I didn't actually compete IB.... I actually woke up kind of early one Sunday and sprawled on the sofa watching it. I only did 3 hours because the remote was on the other sofa and Jeeves had the weekend off
Oh yeah! Still a good time Turk!! I’ve done a half in 2;18 in my sixties but I’m sure BFB can better that.
I did a half in just over 2 hours. BUT that was 35 years ago. My most recent half was the Forest of Dean (lots of people playing the banjo song from Deliverance and using all 6 fingers on each hand. Sure I heard someone shout "Squeal Piggy, squeal" at one point). About 5 1/2 years ago, took 2 hours 25 mins. Just stick to very slow 5k's nowadays.
Cross country was my thing...I competed (made up the numbers) in a few races but was never one of those for timing distances etc.... I don't remember leading a race at any point in my life so I just went running solo in the mud then, Now 4 stone later I can't even run a bath
I did a half marathon in my late teens, about 5 months after knee surgery. Swore I'd never run that far again. Happy to run around for a couple hours rugby training, but just running, no. We had a sports consultant at the club I played for in Bristol for a couple years. The best thing he ever said was he didn't want us to run for more than 20 mins. What he wanted us to to do was progressively run further in that 20 mins. The bit I didn't like was that after that 20 mins we had to do interval running, sprints, weights, etc for far longer than 20 mins. Apparently the running was for aerobic capacity but made you one paced. Did my running yesterday. Some cows from a couple farms away went walk about and ended up in a neighbours paddock. Several sprints required heading them off to get them across the paddock and out of the gate, up the road and down a track to the field half a mile away that they should have been in. They made a bit of a mess in a field of tatties that they ran through. All my running is animal related these days. Nothing like an archetypal Welshman chasing sheep in England. Most of my exercise these days is small holding related or rowing a boat when fishing my local club water. Since retiring, my body shape has changed for the better as a result, though still a couple stone above my playing weight.
The closest I got to fame was for somebody else's achievements I played for my school under 11's and one day when we turned up at an away ground (Trimsaran) BBC Wales cameras were there to film the game. We got off the bus a little overawed as most of us had only just had televisions at home, anyway just before KO a 9 year old was being interviewed and there was quite a clamour with a fair size crowd around them. Game kicked off and this wonderkid just run us ragged for 40 mins, thank the Lord it wasn't 80 mins as in senior rugby but this kid scored 5 tries converted everything and strolled off to more photos and interviews. The kid was Jonathan Jiffy Davies OBE, the WRU had him pencilled in for glory at 9 years of age . My football career started next day And just to add to our pain, the U11 game is in his Life Video (CD now) just so it can hurt 50 years later
I've never been good at sport but I found out when doing my family history that my Great-grandfather held the world record for 880 yards in pit boots. He fell down the shaft.
Player of the Year and Players Player of the Year in the same season for Tonyrefail Athletic back in the 90s. 1hr 43min for Cardiff ½ Marathon a few years back on my later 40s. Back in 1986 I was selected for the Welsh Amateur Rugby League Squad after a trial at Channel View. I was playing for Tonyrefail who were, for some reason, affiliated to the English RFL association. I was the first player from an ERFL affiliated club to be selected and Maurice Lindsay called our coach to all me to step down in exchange for a trial that he'd arranged up at Warrington. I refused the offer of a trial but stepped down anyway and quit playing Rugby League. Politics in sport was not (and still isn't) my thing.
Tonyrefail? Just over the hill from my old stomping ground in Porth. Tonyrefail had a decent union side back in the day. Still got mates there.
Gilfach have the edge now with Ton trying to provide a challenge. I couldn't play Union back in the day as I stated to work Saturdays. No Union was being played on a Sunday - just League. Nevermind though. My best years were dedicated to the round ball
