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Congratulations to the sexy six! - October 24, 2004
On that hurricane of a day back in 2000 at the National 6-stage when we overcame a horrible start (due to an unwell Jason Lobo), to surge back from 39th to 6th, one just had a feeling that payback time could be looming soon. But little did we believe that four years later we would be celebrating our fourth triumph in a row. On each occasion I’ve found myself reserve, sanguine in the knowledge that the distance is eight times under my specialist length, and always resolved to keep banging out those miles: who knows, one of these years one of our men might eat a dodgy prawn sarnie on race morning – and I’ll be there to pounce!
If my record of achievement as reserve is immaculate, untarnished and highly skilled, there is one man who equals me for consistency – Steve Sharp – a sublime ever present in all four teams; and another man who boasts an even greater attendance record. Spennyrunner has been in every single one of our last six 6-stage teams. A remarkable record of fitness, diet, flu-dodging, map-reading and clash avoidance with family weddings… Mark Miles [4 merry turns out of 6], Dave Anderson and Paul Freary [3 each] all take a bow too. I thought perhaps this race was too important, and too much of a team effort, to warrant a man-of-the-match award, but Mark’s club record in about four feet of water can’t be ignored. All yours, son – and many congratulations to the sexy six.
The flurry of excitement stemming from the LetsRun.com message board before the race throws up two interesting points. With the race approaching and our fourth win on the cards, anonymous folk got together and started swinging a few handbags in our direction. What springs to mind for me is what a foreigner – or particularly an American – would say if he saw the comments. It would be along the lines of: “You British! I love the way you build each other up, and then as soon as someone is seen to be making a success of their goals, you start to barrack them. It’s just not done to excel in your country! The culture of mediocrity must reign!”
And a crucial point comes, ironically, from the leading mud-slinger’s pen: “One thing about Belgrave,” he grudgingly admits, “They seem to have their management in order.” That we do. And we club members should all be forever humble and grateful at what a tremendous amount of work goes on behind the scenes to ensure our success. In my role as Gen Sec I attended my first committee meeting last week. I was amazed at how much determination and hard work goes in not just to keep the club running smoothly, but also to how we as a club can help athletics in this country thrive. Our committee members care desperately about our sport, and deserve all our gratitude. [On a question of trivia: I wonder how many other athletes from Britain’s 1948 Olympic squad are still fiercely debating the future of the sport at their local club committees deep into the night!]
I shall be in full Bels racing strip next weekend for the Frankfurt Marathon. Anyone else wanna help make up a team?! It’s a while since we won in Frankfurt. Flights going from 23 quid… November looms large and there are plenty of entertaining races to savour. The team manager has already done a fair amount of tub-thumping about these and I’m sure there’ll be more to come. Don’t hesitate to contact Alan or I if you have any questions about where you’re to report, on what day.
Now off to crack open the Jeroboam.