At this time of year it is a good time to look to the future and to also look back over the past. I have been busy scanning a lot of old photos and turning up some surprises which I aim to share on this site over the next few months.
I thought I would start by adding some photos from the first marathon I ever ran up in Yorkshire at a place called Horsforth on the 31st of March 1985. I remember entering as part of a team of 3 when I worked for the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food ( MAFF ) the race acting as the Civil Service National Championship. The chap in the middle of the photo with the ginger hair I remember for being ill in the hotel. He managed to reach a waste paper bucket and then told the owner at breakfast what he had done whilst we tried to enjoy our food.
I certainly didn’t train particularly hard for the race and looking at my diary from Christmas onwards it doesn’t show any more than the odd week when I touched 35 miles in a week. I did run the Bury 20 that year on the 24th of Feb turning in a time of 2.27.11.
I remember traveling up the night before and cursing the fact that the clocks were due to change and thinking we would lose an hours sleep. From what I remember the course seemed to touch upon Ilkley Moor and Bradford/Leeds Airport and was 2 laps. The course was open to traffic.
My finish time of 3hours 46 mins 31 didn’t do much in competition with the other civil service teams. I wondered if this race is still run and did a search on Google and find a story of the history of this race by Janet Kitchen. Not surprisingly like many races especially marathons they were short lived and many ceased to be organised beyond the 1980’s
Running in Suffolk 