles when first came the rain, then the wind, then the hills. Finished looking like a dead rat in 1:42! But a great race and I’d do it again now I know about the hills.

K

K is for Killorglin, County Kerry on hols where they crown a goat as king and put it in a cage in the town square to honour it. Don’t they have an RSPCA in Ireland?

L

is for Lucca which is definitely not filthy but a beautiful walled city in Tuscany. Ran round the walls looking down into the city and café society and avoiding cyclists. A hidden treasure of a city.

M

is for Moscow where I did a marathon in 1998 before the fall of Communism. A 4.00pm start but still baking hot and the organisers set us off with a 10k run so we went off too hard on the flat, fast Olympic course. The route was lined by Red Army soldiers, (spotty youths looked like they couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag - only good for beating up defenceless Czechs, Hungarians etc). I hit the wall at 15 miles despite/because of taking in lots of the putrid water on offer. Made it somehow to 40 km then sat down to be sick whereupon the Red Army ‘offered’ me an ambulance. Fearing they might send me to Siberia I staggered home to the Olympic stadium, (not onto the track, only outside I’m afraid – there are limits to fantasies I suppose), in 4:29, (compare PB of 3:16). Back to the hotel on the back seat of the coach, under a blanket, with a bucket for company. Never again…! The overwhelming impression of 10 days in USSR was that, scratch the surface, and it was a Third World country. No wonder it collapsed soon after we left.  (Not our fault Comrades).

N

is for Nashville, Tennessee for college work, (yes - you the taxpayer paid for it). The home of country music. Ran  along a tourist route past a famous  recording studio, (Elvis, Johnny Cash), and the Country Music Museum and Hall of Fame including Elvis’s pink Cadillac, (one of them), then  through  streets full of  country music bars ....bring your  guitar and stetson, get up on stage and  be ‘discovered’.  I never was so returned home to Wesham.

O

Is for Oman in 1987 for work at the national oil company and a near fatal run. Joined the local Muscat expat Hash following salt trails through the evening desert, (40 degrees daytime temp). Supposed to be a friendly run but when I went behind a rock for a **** they left me behind - nothing friendly there!!  I wandered for ages in the now  pitch  black desert and thought it was my last  ever run  (Epitaph : ‘He was a good clubman - he died  with  his  club vest on’), until rescued by torchlight. Seriously frightening stuff but a good excuse for seriously refuelling. Let that be a warning to all about getting registered for club handicaps.  It’s dangerous out there!

P

P is for Paris in 2005. What better than a relaxing Sunday morning run on the Left Bank followed by slow walk down Champs-Élysées on a baking afternoon whilst the rest of you were flogging yourselves through Warton on the Freck Half?

Q

is for…any ideas as I can’t think of anywhere where I have run? Perhaps queuing for the gents after a run, a feature of many of my runs domestic and overseas (‘Chapman’s Complaint’ –medical definition as ‘unscheduled pit stops’).

R

is for Riva the mad Italian resort on Lake Garda. Lovely runs along superb cycling tracks in hot weather. But the highlight was discovering Rotherham United had won 6-0 away on first day of the season going top of the Championship and definitely Premiership bound...until the next match.

S

is for Spain, well Portugal actually, for the Euro Vets Championships in 2005. Although the events were in Portugal we never do anything simply at Wesham and stayed in Spain hopping over the border for the events. An elite team came separately but our Wrinkly Team and its many supporters upheld the club tradition of having a good time.  It was hot for the Half Marathon but we were not deterred. I managed 1:41, a PB, and led home by Alan Hudson all the team performed well. Though it was an embarrassment that a guest from North Fylde scooped the pool of euros by winning our Predictor. But being Norman and on his 60^th birthday he spent twice as much buying us all drinks in the bar afterwards. Of course some members went too far and were out serious training doing 800 reps the next day whilst the rest of us slept it off.  It’s tough being an international athlete.

T

is for Turin working for UNESCO in the attractive city centre though with lots of industry as the home of Fiat. Ran  along  lovely riverbank marked out  for  a marathon the previous week,  then  back  via  Juventus  ground swarming  with kids and  dads for Sunday  morning  junior games.

U

U is for USA in 1992. The  holiday highlight was staying in the Twin Towers Hotel New York and fulfilling  a lifetime  ambition of running  round Central Park - a huge park  with 58 miles of  trails and  tracks  and  30  bridges , no two  of  which are the same. I went straight for the Reservoir, a great one way route and favourite for runners. Wore my Oldham Harriers vest but didn’t see Dustin Hoffman. Kept my eyes open for muggers and thankfully no sign of anyone resembling a dentist? (If you don’t get this iconic cultural reference …you should get out more to the cinema!).

V

is for Vancouver rated in lots of surveys as having the best lifestyle in the world. Easy to see why - it’s a lovely city with its very own Stanley Park a mecca for runners and other ‘Beautiful People’. It’s a six mile peninsula into the ocean with a seawall for running on, measured Kilometres and water stations. But you have to watch out for rollerbladers, cyclists and other egomaniacs.

W

is for the Welsh Castles relay in 2005. OK, foreign though not quite overseas. But I wanted to get it in as it’s so special. A spectacular feat of organising as 1000 runners and support teams cross the Principality from Caernarfon on Saturday morning to Cardiff on Sunday afternoon. My leg was fifth starting below Harlech Castle at the hottest part of the day and followed a scenic, (i.e. hilly), sea route to Barmouth.  I achieved my target of beating 70mins for the 9.6 course and beat runners from our local clubs. A team finish of 21st was a great achievement and credit to Alan Taylor and all the team. It’s also a great social event with a highlight of sharing a room with Alex and picking up some tips.

X

X … marks the spot! Can’t think of any X’s I have visited.

Y

is for Yangon in Myanmar, (Rangoon in Burma to you and me) visiting our daughter working there in 2004. It’s baking hot and damp with unannounced power cuts. Runs must be short and care taken not to spit on the floor or the nasty military dictatorship may lock you up and charge you to get out. (Cash only please as credit cards firms boycott the country). Unsurprisingly human rights groups discourage tourism which benefits the corrupt military. An experience, but not recommended.

Z

Z is for Zakopane, south Poland in the Tatra Mountains on hols.  It seemed to rain all the time and not a lot to do, (we gave the daytrip to Auschwitz a miss), except some hard running.  Not recommended for a holiday. So better to finish this world tour on a happier note with the Wrinkly holiday to Zante last October. No races but lots of early morning runs organised by Boss Wrinkly and a friendly Predictor race from the hotel round the harbour and back. Wrinkleys may not be committed  racers any more but still enjoy their running and know how to  enjoy themselves without exercise getting in the  way  too  much.