LONG ROAD OUT OF EDEN JURBY – PART 4

TRAINING PROGRESS

Training is so far going to plan, with 105 of the minimum 300 scheduled training miles completed by the end  of February. Mileage per session is also slowly increasing, with last Thursday’s 15 miles around Baldwin being the furthest to date, whilst a 13 miles hike including a ‘crawl’ up Injebreck hill being the toughest so far. This week I intend to travel out to ‘Stewart Jones’ territory’ around Maughold and reacquaint myself with the mythical Ballajora climb…

It is interesting to note different training regimes across the competitors. Dean Morgan (4^th) last year negotiates around his work schedule, by training regularly at night whilst my blogging peer Sammy Bowden (current Women’s champion) uses every opportunity between dropping off and picking up her family to get some miles in. Meanwhile Josh Knights (8^th in 2022) has posted 200 miles for February alone (!) Finally my nephew Ffinlo Moore, whose debut was thwarted last year due to the dreaded Covid, but who has entered for this year has been out every day in 2022 doing 3-5 miles (59 consecutive days to date) out of a planned initial challenge of 100 days on the trot. Well done Ffinlo, you’re putting me to shame!

 The moral of the story is that all 705 of us who have taken up the challenge (as at this morning) should be out training now whatever can be fitted in with a view to increasing the mileage from Easter to the end of May. Those new trainers need to be worn in!  

IT’S TIME TO GET COMPETITIVE

There was one competitive Race-Walking event during February, being part of the Murray Lambden Open Athletics meeting held last Saturday. This included a choice of 5, 10 and 20 km distances and some of the names who will feature prominently in June took part including Lorna Gleave, Jayne Farquhar, Adam Killip, Tony Edwards, Simon Gawne and Neil Wade, the latter being especially pleased with his time of 53m 46s for the intermediate distance.

What is the benefit of doing a 5 km when you are training/aiming for 85 miles you may ask? Well, it is  important to break down the event into each church, and to have a set time for each section, so the ability to go at a good pace over short distances will stand you in good stead on 24/25 June.  

The next two events take place in March, being the last leg of the Winter Walks League (10km - Sunday 19^th March) and the (5km) Spring Handicap the following Thursday, both at the NSC. So, for the many ‘first timers’ this year these will be an ideal opportunity to assess your fitness levels and to have a look at the technique of some of the top long distance walkers on the Island.

  Remember though not to go off too quick on the day which is one of my common failings!

 

…GOT THE T-SHIRT

One of the ‘legacies’ of each Parish Walk is the T-Shirt available for all entrants. There is a wonderful feeling of seeing many hundreds of competitors wend their way around the NSC at the start and up the Ballahutchin, and wearing the item is always a good conversation opener at the NSC gym for weeks later on the lines of ’how far did you get’?

Last year saw the introduction of the laudable option of forgoing the T-Shirt and instead a donation being made to the Isle of Man Woodland Trust. As someone who has amassed in the region of 50 such items over the years including those offered for the End to End Walk and the Isle of Man half marathon it is time I started doing my bit for the environment too! Whilst sorting them out in preparation for a ‘cull’ I noted that my initial ones were medium and over the years expanded to ‘extra-large’ though now thankfully back down to a large! There have been some which I will always retain such as the first one from 1999 and the 2015 one which accompanied me to Maughold, though many of the early white ones are carrying the ‘scars’ of sun tan lotion and Vaseline and have walked their last race.

On the back of each is a unique design (see below)  created by Steve Partington, my favourites being the caricatures of  Robbie and Sean (2008) and Murray (2017).   

I wonder what motif Steve is dreaming up for this year’s event…

 

1999			White		Smiling male and female competitors		Clerical Medical
2000			White		Orange feet		Clerical Medical
2001			White		Green circle with 'tips' around		Clerical Medical
2002			White		Hill walker Dog Walker Murray Walker…		Clerical Medical
2003			White		Parish Walk wording in the shape of a 'cross'		Clerical Medical
2004			White		Walker in a ring with the names of the Parishes around		Clerical Medical
2005			White		Snakes and ladders board of the course		Clerical Medical
2006			White		5 walkers and 10 spectators		Clerical Medical
2007			White		Male athlete against blue background		Clerical Medical
2008			White		Caricatures of Robbie and Sean against yellow background		Clerical Medical
2009			White		Silhouettes of walkers against red background		Clerical Medical
2010			White		Red circle with names of the Parishes around		Scottish Widows
2011			White		Large circle showing 18 illustrations of various parts of the course.		Scottish Widows
2012			White		Male and female competitors passing through blue names of churches		Manx Telecom
2013			White		Caricatures of 1923/24 victor Gerald Bridson		Manx Telecom
2014			White		Green shield with names of Parish churches on outside		Manx Telecom
2015			White		Map of the Island highlighting the Parishes and other points on the course.		Manx Telecom
2016			Blue		A large white trainer, suitably annotated		Manx Telecom
2017			Blue		Remembering Murray		Manx Telecom
2018			Grey		Soles of trainers walking across Parish Walk banner		Manx Telecom
2019			Green		Caricatures of two competitors - numbers 20 and 19		Manx Telecom
2020					NO EVENT
2021			White		Included a coronavirus spore		Manx Telecom
2022					Absent - Did not ‘get the T-Shirt’		Manx Telecom

 

PARISH WALK MEMORIES – PART TWO (2008 – 2014)

2008

22 June 2008 will long live in the memory of those who took part in the event. I have always subsequently referred to the conditions as a ‘monsoon’ with gale force winds and driving rain which unfortunately took hold when I was heading up the Sloc. As my wife had not yet arrived at Peel with a change of clothes when I walked up to the Town Hall I decided to carry on to Kirk Michael on the basis that I had twice the chance of ‘catching pneumonia’ by standing still at the Town Hall; and that was my limit., unlike the 121 incredibly brave souls who finished the event.  

2009

On Saturday 20th June 2009 I walked together with son Andrew until he left me behind when I went to the loo at Marown. It always amazes me, both in the Parish and End to End events how long it takes to catch up with someone when you have paused for a ’comfort break’ for less than two minutes! I walked well to Peel though retired at Ballaugh ‘with mixed feelings’ after experiencing a tight chest on the coast road, whilst my ‘son and heir’ defied groin pain early on to get into Peel. 

2010

Saturday 26th June 2010 was a ‘very hot day’. I walked with son Andrew to Santon, and found the stretch between Rushen and Peel ‘easier than usual’. Taking one section at a time I passed Jurby where my supporting family caught up with me and asked how I was. I replied ‘’fine, but I am just going to have a short break’’. Fatally I sat down and keeled over, retching uncontrollably and only subsequently managed to struggle through to Bride.   

2011

Not the best start to Parish Walk day (25^th June 2011) when I woke up at 3 a.m. with the excitement and was unable to get back to sleep. The ‘highlights’ included going into ‘orbit’ on the steep hill down to Glen Maye when I tripped and cut open my knee. Then, on the busy road out from Peel my supporting family missed seeing me and stopped several miles further along at Kirk Michael to wait for me as they were unable to turn back with the traffic, and this whilst I was desperate for water! Turning the corner at Bride, I mistakenly accepted a wine gum and promptly started retching/ throwing up violently and had to steel myself to get to handing my dibber in at Andreas Church. A p.b. perhaps, though still well short of Douglas Promenade.

2012

Torrential rain the day before made signing on at the N.S.C. a bit of a nightmare and the torrent cascading down the river Glass was both spectacular and somewhat scary. The rain continued all race day (23 June) and there was the curious sight of a long line of entrants waiting their turn for up to 15 minutes to go round the side of the ‘puddle’ under Braddan bridge. I recall later that Murray (Lambden) was a bit disparaging of me for not tramping straight through it, though through all the years he was giving me tips he always insisted that walkers should keep their feet as dry as possibly! (I have subsequently kept two plastic bags and two elastic bands in my kit should this ever happen again though as 2023 sees the banning of the use of single use plastics the bags could command a premium in future years!

The incessant rain was truly demoralizing, and I was proud of our children Andrew and Vicky who both got into Peel in various states of pain. I was on schedule at Jurby though the section to Bride was the ‘usual drag’ and I stopped there, obvious a surprise to wife Cath who drove right passed  in her attempts to locate me!

2013

There was more rain the following year though at least the wind was behind us when we left Rushen, which certainly helped going up the Sloc. I recorded my best time to date in reaching Bride and then stupidly sat down for a drink at the tea rooms and promptly seized up! Son Andrew convinced me that Lezayre was achievable, and I eventually reached that church for a personal best, although there was not much left in the ‘tank’…

2014

On 21 June 2014 I managed to walk a good part of the way to Santon with former winners Jock Waddington and Vinny Lynch, though this was only because they had decided to walk to Rushen and Peel respectively at what (for them anyway) was a leisurely pace! I sat down for a rest at Peel and never really recovered, with daughter Vicky getting to Peel ahead of me. Work colleague Chris Thorpe came out to support, and he steered me to Bride, though I recall that it was the ‘reverse psychology’ of the Civil Defence which got me there, as they stopped and remarked that I looked like I wanted to give up and did I want a lift in to Bride which annoyed me somewhat!  

 Enjoying proceedings at the Middlesbrough event in August 2022 before the two-hours’ monsoon which was nearly on a par with the 2008 ‘Parish’! (Courtesy Sue Clements)