Dear Blog,
Missed me??? Spent Friday and Saturday helping the bloke on the estate down the lane take a mega big tree down ... and I do mean mega with a capitol ‘M’. Gigantic! Luckily he had all the climbing equipment and was happy swinging about 60 feet up in the air. Two days to chop it down. Two days, I kid you not. Four of us on one day, three of us on the other, chain sawing section by section. Had to do it in bits as the tree stretched over the next two properties, and damage to fixtures had to be avoided. But we did it eventually .
Yesterday was the Coventry Half Marathon. The council is supposed to have paid the company £50,000 to put the race on. With approx 1500 entries at a shade over £20 per go, that gives a working capital of £80,000. That’s a lot of dosh. Each entrant had to trail into the city to collect their chip, so there was no postage costs for the organisers. Residents along the route were supposed to be sent details through the post to warn of the race taking place. I didn’t get one ... my neighbours weren’t informed, so there was no postage for the organisers. 1348 appear on the results sheet which was a bit of a surprise as only 1041 were recorded as starting, so I was told. But you cannot trust all you are told, can you? The announcer at the conclusion to the race informed that there was a special prize for the best performance of a runner who has competed in both the Kenilworth Half Marathon and the Coventry Half Marathon. It will be interesting to see who the winner of this special award is, what the award is, and when the announcement is made .... if you entered both races together, it cost MORE than entering both races separately, I kid you not. How’s that for marketing technique?? Buy one get more cash out for the other. BOGCOFTO? Did you get your finishers T-shirt Blog or were you one of the unlucky ones who missed out?? I hope you didn’t pay extra for the technical T-shirt with your expensive entry fee, at least if you missed out on the cheap T-shirt that you didn’t get, you no doubt don’t feel too bad because you didn’t pay an extras £2 for the Technical t-Shirt that you didn’t get. What a goodie bag, eh Blog. Did you enjoy the apple and the bag of crisps?? Bet you were pleased with your goodie bag reward for the 13 miles in the boiling sun. I hope you didn’t take more than the one bottle of water suggested by the organisers because they were a bit short .... one bottle is surely enough for running 13 miles in temperatures in the 80s, don’t you think Blog? Did you miss the finishing clock, Blog? No race leader car with no clock and no clock at the finish .... couldn’t the organisers be arsed, you may ask yourself, Blog? You get a finish clock in any old poxy race, these days. But not on Sunday, in October, in Coventry, at the end of a Half Marathon Race. Still the course must have given you a laugh. What a joke, eh Blog? No times or finishing positions for the poor kiddies in the Fun Run. That’s OK, though. They were told to down load their certificate from the web ... they won’t have anything to write on it mind you, but they can down load their finishing certificate from the web. That’s OK. With less than half a dozen runners in the mile, you would think that the organisers could cope, wouldn’t you Blog. Think again, Blog. They were sent wrong. On an out and back straight road for 800m out and the same return 800m back ... and they were sent wrong. Now that takes class, with a capitol ‘C’. Real planning with a capitol ‘P’. Did you enjoy your ten minute sun bathe on the start line in the sun. Now you don’t get many races where the organisers give you a rest before you start. I suppose the promised time zones signs were nicked by the local yobbos. Can’t trust anyone these days, can you Blog? I suppose that accounts for me spotting a couple of 2 hour half marathon runners on the front start row because they were confused about where to go as they couldn’t fine their time zone despite the extra ten minutes they were given to find it. With at least a couple of local councillors running one hopes that the falling entry numbers might be stemmed before the race collapses totally into oblivion. Such a shame we end up with Sunday’s joke in the city that has got a stack of clubs with races organisers in each who could organise a race the great city of Coventry would be proud of. But with most joggers not aware of the race’s short comings, being used to the substandard presentation over the last five or six years, the council will continue with the diminishing entries until the death bells toll. An opportunity to put the City of Coventry on the real athletic map, LOST. Quote of the century or two ...... forget Martin Luther King and his nightmare ..... forget President Kennedy and his problem with his bin liner ..... forget Churchill messing about on the beach .... don’t worry about the Lady turning round in circles ..... THE quote has to be from the Race Director of the Coventry Half Marathon as he cycled round the course, urging the sparse spectators and supporters on the course of the race to ‘get into the road and get across the road junctions to block the traffic getting onto the course because we are short of marshals’ .... £80,000 and they are short of marshals, £80,000 and they run short of T-shirts, £80,000 and no race clock .....
My daughters did OK. The elder did about 1:37 to come 7th senior lady, pleased because she could collect extra £5 quids of sponsorship from those sponsors who didn’t think she could break 1:45 for the distance. She has raised £300 plus for the children’s charity for disable children, Tiny Tims Children’s Centre. You can up it a few quids if you want Blog. My younger daughter came third in the senior lady’s race, won £100 and promptly gave it to her sister for the charity, Tiny Tims Children’s Centre. Now I ask you. Is that thoughtful? Did she trouble to ask me if I wanted a new pair of trainers? Did she nelly. No, she gave it to her sister for the charity, Tiny Tims Children’s Centre. Did she offer to take her mum and dad out for a meal? Did she nelly. No, she gave it to her sister for the charity, Tiny Tims Children’s Centre. Did she offer to take her mum to a Spa Centre for a day of pampering? Did she nelly. No, she gave it to her sister for the charity, Tiny Tims Children’s Centre. Well I ask you? What sort of children have I brought up, Blog?
Colin
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