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The Trials and Tribulations of Marathon Running…. By Sean Clarke You may have cursed me
recently. You may have even questioned my sanity if you have driven past me whilst I have been
running towards or from Overton. I wouldn’t blame you, as I have myself.
Maybe I should explain. It all started about 18 months ago. I took up
running as a novice and initially took to laps around Argoed Lane. It’s ideal for running; little traffic,
fairly flat and great scenery. It was soon time to expand the horizons and trips
to Bangor and Penley
followed. I discovered that there are hundreds of organised running events
all over the country and as a way of gauging progress, entered a 5 kilometre
run in the Wirral. Managing to finish
the course was an achievement and the front-runners who averaged around five
and a half minutes per mile awed me. After half a dozen
5k’s the next big test was a half Marathon and I plumbed for Liverpool’s L13/10k which combines a choice
of 10 kilometre or 13 miles. The race went really well and I managed to gain
sponsorship through work for Nightingale house. The next logical step was a full Marathon but things
were not to run quite so smoothly. My application for the London Marathon was rejected as was fifty thousand
other peoples and this was very disheartening, as I had begun training.
Trying to think laterally and not wanting any further barriers, I applied to
Dublin (overseas entrants have priority). About
four months ago I stepped up the training and started getting some decent distances in. I
ran from Llangollen, Oswestry and Whitchurch to Overton and surprisingly,
these were really enjoyable, particularly in the mild evenings. With
three weeks to go and plenty of miles under my belt I experienced a sharp pain in my left
knee- I was gutted. I attended the surgery and received some sympathetic and
helpful advice then sought out a physiotherapist. Following
an intensive course of physio and a couple of painful practice runs I became very
pessimistic about my chances of finishing. I decided not to pursue
sponsorship as I attempted to minimise the ramification of withdrawing and
became despondent about the whole thing. With
three days to go I had my last treatment and was versed in strapping the knee. We travelled
over to Ireland a couple of days before the event and I began to lighten up
and surrender myself to fate. Collecting my race number from Ballsbridge was
energising-thousands of runners had arrived from overseas; in fact half of
the field were foreign. Race Day
Over ten thousand runners congregated in Merrion Square in Dublin city centre at eight a.m.
on a freezing October morning. We all had our different reasons for being
there but were united in a common purpose-to try and run twenty-six and a
half miles without expiring. The starter was sounded and we were off. I tried
to settle in to a steady pace when about a mile and a half out I saw a lady
slowing to light a cigarette-she was clutching twenty Silk Cut! I know that
there are different schools of thought surrounding training programmes but
this was a new one on me. At around the eight mile
mark I noticed a similar aged Chinese gentleman keeping the same pace as me
and we chatted briefly, we finished our half marathons in similar times and
were both running the full version for the first time. Around half distance I
found myself running next to a chap dressed as Superman, the spectators were
really cheering when they spotted him and the crowd’s good humour helped lift
all of our spirits. There were drinks stations and mile markers regularly
spaced around the course but I hadn’t noticed a marker for some time and
turned to the nearest runner, who happened to be from the U.S.A, to enquire
about the distance remaining “ten miles left man!” he shouted, “piece of pie
man, piece of pie!” he enthused. - I
felt like tripping him. Final
Push
Between miles eighteen
and twenty-three I began to harbour dark thoughts. Besides contemplating the homicide of a
perfectly pleasant American I also remembered reading that the first ever
runner to have achieved the distance is said to have passed away immediately
after bearing the news to the armies awaiting him. My knee was aching but towards the end I was buoyed by the spectators, cheering and handing
out sweets on the route, I’m sure it was the jelly babies that got me
through. The last mile was agonising, I had no energy left and felt as though
I could walk faster than run. Toward the finish I felt a sense of relief and
was drained when I finally crossed the line. That evening, over probably the
best pint of Guinness I have ever tasted I was asked whether I would run
another...I’m not committing, but drive very carefully, you never know who is
on the road. |
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COUNTRY BEAT By Constable Darren King by
Constable Darren King |
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What a beautiful sight it was to see
so many families and young children participating in the spirit Halloween.
Whilst walking the beat around the village, I was met by would be vampires,
ghosts, skeletons, werewolves and witches, all of whom seemed to be enjoying
the very generous gifts of the residents who obviously preferred to treat,
rather that be tricked. My sincere thanks to these residents
who by the end of the night must have had the sound of door bells ringing in
their ears, and also my sincere thanks to the parents who either accompanied
their children, or used other means to ensure their children were safe and
not up to trouble. Unfortunately though, SOME, and I
state only SOME, of the more older children do not seem to understand that
Halloween ‘trick or treat’, does not mean that if a householder does not
answer the door, or wish to give you sweets, or even less surprisingly money,
you do not then have permission to throw eggs, flour or stones at their house
or car. There is no law which states that people have to provide you with
gifts just because you are ‘dressed in a scary costume’, (even though I
noticed that some didn’t even bother to dress up), but there is a law against
causing damage. I know that there will be numerous
people now reading this and thinking, ‘its only kids having fun, we did it at
their age, hasn’t he got better things to do’. As always, yes, I do have more
important events to deal with, but my very valuable time is spent having to
deal with matters like this. Some may not think that having these items
thrown at your property is such a bad thing, but I can assure you that the
residents who were victims and reported these incidents to the police,
were very upset, and not only had to spend their time cleaning up the
mess, but also out of pocket from having to pay for the cleaning products. As for the comments, ‘its only kids
having fun, we did the same at their age’, believe it or not, I had a very
‘colourful’ childhood myself. But the world has changed, even in Overton.
People are less tolerant than in times past for numerous reasons, stress,
financial, marital etc. although it is upsetting for some, people cannot be
forced into participating in village events. What I find upsetting is that
out of the dozen or so villages I cover; only residents in Overton had to
report this type of behaviour. I will be reiterating this message
prior to next years Halloween, along with the warning that I will be stop
checking any individuals I suspect may be carrying eggs or flour for the
purpose of causing damage, and depending on the circumstances, I will either
be reporting them or if necessary, placing them under arrest. I am a true
believer in justice, and I will not allow a few idiots to spoil the fun for
the rest of the village. Thank you. Darren
King, Constable 1360.The Police Station, Overton,Wrexham LL13
0EF Telephone: (01978)
290 222 Fax:(01978) 294 771 E-mail:
darren.king@north-wales.police.uk |
