ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon - Legends Relay
Earlier this year, I was honoured to received an invite from the legendary Dr. Ron Hill to be a member of the 'Legends Relay Team' for this year's ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon. I won the women's race in 1998 and am very proud of that achievement but I have to say that it isn't quite as significant as the achievements of my fellow team mates!
Our team consisted of no less than:
Leg 1 - Dr. Ron Hill, former Commonwealth and European Marathon Champion with a best time of 2:09:28 who won Manchester in 1969 and 1971
Leg 2 - Steve Kenyon who ran the fastest time ever in a Manchester Marathon of 2:11:54 in 1981
Leg 3 - Jackie Newton (yours truly) who won the women's race in 1998
Leg 4 - Bashir Hussain who scored a hat-trick of wins between 1996 and 1998
The Greater Manchester Marathon was brought back into the racing calendar in 2012 after a ten-year absence and this was the first year I had been back since its relaunch. WOW! Was I in for a surprise! The Greater Manchester Marathon now has the feel and atmosphere of a 'big city marathon' with slick organisation and a carnival atmosphere.
Myself and Bashir are partners and, as we were getting ready to leave the house this morning, there was a wonderful feeling of nostalgia. We don't race seriously at the moment (although I think Bashir may be getting himself back towards challenging for a few Masters titles!) but 'in the olden days' our normal weekend would be organised around the race we were going to or the training we were doing. This morning there was a very slight hint of the old pre-competition routines! We were up in good time eating a race-friendly breakfast with race kit, kindly supplied by ASICS, packed in the car before setting off to the event. I felt like I was very young again!
The drive there was easy and the parking was even easier with plenty of space at Old Trafford, where the Race Village, Start and Finish were positioned. We made our way to the VIP tent where we had been told our numbers would be waiting for us (and indeed they were) and first of all bumped into Trevor Baxter, Sports Journalist for the Manchester Evening News, amongst other publications. Again - another nostalgic trip as Trevor interviewed us on many occasions in the 90s when we were running and winning regularly and we have scrap books full of newspaper cuttings written by him from those glory days!
Before long, it was time for the start of the relay, that was starting 30 minutes after the main race, and so we went off to cheer Ron off to a good start. We also had the opportunity to see the leaders come through as the course brought them back past the start at around four miles. In amongst that group was one athlete that we have worked with on coaching camps and as team managers for Great Britain. A quick reminder that we are actually old even though this event was making us feel that we were in our early 30s again! The relay runners were lining up and we were scouring the crowd to see Ron and to wish him a speedy first leg but we couldn't see him anywhere. The gun was fired and away they went and then, as we were jogging off to catch the Metro (tram) to our change-over points, along came Ron, running to catch up the first leg runners as he had missed the start due to chatting to well-wishers and runners who he never fails to inspire! We all had a good giggle about his late start and he, myself and Bashir ran along the first stretch of road as a team before leaving Ron to get on with trying to catch some of the others!
We had decided to catch the Metro to our relay change-over spots and as we joined the crowds at the Old Trafford station there was a feeling reminiscent of being at the London Marathon, where the crowds of spectators buzz round the course via the Tube, with banners in hand displaying the names of the runners they are supporting and those plastic blow-up tubes that you bang as the runners pass by. The Metro was packed and we weren't sure that we would be able to get on the first one that pulled into the station but everyone moved down the tram and we squeezed in with the others.
My leg started at Timperley Sports Club and, as I arrived in the vicinity, I was able to watch the runners go by in both directions as they headed to and from Altrincham. This would be the route that I would take. In order to stay warm, I spent some of my time inside the Sports Club where other Leg 3 runners were congregating, all eagerly checking phones for messages from Leg 1 that Leg 2 was on the way. With no phone, I had no way of being updated in this way (and another indication that I've not quite come up to speed with the modern way of working on race day!) but I had a good idea of how long both Ron and Steve would take and so I made my way out just five minutes before Steve came running into the car park for our change-over.
Although I haven't run any of the other legs and so I can't guarantee this next statement is true, I reckon that Leg 3 is the best. I loved it. It runs out to Altrincham where it does a loop around the town centre and then back, past the Sports Club before making its way towards Sale. The support and atmosphere in Altrincham is amazing. Again, another deja vu of London. There was entertainment on every corner including bands and choirs, playing loud, upbeat tunes that really lift you. There was also lots of high-fiving. I took every opportunity to wave to the crowds and high-five all of the young supporters standing by the side of the road, some with hands eagerly held aloft, others with sweets and fresh fruit to distribute and all with beaming faces! High fiving was something that I rarely did when I was taking my running more seriously. I occasionally did a race just to 'run round' where I would join in with the salutations but more often than not my focus would be on my running rhythm, my opponents or the course and the spectators with their waves and requests for high-fives would be mostly ignored and I would run as close to the middle of the road and away from the crowds as I could. Today was very different! I also had the pleasure of running for a while with a fellow coach that I was coaching with only last weekend. It was great to see her and to witness the success she was having as she was bang on her target time and looking very good!
I was actually sorry to get to the 18 mile point where I was handing over to Bashir! I saw him off on his way and then made my way to Timperley Metro station to get the tram back to the finish. Having the Metro so close to so many points along the course is fabulous and a huge bonus. The Manchester Marathon that I did in 1998 had no such luxury and so it wasn't nearly so easy for spectators to get around.
I got back to the finish just as Bashir was finishing. He had stormed round and also reported lots of fun and inspiration on the route. Another big plus for this modern Greater Manchester Marathon is the course. It is fast and flat and benefits from community support that has been rallied intentionally. The organisers have put initiatives in place to encourage the Manchester community to get behind the event with prizes for the most supportive community on the course and an ethos that instills pride in the event and in Manchester. The Manchester residents obviously enjoy the occasion and are glad to give visitors a great day and great memories to go home with.
We met up with Ron and Steve whilst we watched the presentations to the first three men and women (one of them being that young whipper-snapper that we have worked with!) before taking lots of photographs and eventually heading home whilst discussing the strides the Greater Manchester Marathon has taken to get to where it is now with well over 10,000 happy runners!
It's been a fabulous day. I hope we can do the same again next year!