2018 Review

Left my job and started running my own business with my mate.......

Ran the Temple Newsam 10 - hilly trail run and took 5 minutes off my 10m pb.......

Came 3rd in the British Masters Pentathlon champs.......

Had an amazing experience in Madrid with Geoff coming 33rd in the European Masters indoor Pentathlon.....

Was nominated as Chairman of Spenborough. A privilege to serve such an amazing club.......

Had an amazing trip to Scotland with Jamie and Geoff revisiting where I grew up. Even met Nicola, Jack and Poppy at Oban parkrun......

Came 2nd in the British Masters Decathlon Champs.....

Jamie gets the most amazing school report and results after his first year in high school. Super proud...... then heads off to Belgium for 8 days with Scouts.......

Came 3rd Senior in the West yorkshire Track and field League 2018 - super proud to win the first Vet prize the Sheila Bolland trophy keeping the memorial for such a wonderful lady in the club....

Moved house.......

World Masters Champs Decathlon-  Ranked 30th, aimed for 25th, came 20th. Was so broken I cried when I saw the results......Geoff came 13th in the shot putt too, sooo proud of him!!!

Ran a marathon. Well, did a marathon. In Scotland with Paul. Amazing experience......

Jamie's 13th Birthday - soo proud of him for displaying no teenage tendencies whatsoever! Long may it continue!

Landed some fantastic work with Paul, great to see both his businesses doing so fantastically well. It's been a blast and great to work with such a great bunch of guys....

Got a tattoo - actually got 10 - to commemorate the World champs.......

Won the M45 age category at the Bradford City run 5k.

Had a good indoor comp doing 60m and pole vault.......

Got family Christmas out the way and had a great night with mother and Jamie.....

Spen Christmas handicap, ran well in a Santa suit despite too much wine. Confirmed I run for the best club with amazing people......

Had a late start to Christmas day as Jamie slept in after being ill. A lazy afternoon followed by a brilliant evening..

Ran the Chevin Chase. What a great race.....

Road trip to Ribble Valley 10k with the Striders, beat my fastest 5k time of the year in the second half.

Have 153 events on Powerof10 for the year, sure there are a few missing, including the Chevin Chase after I forgot my chip......

So onto New Years Eve with almost all my favourite people, looking forward to an even better year next year.....

The best parkrunday.....

Today I can honestly say was the best parkrunday ever. This is nothing to do with times, positions or pb's - just about people, lots of people! Great friends, close friends, passing acquaintances and online friends, friends we see regularly and some not seen for over 4 years!!

First of all New Year's Eve was spent with great friends Vicki (Girlfriend), Geoff (Housemate) and Neil (not a runner but my best mate of 25 years!). Yes we had a few drinks, yes we stayed up late but we were all up on time for our respective plans for parkrun.

Mine included heading over to Pontefract first of all with Vicki for parkrun number 199 for me with Vicki being sociable and supportive! The journey to 199 had been tricky with a number of cancellations over the past few weeks but none had been missed despite traumas and last minute changes of plans and rushed drives! So we had been planning this for a while, and we were nearly there!

Arrival at Ponte warned us it was going to be a busy one - included in the attendees planned were a number of Uber Tourists I had met over 4 years previously. Rosemary and Nicola I met in my old parkrunners on Tour Group on FB that I started when there were only about 20 parkruns in the country. We first met at Edinburgh parkrun in 2013 and (she claims coincidentally!) Rosemary had that exact weekend's EMF T-Shirt on today! Subconscious at work or spectacular planning, who can say!! With them was Ian whom I met on parkrun tour to Poland at about the same time - the 3 of them came to Leeds later that year on tour and we had a fantastic night out! Apart from bumping into Ian at Warwick services 3 months ago I had not had the pleasure of meeting them since!

I managed to catch up with all 3 before setting off - though those at the front were so busy nattering it took 10 seconds of yelling at them from the hundreds behind before they actually started moving! A lesson in etiquette there me thinks!!

A relatively fast run for NYD meant we had plenty of time before heading off to Rothwell - not before being yelled at by 14 (?) year old Mia Butler from Spenborough to keep going and meeting speed merchant (actually a 200m specialist!) Anthony Bowyer of Wakefield who nearly caught me!! Great work by both!!

So on to Rothwell - parkrun number 200 for me and 50 for Vicki and to be joined by housemate and long suffering parkrun tourism buddy Geoff. Ian, Rosemary, Nicola changed their plans to join us at Rothwell instead of Nostell which was great - the number of other fantastic parkrun friends there was simply amazing, including Graham Pawley - the first parkrunner I met getting out of my car at my first ever parkrun in 2010!!!

Rothwell was muddy - I mean proper filthy and impossible to run on in the main! That didn't matter, Vicki and I ran together not bothered about times, Geoff had a guide Caroline Davies who really helped him out with the conditions and the sheer number of runners! So many others there made it a brilliant 2nd run of the day which of course ended up with sausage sandwiches, coffee and cake! It was great to meet more of the team from Rothwell where Vicki is an RD and just a great

Masters Athletics - calling everyone 35 and over....

So you've reached a certain age, you may be starting to slow down or just getting into your running and may be wondering what is else is going on in the world of athletics!

I came back to running in 2010 aged 39 after a 15 year hiatus following a bad bout of glandular fever which wiped me out if I tried to run. The plan was to be fit enough to keep up with my son as he got older and because I always loved it to try and get back on the track.

I started with parkrun, however struggled to complete a 5k without walking but still got immersed in the social side and the camaraderie. An evening drinking wine and chatting with a fellow parkrunner online convinced me to enter a 10k (damn you online entries - so much easier to have second thoughts when you have to find a stamp and a postbox!!) and soon I'd even done a 10 mile race and a half marathon.

I am a middle packer - in most races I come 40-60% of the way through the field, and often lower! However I turn out for my club at track league matches and can fill in the gaps at anything - jumps, throws and any distance! The proverbial "Jack of all trades, Master of none!"

After regularly doing 5 or 6 events in a day at track league matches I discovered that I could do multi events as an individual through Northern Masters AC (other regional clubs are available!). I also ended up 3rd in the West Yorkshire Track and Field League last season (Seniors not Masters!) due to the fact I would do any event!

So what is Masters Athletics all about? Well put simply it is the chance for the 35+ runners to enter a unique set of competitions and join a community of their own. Road, Cross Country, Trail and Track and Field are all open to you if you sign up.

Do not worry - this is not an attempt to poach athletes from clubs - the majority of members join second claim not effecting their club affiliation. However, membership does give you British Masters affiliation and hence access to regional, national and international competitions!

So I entered my first national competition - the British Masters Pentathlon Championship down in Oxford last June. I can be honest and say there were only 2 in my age group, and I came second but it is not my fault if people do not choose to enter!! I won a silver medal, but had a great day's competition and a fantastic time with a load of brilliant people over the age groups. I got hooked, and off the back of it entered my first British Masters Decathlon Champs.

Now this I loved - a few weeks before I got an email saying that the champs were also the biannual match between GB and the USA - I was competing with an American team and I have the T-Shirt to prove it!! What a blast!! I got 4 pb's in a weekend and had an amazing time!! Oh, and I came 5th Brit and apparently ranked 35th in the world in my age group.....

Since then I have the rather unique achievement of winning a silver medal at the 5k trail running champs, gold at the 400m hurdles and high jump and also a silver at the 6 mile cross country!! But the best was still to come......

Shortly after coming 331st in my local cross country league I took off to Madrid to compete in the European Masters indoor track championships.  I entered the Pentathlon (60m Hurdles, Long Jump, Shot Putt, High Jump then a 1000m) after coming 3rd in the British Champs in London. Out of 44 entered I was ranked 40th prior to the event......

What a buzz to see your name on the scoreboard with "Great Britain and N Ireland" after it with a Union Jack flag. To hear your name announced for Great Britain and to see the pictures of yourself running in the GB Masters kit!  And what a fantastic bunch of people I met over there - in my event and around the stadium!!

I finished up 33rd overall with 2 pb's, in an event that lasted 9 hours but ended up with me running a 4 second PB in possibly my best track race for 25 years, the 1000m! I absolutely loved it, the buzz, the competition, the venue and the people.....

So why tell you about this? If I hadn't found out about Masters Athletics I could not have had this experience. Afterwards my post on Facebook got more reactions than the amazing parent's evening my boy Jamie had in his first year of high school and trust me that was unbelievable! So many great people with words of support and admiration - half of whom are old enough to join in and yet so many don't!

In Masters athletics there are no minimum standards, no qualification and no reason to ever fear you are not good enough. It doesn't have to be on the track - there are opportunities to run cross country, trail and road races too at any level! There are no younger athletes around to make you feel self conscious, just incredibly supportive (but competitive!) older folk just striving to compete or simply loving being there and participating!

So what do you fancy doing? The European Road running champs, the World Track Champs, International Cross Country, or the regional champs just to give it a try! Locations such as Torun in Poland, Venice and Toronto are coming up.......

Here are some links for more info - please like and share and hopefully someone else will share the experience I and many others have had!!

Northern Masters Athletics
British Masters Athletics

European Championships in Madrid

World Indoor Championships 2019

Is high mileage always a good thing?

I was chatting to a good running friend Andy Byrom after the Yorkshire Vets Grand Prix race yesterday when the subject of mileage came up. Andy is relatively new to running having I believe just over a year of serious running behind him and has progressed massively. Apart from the short stuff I have been regularly a long way behind him however I confessed recently he was my target when it came to anything over 5k and recently I have managed to beat him twice.

The conversation started as Andy had posted that he had done 100 miles in September and nearly 1000 for the year. I commented that I had managed around 300 miles year to date, clearly a lot lower. However yesterday at a ridiculously hilly, muddy, technical Vets race I managed to turn a normal substantial deficit into 1 min 14 second win and this a week after out-sprinting him in a 10k.

So the question is does high mileage always help? Obviously this depends on the person and their own body but in my case low mileage seems to suit! I have never been a great trainer, never managing to get the time to go to club nights and generally running alone with my Garmin when I do manage to get out in the week! I have taken to racing more and longer on a Sunday to build my fitness and mainly recovering during the week with the odd short loosener thrown in when I can!

However long term who will benefit most? I have no answers but what seems to suit me is building up by racing and good long recoveries! I’m sure it will be a lot of fun finding out as I now have a target on my back for Andy to aim at!! Hopefully this will help us both progress, though I am not sure what his brother thinks as I took him down as well yesterday, which was not something I expected to do any time soon!!

Incidentally I just did a head to head performance analysis (thank you http://www.runbritainrankings.com!!) with the lady I finished yesterday’s race with and it explained why I didn’t even recognise her: never even been close before with a 10k pb a full 5 minutes better than mine!

Event	Race	Venue	Date	Sharon Williams		Jason Newell
10MMT	Guy Fawkes 10	Ripley	6 Nov 11	78:08	196 (21)	87:03	380 ( )
6MNAD	Yorkshire Veterans' Grand Prix	Kirkstall	22 May 12	42:45	87 (7)	50:53	189
4.6MMT	Yorkshire Veterans' Grand Prix	Pudsey	12 Jun 12	38:34	63 (4)	43:04	105

I am hoping this is progress, not just me being on a high after the Leeds Rhinos win in the Grand Final the night before!! Who knows, but I am sure it will be a lot of fun finding out!!!

Appreciate any thoughts on the question of mileage- what works for you??

My take on the Half Marathon...

So let me set the scene- since taking up running again I have been struggling to complete a 5k parkrun without having to stop for a walk- managed all so far this year in accordance with my New Years resolution and already have a new pb in the bag! Thanks to the ultra supportive and enthusiastic friends at parkrun I have so far in the last 4 months done a 10k, Yorkshire Vets and WY league cross countries and a super hilly 10 miler! I had planned to go as far as a half marathon, targetting the nicely flat Brass Monkey in Jan 2013, concentrating this year on parkrun, various races up to 10k and mainly for 800m on the track.

So a couple of weeks ago when a fellow parkrunner announced he had a place spare at this year's Brass Monkey of course I jumped at the chance- totally unplanned and unprepared however I knew with all the running friends who were doing it I would at least enjoy giving it a go!

That was the best bit- gave a lift to some of parkrun's finest over to York which really helped calm the nerves! Good company, easy chat and Absolute 80s meant we arrived a bit early if I am honest but not too worried about the coming trial! Post run I joined Hyde Park Harriers in the Fox and Grapes for a post race snack and social- bit hot and sweaty but really nice to share it with them!!

So onto the race itself- yes I finished very happy and yes, I can still walk which is a bonus! But how did it really go...

Target- I have 1:50 in my diary and my chip time was 1:53:13. Not good, but not really the main aim of the race! Besides, it was so incredibly windy many said it was worth 5 minutes, however the results have been published now and I cannot change that!

Before today since starting running again the furthest I have run without stopping to walk has been 7k in the Abbey Dash 10k. My aim today was to get to halfway and then see how far I could get before I had to stop. I made it past 10 miles and that is a massive improvement, and with that I am very happy!

However, that point signalled the beginning of the end! Until then I had been on schedule to do 1:46 so it's really a no-brainer: I went off too fast. However, the 8 minute miles I was clocking were consistent and secretly what I had been planning so happy with that- especially as I only thought I'd manage that to halfway!

The last 3 miles were incredibly tough- not happy with that but looking at the bigger picture what did I expect! I have not trained for this, not done a half for 19 years, it was extremely windy and had not planned to do one, I just couldn't resist! So really, quite happy I managed to finish!!

Verdict: great fun, great company, very pleased with the first 10 miles and will do one again! Next time it will be planned and I will not only train but give some thought to the nutritional advice offered to me before the start- what are gels? Never had those last time I did a half marathon!!!!!!!!!

Someone inspirational in support...

As a kid you cannot run without the support of your school, parents or both. In my case it was my Grandfather whom I grew up with, in two separate stints! He claimed indifference but strangely the dog always needed a walk somewhere different when I needed a lift to a race! Turning up at school cross country races claiming he didn't know I was running was always appreciated, but his way was never to show interest, even though we both knew he never walked that way! I still remember him letting me have my Christmas present early after winning the District Cross Country in the second year, my first record player and tape deck! I also remember that he made me pay for half of it too - some point of principle that I never got at the time! I guess I never fully appreciated him for it- the memory always soured by being sent out into the garden in the dark, freezing cold and tired to clean my spikes!

However, that support would never have been needed if it were not for my major inspiration - everybody's favourite, the Chemistry teacher!

When I started secondary school that Chemistry teacher who ran the cross country and athletics teams was called Alan Domleo. An old fashioned character who generally did not get the respect of the students but who clearly lived and breathed running. I never saw him run and it was many years before I learned about his background and history.When you are a kid you just don't think to ask!!

He ran the school races and drove us around Derbyshire to a variety of small races against other schools. Those who showed promise or who were just keen he introduced to his club, Derby and County AC. Here I started to run proper races- North Midlands League cross country and the Young Athletes track and field league.As I progressed I did the Northern Counties and even the Nationals, always being fetched and carried by Mr Domleo.

I have no idea how much of his time was given up to drive me around the country but it was a lot- 2 or 3 times a week for 7 years, and it was a 10 mile round trip just to pick me up! I later found out that he had suffered a serious injury and had had to give up running but he was actually a former international, running the marathon for GB or England in one of the major championships in the 60's or early 70's- shamefully I cannot remember the exact details but I did find that in the 1973 World Marathon rankings he was in the top 70, just 4 minutes behind Ron Hill!

So to the point of this tale- kids do not appreciate the efforts people make on their behalf. We all know that so what did I do to put this right? Well in 2010 the National Cross Country came back to Roundhay Park in Leeds. I was still not running again at this time but thought it was a great opportunity to look up my old mentor and say hi.Incredibly I managed to find him and introduced myself (he looked the same, I have aged a lot!) and he thought I was there to run. I explained how I had gone up on the off chance he would be there to say thanks for everything he did for me.

The bus full of kids he had with him could not understand why he was so emotional - I explained that 25 years before I was like them, being run around the country and it took me until I was a lot older to appreciate him- and I hoped it wouldn't take them as long.

Getting sentimental and planning ahead!

New Years Eve – time for reflection, setting targets for the New Year and, for me, my 50^th parkrun!!

This year has been a rare old mix of stress and stress relief. Life in general has been tough but we are getting there- running and all it has brought to us as a family has been a great reliever of that stress! Discovering the parkrun community and Sar and Jamie starting to run too has been the most fantastic thing- being able to run again helps too!

I recently posted some old race results I found in the garage which showed some impressive results from 20 years ago- chatting about it with Danny Norman amongst others I made a comment about how I was enjoying running so much more now than when I was competing seriously and I wanted to explain why.

In 1992 I did 16:28 for 5k- this year I have managed 22:05. I once raced Wilson Kipketer in a national track final and regularly competed for my county as well as being Leeds University Athletics Captain. So what has made the difference?

Well, after 15+ years of not being able to run anything has got to be an improvement. In those days I raced, always in a team with a great bunch of people and usually with someone inspirational in support but we were always a racing team. It was serious, it was tough but it was always competitive, especially with your team-mates!

What I never realised was missing was the community. In those days we had no Facebook, no forums and no podcasts. There was never any mixing with those who ran for fun and we never thought about anything but training and times.

Now I am slower but I am part of something I am truly enjoying! Yes I still set targets and still do my best but it appeals to my social nature to be amongst like minded people regardless of standard! I have met some great people this year and look forward to meeting more next year! Yes I enjoyed my racing career, but my second “vets” career is much more fun!!


Something else I have been thinking about is my really annoying habit of talking to everyone about both running and parkrun. I have persuaded a few mates to give it a try, some have really got into it, some still do the odd one and some have never been seen again! One friend however has grabbed it like the thing that has been missing from his life all this time! Nicky Best plays pool for a rival team in our league and we got chatting- after his first parkrun he loved it- last weekend I saw him with a car full of 3 others he had brought along who also loved it! That made me very happy, though I am worried about how quick Nicky is going to get next year!!! Then there is Jabba - Stephen Jablonski: totally unfit scouser playing for our team who just turns up, week in week out! Not sure he even enjoys it but, apart from in this festive season when he is busily undoing all his hard work, never shows any sign of quitting! Respect! Though I think part of it is he enjoys winding Sam up about Chelsea.....

So what about 2012? More parkruns (obviously) both at Leeds and around the country, plenty of other races, including the real toughie of trying to get back into the 800m!! Add into the mix taking Jamie to see the men’s 10,000m final at the Olympics and I am getting pretty excited!

So to make it official here is a summary of last years targets and next: bearing in mind at the start of the year my best 5k was 24:11 and for 3 months an Achilles injury crippled me after every parkrun until the following Friday!

- Sub 23 minutes by the end of August – achieved on the last weekend of August thanks to the brilliant Dave McGuire’s suggestion of taking in a parkrun on the way to Wembley to see the Challenge Cup final. Milton Keynes definitely suited me even after a 3 hour drive!!

- Sub 22 minutes by the end of the year- currently at 22:05 with one more to go…..

- Race the Yorkshire Vets 800m – came 5^th and 1^st M40 knocking 6 seconds of my previous best of the season. Not a great time (2:26.1) but I was racing!

So what about 2012: well I have tried to be realistic but my targets are:

- Run without walking – the obvious exception being the Guy Fawkes 10- no way I can do those hills!! If you see me walking at a parkrun you have my permission to kick me.

- Sub 21 min 5k, sub 45 min 10k, sub 2:20 800m.

- Enjoy it!!!

Have a great New Year all! See you at a parkrun near you soon!!