That explanation raised a few eyebrows at the time and left some people wondering what that meant for other races measured using he same wheel, seen as the error hadn't been identified for so long.
This week that question was answered. To an extent. But in truth that in itself has led to even more questions, rather than any real sort of satisfying conclusion. Instead, now runners are being left scratching their heads and tryin to figure out exactly what is happening to the sport we love, and what on earth have the running authorities been up to to allow our local sport to be left in such a sorry state.
It is now alleged that all races measured using this particular calibrated wheel, as well as some others measured using wheels calibrated using he same base strip as that one, are now being investigated for the validity of their course accuracy. In total some 38 races are now being looked at, and some have already been declared short, with some high profile races having seen their results wiped out and declared null and void after remeasures have shown them to come up short.
But still, even there the story does not end. Trafford 10k is by far the most high profile casualty of he latest round of controversy, but the race organisers are far from happy with the allegations and are appealing against the ruling. They are unhappy with the way that the remeasure was conducted and with the process of remeasure carried out. Apparently, when the course was originally measured and set out, it was done so with the official race line being set one metre from the edge of the curb all the way around the course. The new measure took a different line, hugging as tight to the curb as possible in order to find the shortest route. There has been no explanation, as I understand it, as to why the remeasure took a different route from the original course measurement. Under this scrutiny the course is now said to be some 100 metres short.
This again raises yet more questions - Dave Norman, race organiser at Trafford, points out that the metre from the curb measure was in line with regulations from all course measurements carried out in the 70s and 80s. So if this is the case, why have the rules changed, and when did the change of rules come in to play? If it is no longer an acceptable method of measure for road racing, then how will the measurements of previous generations courses stand up to the same levels of scrutiny? Why were race organisers not informed about these investigations and remeasures before they were carried out and made public?
At first it seemed that it was just races in he Manchester region that were under scrutiny, but as the week has gone on, it now appears that races up and down the country are now likely to be looked at to assess their accuracy. Garmin and strava readings from some of the leading races in the land are now being looked at to pinpoint races for a closer assessment. Whether this will lead into a full scale investigation is unclear, but it is putting big question marks over the future direction of road running in the UK.
Run Britain and Power of Ten have become powerful players and influential sites in encouraging runners to take part in certain races that looked like 'PB courses', they also became a leading database for storing athletes times, race history and form. Now though, races are being wiped away as though they never even existed and erased ad though they no longer matter. Surely this cannot be right? It leaves a nasty taste in the mouth once again.
If you was to ask me what my official 10k pb time was now, the genuine answer would be that I do not know - Cheshire 10k is also apparently on the list of courses being checked for validity, so it might be back to the drawing board yet again, despite me being 100% sure that the distance I ran there a few weeks ago was absolutely bang on. It's a sad state of affairs.
Luckily the interclub series is not about official distances or times, as none of the courses are officially certificated anyway. On Wednesday night I took part in the second race of the 2016 season, held at the home of Preston Harriers. It was a bright, warm, sunny evening and fine racing conditions. I ran a strong race and led straight out of the blocks, opening up a gap early on an stretching it out consistently through the 4 mile, 2 lap course. I won the race from Rob Affleck in second place, by some 50 seconds in 20:31, a time that was some 28 seconds slower than last year - albeit ran in very much different circumstances as I felt comfortable throughout.
The weeks training was really built around that midweek race, with no track session, or tempo session to speak of through the bulk of the week. Instead, I did something of a speed session yesterday, doing 6 x 800 on the roads, off a 400 metre recovery. The session was a good one as I averaged sub 5 minute mile-ing throughout the efforts. This morning I completed my weeks training with a steady long run along the canal with Rob Affleck, making the most of the good weather with an enjoyable 15 miles at 6:30 pace.
A big well done has to go to my mum, Maureen Danson on her two races this week - with 4 mile and 10k pb's recorded either side of her special birthday celebrations this weekend - she's only going to get quicker too. Well done mum 😄
Total mileage for the week: 68
Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:32
Total mileage for the month so far (May): 133
Total mileage so far 2016: 1351
Average miles per day 2016: 10.00
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