About

Chris tries to keep running hard

At 45 years of age I decided to return to my earlier enjoyment of running and in the intervening  years I’ve been involved with the TROTS (the Towy Running and Orienteering Team) and completed the 2008 and 2009 London Marathons, to go with other attempts as long ago as 1988 and 1992.
I was a skinny goalkeeper in football in my younger days and played cricket for a long time, including a spell at Pembroke during the 1990s, followed by some coaching of juniors at Cresselly before I packed up my bat and pads.
Moving indoors, I played table tennis and still play darts on a Friday evening, although not very well!

Running from an early age

I  started  running during my school days in Great Harwood, in Lancashire, which is equi-distant from Blackburn and Burnley, and then whilst at the City of Liverpool College. A sustained spell of running between 1986 and 1989 saw me complete a number of 10K and half marathons before completing my first marathon in Abingdon and then the London Marathon. For those interested in statistics my best times were 36mins 56 secs (10K), 1 hour 22 mins (half marathon) and 3 hours 22 mins (marathon)  but when the family moved to Pembrokeshire in 1990 the regularity of my running decreased and after completing the 1992 London Marathon I took a break – which lasted 12 years!

Hard work – but worth it

It was 12 years later that I decided it was time to give running another, and possibly final, shot but hadn’t realized how difficult it would be just to jog for a while since I had enjoyed life and put on two stone in weight. After an effort lasting 200 metres through my home village I returned, very disheartened to the comfort of my favourite armchair and footstool!
But somehow I didn’t give up and after a hard time found I could run to Templeton Airfield and then around the Hackett Farm 4-mile circuit. I also enrolled, with young sons Matthew and Andrew, at the Harkett/John ‘torture sessions’ that passed for training at Carew AFC – and thanks to this doughty pair the weight began to fall off to such an extent that I decided to enter the Mayor’s 5K race at Carmarthen the following Easter.
I just about managed this and also completed other similar runs before deciding to join the St Clears TROTS, easily the best running move I ever made since running can be a lonely business and I  has enjoyed the great support and joviality that exists there which has provided motivation and real incentive to keep going. One of their ventures was the ‘Castles Relay’ where I joined others in a relay event where the team started out at Caernarvon Castle early on a Saturday morning and finished at Cardiff Castle on the Sunday evening!

Cricket!

I started out my cricketing career at  St Mary’s College and Blackburn Schoolboys, where I received my county cap at 14 but soon swapped it for another when it fell on my wicket during an innings and I was not best pleased to be given out! I also played for Great Harwood Cricket Club as an early-order batsman and leg-spin bowler in the Ribblesdale League, with West Indian all-rounder Keith Barker as the club professional. In 1975 he arranged for Gary Sobers to bring a team to play Great Harwood and my involvement was to be the scorer and DJ and supply Barbadian music for the players – and a year later the full West Indian team over here on tour came for Keith Barker’s testimonial match, this time playing in that match.

Blackburn football fan

Football was my other sporting love as a youngster and although Great Harwood is between Blackburn and Burnley I always wore the blue rosette of the former, rather than the claret and blue of the latter. I started out as a goalkeeper at St Mary’s College, Blackburn, and played in goal and as a striker for Great Harwood and Blackburn schoolboys, moving on to play between the sticks for Great Harwood FC in the old Northern Premier League.

Good time – and getting lost!

But it has been running that has kept me busy and I managed to complete the London Marathon in April 2008 and 2009 . This year I ran London again and in October managed to get back under 4 hours in 3:58:40 at Abingdon. After 8 easy weeks I’m ready now for 2013!

I used to have a certain propensity for getting lost. Because I run without glasses, until recently when I got contact lenses, I am often going the wrong way. Once, on the Fishguard 10K I followed a green arrow to find myself at the coarse fishing place! I also went the wrong way at Bridgend Cross Country but hopefully all that is now in the past!

Finished!