Windle Valley News

Page 2

The expensive entry fee of 10/- (50P) was offset by the importance of the race so there was a large entry. When I got to Windsor Castle, where we changed in the stables, there were about 120 runners, all men and probably all older than me. We lined up round the inner quadrangle to be inspected by Queen Elizabeth, who was escorted by an anonymous gentleman generally known as George VI. She stopped to shake hands with all past winners, including Sam Ferris and one of my club mates.

Every runner had to be a member of a club and wear its vest. Many runners wore plimsolls (gymshoes) but with my determination to leave nothing to chance I had lashed out  £3-8s-0d (£3.40) for a pair of leather marathon shoes made to measure by GT Law of Wimbledon. These had a very thin (2 mm) layer of sponge rubber inserted between the inner and outer soles. I wore no socks, just Vaseline on my toes. There would be no drinks stations so I carried a wet sponge, failing to realise that it would dry out completely long before even half way. And finally I carried a 'turnip' stop-watch, just like my idol the great Paavo Nurmi. I planned to average under 7 minutes/mile in order to get a AAA's standard.

The course started down the hill through Windsor and Eton, crossing the river and then through Farnham Royal, Iver, Harlington, along what was then the Great West Road (A4) until the Chiswick roundabout, then along Chiswick Strand to the Poly Stadium.

I was with a friendly group and we reached 10 miles pretty well on schedule in 65 mins and 20 miles in just over 2 hrs 15 mins but then I began to slow even more and realised that I was not going to break 3 hours - or even the 3 hrs 15 mins I had managed in training. Along the Great West Road there was a cloudburst and at last I entered the stadium soaked to the skin and it was all over. After being very sick for a while - due to dehydration - I walked home, luckily only a mile or so away.

Some running archaeology

Jim Miller writes

I regularly watch 'Time Team' on Channel 4 which involves a group of people, some in funny hats and all spurred on by Baldrick, digging holes in the ground to reveal ancient artefacts which throw light on bygone life-styles.

I've recently unearthed some arty facts about running in my younger days  (yes, I was young once) which reveal that in some ways running has changed quite a lot in less than a life-time.  Nowadays most people think of a Marathon as an event in which thousands of men and women take part, many with the sole aim of finishing the course regardless of how long it takes and many in all sorts of fancy dress. At the head of the race there is usually a small band of professional runners, paid thousands of pounds just to appear and earning vast amounts in prize money and sponsorship if they win. It was not always thus.

My running career began with cross-country but I had a yen to run long distance, inspired by British runners winning silver medals in the two most recent Olympic marathons. A school friend shared my enthusiasm so in school holidays we occasionally ran on the road, increasing our distance until we achieved over 10 miles round Richmond Park. We thought we were heroic.

Army boots then mainly replaced running shoes for over six years - during which my friend was killed. After de-mob I joined Surrey Athletic Club and ran cross-country again, 5 to 10 miles through the winter, road relays in the spring and a lay-off in the summer. I was still keen to run a marathon but was urged to wait until I was much older.  So I kept quiet but went on planning, even travelling up to Loughborough to watch the annual AAA championship to get the feel of things.  There I saw AlanTuring, the Bletchley Park super-boffin from Guildford, come fifth behind three Olympic runners.

So the following year I began to increase my distances, even before the road relay season ended, until I was ready for the Finchley 20 in April. Most finishers only received a time certificate but, to my great delight, I also won a standard medal - the standard then being 2hrs 15min.  I managed to improve my time two weeks later in the Surrey County 20m Championship and by then my club-mates had accepted my eccentricity and some even turned out to encourage me.

At that time there were less than ten marathons each year of which the two most important were the AAA Championship and the Polytechnic Harriers. The latter had been held over various routes every year since 1909 (except during the first World War) and Sam Ferris had won it eight