Big Stadiums and Other Stories

Last Sunday was the first of two major sporting events happening for me this April. Brentford’s first visit to Wembley Stadium since 1985 ultimately ended in defeat with Carlisle United winning the Football League Trophy. The most disappointing thing about the day was that Brentford didn’t play as well as I’ve seen in other big games this season, the performances against Everton and Birmingham City in the League Cup were some way off.

Every football fan becomes a great manager after a defeat, I won’t bore you with the one or two things I’d have done differently with our starting line up.

It’s also easy to wonder how much the big occasion played a part. Carlisle were making their return to Wembley following a 4-1 loss in the same competition a year ago, and although there will have been alterations from that team, knowing what playing in a stadium that size, and in front of over 40,000 people is like, not to mention wanting to right the wrong of twelve months ago, must have been a help.

Brentford will just have to emulate the Cumbrians in 2012.

With the game kicking off at 1:30 PM, jump forward two weeks to marathon time and I expect to have finished running by then, and will have had more than enough chance to soak up the atmosphere of the day.

One of the things which sets the London Marathon apart from many others is the vast number of spectators. Unless you’re at the very top end of elite sport, this race presents a once in a lifetime chance to experience an atmosphere usually reserved only for a select few.

Those that have run the London Marathon have said the atmosphere is something I won’t forget. I do however have one previous experience of competing in front of a large crowd.

In 2002 I ran for England at the Manchester Commonwealth Games, in an event titled 100M for Elite Athletes with Disabilities, a bit of a misleading name really since this was purely a sight loss-based competition. There was a wheel chair 800M race as well and probably some swimming stuff, but luckily I wasn’t having to keep up with those on wheels, or get wet.

The Commonwealth Games had previously included a couple of disabled competitions as demonstration events, but Manchester was, as far as I’m aware, the first time they’d counted towards the medals table alongside the likes of Paula Radcliffe, Dwain Chambers and Ian Thorpe.

Being the only English athlete in my race, the loudest cheer was reserved for me, despite a mere handful of people in the 35,000 strong crowd having a clue who I was. I didn’t get out of my first round heat, fellow English competitor Andy Curtis (blind British 100M record holder) made the semi final.

The marathon will be very different from that July day in Manchester for many reasons. Although the numbers watching both on the streets of London and on TV will be higher, it will be far harder to pick out individuals with the volume of runners taking part. This means anyone who might get stage fright can hide.

I don’t think my start in the City of Manchester Stadium was my usual flier, but that won’t be an issue in Blackheath. In fact, I’ve no idea how long it will take me to get over the start line, let alone the finish!

This is one of the things I like about distance running over sprinting, if something doesn’t work out in the early stages, there’s more than enough time to put it right and still achieve the goal you’re aiming for.

With the 100M, it’s all over before you know where you are. Thinking back, the actual racing bit of the Commonwealth Games is a bit of a blur. Things I do remember include:

Thinking what a friendly bloke Mark Lewis Francis was, despite having just busted his hamstring.
Loving the fact you could eat at any time throughout the day and night.
Swapping T-shirt with one of the Bahamas 4X400M relay team because their kit was the coolest looking of every country. This was done the morning after the last night of track and field, and they’d done rather well for themselves. He and his team mates were a touch rough around the edges having spent most of the night in a nearby bar. The T-shirt hangs on my bedroom wall, I can’t wear it for it comes down to my knees and could be rapped around me twice!

Returning to the crowd, my other memory was from the stadium on the last night. It seemed every finalist who was English were inspired by the atmosphere, producing the sort of gold rush the organisers of 2012 will be hoping to replicate. Those staging this event performed a master stroke by putting the words to ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ on the big screen, with each medal ceremony being treated with a “come on folks, let’s out sing our last effort” attitude.

Pretty much every athlete left in the ground did a lap of honour at the end, with ‘Simply the Best’ followed by yet another lung busting ‘Land of Hope and Glory’.

All I can say is, if the Manchester City fans give their vocal chords that amount of welly should their team reach the Champions League next season their players can’t fail to be inspired.

Running Music: Spencer Davis Group 'Keep On Running'

See the list so far here.

Next up:

Spencer Davis Group ‘Keep On Running’

Yes, I accept this is the most obvious song I could pick, but if I thought it was rubbish then I’d have left it out.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard this at running events, as well as other sports. The guy on the PA at Brentford does like a sixties classic or two. I’ll be surprised if I don’t hear it on April 17 while running the streets of London.

This song always reminds me of the
Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002. I expect I did know it before then, but this is the first time it stuck in my head, massively helped by the somewhat limited musical choices on offer.

I know the organisers of
London 2012 will have rather bigger issues to resolve at the moment, but I hope someone is being delegated to bring a slightly bigger record collection than just five songs.

All we heard throughout the Athletics competition at the City of Manchester Stadium were:

Tina Turner ‘Simply the Best’
Queen ‘We Are the Champions’
Monty Python ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’

One other which escapes my memory at the moment, and the Spencer Davis Group. Not a Manc classic from
The Smiths or Stone Roses to be heard anywhere.

These five songs would be played throughout the evening session of the athletics, and is one of my abiding memories of that week. Another being the rather odd, lucky seat competition which I only heard from the warm up track, never actually saw it in action.

Jon Ridgeon would ask the crowd to stand up. Then, everyone except those in one stand were told to sit down. Next, everyone apart from one row were asked to be seated. Lastly, a seat number was called out and, hopefully, one lucky prize winner would be the last person standing.

Since this would happen before the first race, I always thought this was asking for the chosen seat to be without its occupant and something of an anti-climax. Even if the winners were selected from people that had entered the stadium, there’s every chance they’d be in the queue for a beer, burger or the bog before settling in for their evening’s entertainment.

The Spencer Davis Group are as well known for being the launch pad for the career of Steve Winwood as any other aspect of their CV.

‘Keep On Running’ reached number 1 in the UK in 1966, and is a cover of the
reggae track by Jackie Edwards. (Note, I found two versions by Jackie Edwards on Youtube)

How I Came to Get My Place

Dear Runner

We regret that we have to advise you that your application to run in the 2011 Virgin London Marathon has been unsuccessful. Once again demand for places has far exceeded supply.

We are sorry that we were not able to accept your entry this year and hope you will have better luck next year.

David Bedford, Race Director

An extract from the letter I, and thousands of others received after our names were not drawn from the ballot for the thirty-first
London Marathon. The letter went on to tell me about the many charities that still had places available, where a minimum sponsorship would need to be raised in return for one of the great experiences London can offer.

I had filled out the online form at the beginning of May; one week after the 2010 Marathon had taken place.

Like most of us, I had watched or listened to on
Radio 5 coverage of the London Marathon on numerous occasions. As a kid I dreamt of leading the field home, something which of course was never likely to become a reality no matter how much training I put in.

Throughout my teens and early twenties it was the total opposite of the running spectrum that concerned me – attempting to run the 100 and 200 metres that fraction of a second quicker than the previous summer.

Even while at my best over the 100 metres, getting down to 12.5 seconds and competing for England at the
Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002, London Marathon day and the experience that came with it always had the effect of making me think “I fancy some of that”.

Once I’d got bored with sprinting and taken up longer distances, the appeal dissipated somewhat, there’s nothing like dragging your body over the finishing line at the end of a half marathon to make you think that doing another straight away is just madness!

As time went on and I mixed with runners who had several of the full jobs to their name, and my own endurance improved, it became obvious that I really should give the 26.2 miles a crack: every distance runner should attempt one at some point, right?

Receiving the sorry, it ain’t going to be your turn this time letter wasn’t as big a disappointment for me as it would have been for many. Although London definitely had its appeal, there was always another year and plenty of alternatives, Brighton, Stratford-on-Avon, Edinburgh and Belfast all happen around the same time. Then there were also plans B and C for how I could still run London if I really wanted to.

Virtually every major charity worth its existence has London Marathon places, plus, there was the running club route.

The Stragglers where I am a member, due to being one of London’s largest running clubs, gets five places. Anyone that fails to be chosen in the public ballot can put their name into the hat. As luck would have it, or not depending on how you view these things, mine was triumphantly drawn one Thursday night in November.

So here I am, four and a half months away from my marathon debut, as up for the challenge as I have been for any I’ve taken on.

Among the replies I got to my Facebook status update announcing the news to the 140 people on my friends list was one saying “I hope you’re going to write a blog about it”.

Given the repetition of the training required to complete 26.2 miles, trying to make preparing for the marathon interesting to read about could be as big a challenge as running the thing, but I’m planning to give this my best shot as well.