Tauranga Twilight 1985 - John Walker's 92nd Sub 4 Mile

It's hard to believe this was thirty years ago today.

Probably my favourite photo of myself running. After about 250 metres things were quite relaxed.

It's amazing what can transpire at New Year's Eve parties.

I'd normally go up to Tauranga over the new year period to get some good training in and race over 3000m at the twilight meeting on New Year's day. But John Walker was looking at extending his tally of sub four minute miles up to 100 and was taking every opportunity available to get there. The Tauranga Twilight meeting just happened to be another opportunity. However the organisers were finding it difficult to arrange a pacemaker and approached me with an inducement of a dozen beer. I accepted.

Unfortunately the summer had been a bit wetter than usual, which left the track a little soft, and the wind, if not strong by Wellington standards, was quite steady and hampering. John wasn't too sure whether the attempt would be worth it and as we jogged around together he was umming and aahing as to whether to make the attempt or not. This struck me as strange from a guy who always seemed confident of his abilities but years later I saw a documentary about his first breaking 3:50 for the mile and there was the same guy wondering if the conditions would be against him. Finally, about halfway through the warmup, the decision was made to go for the mile.

The field for the mile was a pretty strong one and included Russell Haswell, Mark Furlan and Kerry Roger but the pace which I was to set meant that they'd be left well behind, running for second.

I knew my pace pretty well by this stage in my career and set off to run the first lap in around 58 seconds but John called at me from behind saying "Go faster" so I did. We got through the first lap in 57 and I carried on into the second lap but things became a bit more difficult. I had hoped to carry on for another 200 metres or so after the half mile but unfortunately the softish track and steady breeze precluded this and I had to let John go on his own after I got through the half mile in 1:57 (which was a full second quicker than the 800m was won in that day).

At about 650 metres things aren't looking so comfortable.

John carried on to finish in 3:58.9 which was really impressive given the conditions. The rest of the field were more than ten seconds behind.

The black and white photo above (or at least one very similar to it) was to reappear in The Herald years later, in 2013, when the Queen Street mile was resurrected.

Nike Capital 15k (and the Legend of the Beer)

In the early 80s someone in the Scottish had the idea of staging a road race around the bays which would attract the cream of runners from around the country. Run at the end of November, the race was over the unusual distance of 15km and was mostly flat but contained a substantial climb over Awa Road in Miramar. This should have had the effect of slowing the times somewhat. There was also a prize awarded for the first runner past the Greta Point Tavern which was located at the 5km point. The prize was a dozen beer and was much coveted by many a runner in Wellington.

The first race was held in 1982 and, even though I'd won the Wellington Dross Country Champs, I didn't fancy my chances of lasting the full distance with the quality of runners in the field. However, I did think I could beat most people over 5km and earn my refreshment.

The task didn't prove all that difficult on the first occasion, it was just a matter of hanging in there at a 15k pace and sprinting away once in sight of the entrance to the Great Point. But it still took a bit out of me and I let several people past me before regathering my faculties and deciding I could actually finish reasonable well up. In the end it was Dallas McCallum who took the victory (and the prize of a trip to a marathon in Australia) in a decent time, considering the terrain, of 45:25. I worked my way back through the field to finish second and, in addition to my dozen beer, won an electric barbeque. How useful is an electric barbeque? you may ask. I did use it, but not very often.

By 1983 a few more people had wised up to the idea that there was a dozen on offer for the leader after 5k so the runners at the head of the field didn't look so much like those who were gong to complete the distance as they had the previous year. Initially it was Pat Meffan who made the pace to Point Jerningham, then it was just Mike Gilchrist (a really good 1500 runner) and me battling it out to Greta Point. I got there in a time of 14:04 (it must have been a tail wind) and took a rest while the better runners in the field went past. Mike carried on and held out all challenges except the one from Brent Addison who overtook him just before the tunnel under the airport runway. Brent won in 46:14 and although I rallied towards the end I couldn't get past Mike, who finished three seconds in front of me in 46:30.

1984 saw even hotter competition for the beer. This time the major contender was Phil Barnes and we got to the Greta Point in 14 minutes, but again I prevailed. However, this time there was to be no great recovery and I finished well back. Phil held on well and battled it out with Alastair Leslie for the honours. Alastair prevailed in 45:45 after running away from Phil inside the last kilometre.

Years later I managed to anchor a team of 50 year olds home in the University Relay. The prize was a dozen beer each. There were comments made that if there's beer a stake I'm unbeatable (but this ignores the fact that there was beer at stake the previous year and we didn't win it). It's just the stuff of legends.

No Defence - 1984

Going into the 1984 cross country season I had a new plan for my training. I'd decided that I was too soft over the longer distances and the way to remedy this was to work harder on the anaerobic phase of my training. You may wonder, why change a formula which was working? but in order to achieve a goal of representing New Zealand I felt I had to change something in training to improve my performance in racing, especially over the longer distances. So instead of doing an unknown number repetitions over an unknown distance, in an unknown time over parkland, I decided to go to the track and do a predetermined number measured reps in a predefined time. In my case this tended to be 10 x 400m repetitions in 60 seconds with a 400m jog recovery. The mileage and hill phases of the training remained the same.

As usual I ran poorly in the Dorne Cup but improved my performance in the Vosseler Shield. The latter race ended up being a classic showdown between Dallas McCallum and me. Dallas, being his normal aggressive self, put the pace on almost from the start and with me being the only one game enough to go with him, we quickly established a huge gap on the rest of the field. Dallas wasn't happy that I was keeping up with him and kept putting in bursts over the opening lap. By the time we got down to the Badminton Hall towards the end of the first lap I was beginning to doubt that I could keep up the pace he was setting, so when he put in another burst I decided to let him go. That was all he needed, he'd established a gap and he defended it until the finish. His winning time was 35:34 and I was nine seconds back.

Years later Dallas would tell me that if I'd've stuck with him at the crucial stage he would've given it away. Knowing him, somehow I doubt it.

I won the interprovincial cross country again so things were looking pretty good for a third Wellington cross country title. Little did I know the training I'd been doing had been taking its toll on my body.

Dallas makes the pace from the start leading me, Barry Prosser and Phil Barnes.

There were no surprises in the way Dallas tackled the race. He went to the lead from the start and tried to make the pace so hot nobody could stick with him. But I did. Initially I found the pace comfortable enough but before too long I ran into problems. Fairly suddenly my breathing packed up and my legs ceased to function as they normally do. I had to let Dallas go and didn't have any ability to latch on to anyone else as they came past.

Alan and Alastair battle it out for second.

Into one of the later laps. It appears that I have given up.

Alan almost keeps it in the family, finishing second.

The picture that began it all. Sprinting in with Gary Weston-Webb for 10th place.

Finally Gary Weston-Webb caught me but it was within sight of the finish line so I wasn't going to let him past.

Aftermath

After that performance and another below par one at the nationals I decided to go to the doctor and get things checked out. What the tests showed was that, although my haemoglobin was fine, my ferritin levels were pretty low. The doctor prescribed a course of Ferrogradumet and in a few weeks time, after giving away the repetitions and reverting to a pure mileage regime, I was back to a good level again.

The first lap of the Wellington to Masterton Relay 1984. Alastair leads me, Euan Robertson, Mark Furlan and Dave Hatfield.

The National Roady Relay was the Wellington to Masterton and, despite indulging in a few celebratory pints the night before, I got out and ran one of my best road races ever. Alastair was the fastest on the day, getting the drop on me just before the Petone overbridge, and we did beat a lot of classy runners.

1500 PB Cooks Gardens 1984

It had become a tradition ever since Peter Snell ran his world record in 1962 that the mile was run at Cooks Gardens but this year it was changed to the metric equivalent to help people chase a qualifying time for the Olympic Games. I never considered qualifying myself since I would have had to improve my best by more than ten seconds, but I was hoping to do an equivalent of the four minute mile over 1500m.

The field contained Tony Rogers, Peter O'Donoghue and Englishman Peter Elliott, better known at that time for his 800m running. There was some good pacemaking for the first couple of laps and Tony took up the pace with 800m still to run. This is around the time the photo above was taken (you can just see me in fourth place if you look hard). Both Peters went with him and they got a bit of a gap on me, but I was still going at a really good pace so wasn't too concerned. Peter O'Donoghue sprinted away from Tony over the finishing stages and won in 3:38.03, just outside the qualifying standard. Tony held on for second in 3:41.4 and although I finished strongly and nearly got Peter Elliott, he held me out for third in 3:43.1 to my 3:43.9.

So another race at Cooks Gardens, another fourth place and another PB. I was really happy with the time and an improvement of four seconds. It could've been time to readjust my sights and maybe consider getting down to a qualifying time for 1500, but I really didn't think I was fast enough for the distance and instead looked at stepping up the distance to 5000m. This time remains my best ever over 1500.

Welligton Track Champs 1984

Steve Walshe leads the first lap of the 800m from Brian Turnbull and me.

I was looking to repeat my efforts of the previous season and defend my three titles over 800m, 1500m and 5000m. Unfortunately speed merchant Brian Turnbull picked the weekend to make his first appearance on the track for the season. The photo above shows that he didn't resort to his usual tactics of burning me off over the first lap but sat with the pace made by Steve Walshe, trusting his speed to get him home. The photo is one of my favourites and shows how relaxed you can be even when running 400 metres in 55 to 56 seconds. Shortly after the photo was taken Brian overtook Steve and I followed him but was unable to get past in the home straight. Brian's winning time was 1:53.0 and I was four tenths of a second behind. A little bit slower than the previous year but still a respectable time.

Half an hour later I lined up for the 5000m where I was lined up against Dallas McCallum who had been selected for the New Zealand cross country team. Dallas was his usual aggressive self right from the start and opened up quite a gap over the initial stages but once I'd got into my stride I managed to haul him in. What this did was initiate a number of bursts from him as he tried to shake me off. But after each burst I'd haul him back. Once we had the bell I knew I could win it from there and took the lead down the back straight. Dallas hung on grimly but once I started sprinting from 200m out he couldn't foot it with me. I covered the last 200 in 27 seconds to win in 14:18.9. Dallas finished in 14:20.1.
It's hard to say whether this double was a better one than the previous year. Although the 800 was slower, the 5000 was quite a bit quicker and the conditions were not as good.

The following week I lined up for the 1500m (no 400 heroics this time). The field contained Steve Walshe, Liam Healy, Dallas, Barry Mayo and Brent Addison and, such was my confidence, I took the lead after only one lap had been run and ran away with the race. I finished in 3:48.0 with Steve second in 3:52.7.

Tauranga Twilight Meeting - 1984

The Tauranga Twilight meeting on New Year's Day is one of the classic athletic meetings in the country. Being during the Christmas holidays, it attracts athletes from all around the North Island and makes the events very competitive. The event was very well organised with pacemakers arranged for many of the events. Of course athletes being what they are, the performances on the day weren't always earth shattering due to the effects of the party, held at Ken Knott's place, the night before.

The timing of this meeting was perfect for me. At New Year I'd usually just completed my four weeks of hill drills and was then beginning to get into the anaerobic phase of the training. A good race over my favourite 3000m distance, with good competition, would give an indication as to where I stood.

In the 1983 event the field contained Euan Robertson, Paul O'Donahue and Gary Palmer. The pace was set by Stan Grimes and I made an unfortunate tactical blunder by getting myself stuck on the pole line when a bunch of five runners took Stan at the beginning of the last lap. I managed to finish strongly but Euan had got too far in front and he just held me out.

He was in the field again for the 1984 event and warned me that I'd better not do the same thing again. I didn't.

The field was again a strong one, this time containing Russell Haswell, Mark Furlan, Geoff Shaw and Brent Addison. Again Stan Grimes made the pace, but this time I was right on his tail and as he came to the end of his work I dictated terms. I led the field into the last lap and was waiting for a challenge from the others down the back straight. None came so I kicked off the front of the field and left them to fight it out for the minor placings. It's a great feeling to be able to do that and is testament to the work completed on the hills.

I think my time of 8:14.0 was a personal best at the time (given that in those days the opportunities to run 3000m were few and far between). Russell was second in 8:14.8 and Mark Furlan third in 8:15.0.

(For the winning prize I received a cutlery set which we only retired this year)

Round Rarotonga Road Race - 1983

The third time we made the trip to Rarotonga the place was beginning to feel like a home away from home. In fact I remember even on the second trip I had that feeling you get on returning home after a long trip overseas. It felt good to be back.

This year we had moved our accommodation from the Rarotongan Resort to the Edgewater, much less salubrious but a lot friendlier with large rooms that slept more than just two. We were joined on this trip by a contingent from Scottish which included Dave Hatield, Chris Harp and Tony Lane. Howard Gregory from Masterton was also there.

Unfortunately during the week before the race most of us managed to pick up a gastrointestinal bug which meant frequent trips to the toilet. The question we all asked ourselves was "will I be able to last until the finish?"

The Kapiti team for the 1983 race. Rob DeBique, Paddy Gresham, Clarence Marter, me and Bryn Kempthorne.

The leading bunch quickly sorted itself out, consisting of Dave, Chris, Howard and me. I was pretty confident, having raced all these guys a lot, but you can never discount any of them. Howard was much more experienced at the longer distances than I was and Dave was very good no matter what the distance. I'm not sure whether the gastro bug had got them worse than me but I found I had slipped away from them by the time we got to the long straight by the Edgewater at about 20km. But the race was not over.

At the race briefing we had been told that to leave the road was to risk disqualification and as the protestations from my insides increased as the kilometres (actually in those days we would've said miles) went by, it became imperative that I leave the road.

Up the rise by the airport with the race referee in attendance on the motorbike.

Unfortunately at around the time it became necessary the race referee was riding his motorbike alongside me so I had to decide whether I would risk disqualification or hold on as best I could. I decided on the latter and "as best I could" ended up being not that good. So it was at the next drink station that the water didn't go into my mouth but down the back of my shorts. For this I was awarded the referees prize as he'd witnessed it first hand.

"Holding on" to the finish.

Fortunately the others must've been suffering at least as much as I was and I ran home the winner in 1:46:49. Dave was second in 1:48:16 and Howard finished in such distress third place (1:51:39) that he had to be taken to the hospital. At the hospital he was given intravenous saline, but not intravenously, to drink. He was discharged fairly quickly with a couple of more bottles of "drip" which we helped him drink during the afternoon.

Chris (1:53:08), Clarence (1:54:15), Roger Weatherly (1:54:40) and Rob (1:56:03) filled out the next few places and, with Bryn Kempthorne the Kapiti team regained the title we'd lost to Tauranga in 1982.

You may have noticed that I don't look my usual hairy self in these photos. That's because we had a vice-versa party shortly before leaving on the trip and I took the depilation to the extreme. So with that and a bit of practice in high heels it was all worth it. I got the prize of best looking girl.

Title Defence 1983

The early part of the 1983 Harrier season was not very successful for me. Despite a good showing at the Shaw Baton Relay where I ran a record time (see earlier post) I ran fairly dismally in the Dorne Cup and Vosseler Shield. Then, in a pattern which tended to repeat over the years, I came right for the Interprovincial Cross Country.

This time the interprovincial was held at a rather muddy and rather hilly course near Bunnythorpe and the field was a reasonably strong one, containing Euan Robertson, Brian Ward, Graeme Jones, Eric Cairns, Tony Woodhouse, Barry Prosser and Ken Keyte. It was a step up for me for this event and I finally managed to win one. From what I remember of the race it was not that I ran away from everyone, like in the Wellington Champs of the previous year, but that everyone else faded. You get this on muddy courses sometimes, where everyone in shoes has to battle the extra weight of the mud but the barefoot boys are as free as ever. My winning time was 43:44 with Brian Ward second (44:08) and Euan Robertson third (44:21). The times give an indication of how difficult the course was.

Leading Brian Ward, Steve Hunt and Alan just after the start of the race. I remember Dan O'Connell leading early in the race, he may be ahead and out of shot.

Two weeks later I was very determined to defend the Wellington Cross Country title and reasonably confident I had the fitness to do so.

From the start the pace was hot. Dan O'Connell led around the first lap in an astonishing 9:07 but then faded. The leading bunch then sorted itself out into Steve Hunt, Phil Barnes, Tony Woodhouse and me. The ground was very hard this year and, with the way I grip using my toes whilst running barefoot, I could feel blisters forming on the big and second toes.

Into the last lap, Phil Barnes leads Tony Woodhouse and Steve Hunt. I'm tagged off a bit and pondering a fourth place finish.

Heading into the last lap, Phil Barnes, Tony Woodhouse and Stee Hunt had put the acid on me and had opened a gap of around 20 metres. Feeling pretty tired, I had resigned myself to missing out on even a medal but approaching my favourite part of the course I'd managed to haul myself back up to the leaders. I remember thinking that if they were prepared to let me catch up with them they weren't going to beat me with only half a lap left.

I overtook Steve just before the roller coaster part of the course and as I did so, the blister on my big toe popped and squirted blood up my singlet, across my shoulder and into Steve's face (yuck). I then ran alongside Phil and managed to manoeuvre him into the back of a lapped runner after which I took off and never looked back until the finish.

This photo from the newspaper illustrates just how hard it was.

Approaching the finish with no one in sight behind.

It was the hardest I had ever run and not a whole lot slower than the previous year. My winning time was 37:57 with Phil Barnes finishing ten seconds back in 38:07 and Tony Woodhouse third in 38:13.

Showing the toll of the race after the finish. Dan O'Connell looks like he could do another lap.

Aftermath

I now know what Barry Ellis meant when he described feeling like a shell after the cross country trial earlier in the year. I was completely spent.

That evening a few of us headed up to Hawera for a party, I think it was to celebrate Wayne Duckett's birthday. As usual we headed out for a good Sunday run the next morning. But it wasn't good for me. I struggled to get up to any pace and eventually even though we were running on reasonably flat road, my foot decided to give way and gave me a sharp stab. I limped back to the Savage's place but the foot was no good and put paid to any aspirations I had at the Nationals that year.

In the end Derek Froude (representing Wellington although resident in Australia at the time) won the National Cross Country and Tony Woodhouse was third. Wellington also won the teams competition so a golden opportunity for me went begging again.

The lesson I learnt from this was that if you run yourself right to your limits, it's a good idea to take the day off afterwards.

Molenberg Mile Series - 1983

The organisers of the Molenberg Mile, based on the success of the Queen Street Mile in 1982, decided to make a series of it in 1983 with different venues and different surfaces. The races were held on the trotting track at Addington in Christchurch, the flat road at Mount Maunganui, the beach at Paraparaumu and the classic downhill of Queen Street in Auckland.

Paraparumu Beach

I didn't get invited to either the Addington or Mount Maunganui events but, since I was a local, got the nod to race on the beach at Paraparaumu. It wasn't a particularly nice day but could've been much worse if it had been blowing a strong northerly.

Running on sand is not an easy task. It tends to sink under your feet and gives nothing back for any drive you do off the ankles. It's best to try and run with a good knee lift and flattish feet. I decided to run in my favourite footwear. Nothing. In bare feet you can get a feel of how the sand is slipping under your feet and adjust for it. In spikes you get none of this and probably run the same way as you would on the track. This is likely to cost you towards the end of the race.

Just after the start. From left to right are Russell Haswell, Ray Flynn, Mike Boit, Michael Hillardt, Steve Scott, Tony Rogers, B Crew, me and Liam Healy.

From the gun I took the pace, led through the quarter and was still with the top runners at half way. After that Mike Boit, Steve Scott, Ray Flynn and Tony Rogers ran away from me but Tony began to fade towards the end and only finished a second in front of me. No one else came past.

Mike Boit won in what was an excellent time of 3:57.46 for the conditions. Steve Scott was second in 3:58.80, Ray Flynn third in 4:01.60, Tony Rogers fourth in 4:08.33 and I was fifth in 4:09.69.

After the races were over we did a bit of socialising, part of which was a trip to Kapiti Island. Mike Boit was not a very happy sailor and I can remember him dressed up in yellow rain gear with the hood up, black face showing with white teeth gritted, gripping to the windscreen rail as if his life depended on it. If his hands hadn't been so dark I'm sure his knuckles would've been white. Once back to the beach he became more relaxed and we had a nice fire where we toasted weenies and marshmallows into the night.

Queen Street

It was much the same story as 1982 for the Queen Street mile. The only difference for me was that I ran the first part of the race a couple of seconds quicker and paid for it at the other end with my final time being a couple of seconds slower. I ran through the quarter in 52 seconds and was still with the leaders at halfway in 1:42. But then my condition gave out and I faded to finish last in 3:42.85. There's a YouTube video of the race and you can see my stride become a bit ragged as I really start to struggle after halfway.

Mike Boit's time of 3:28.36 was the fastest mile that had ever been run.

Full results

1	Mike Boit	3:28.36
2	Steve Scott	3:29.44
3	Ray Flynn	3:29.66
4	Michael Hillardt	3:32.33
5	Mike Malloy	3:32.48
6	B Crew	3:35.02
7	Tony Rogers	3:38.21
8	Russell Haswell	3:40.10
9	Mark Handley	3:42.48

A Busy Weekend - February 1983

Saturday 26 February 1983 - Cooks Gardens

I received an invitation from Russell Sears, who was organising the Cooks Gardens athletic meeting in Wanganui, to compete in a mile. I jumped at the chance because the field would be a strong one and there was a chance that I could achieve one of my lifetime ambitions, to break the four minute mile.

A strong field had been assembled which included John Walker, Tony Rogers and Mike Molloy. There were a few strong runners from the West Coast North Island centre at the time but I can't remember who was in the race and whether they were used as pacemakers. All I remember was the times.

Cooks Gardens in those days was a short track of around 365 metres. For the mile you started in the back straight and once past the finish line for the first time you still had four laps to run. The callers of the lap times moved every lap so you would get the call in a different place. The first lap call was 58 seconds so everything was on schedule. The effort then increased a little for the second lap (as you need to do in a mile just to maintain the pace) and the second call was 1:58. Still good. But it's the third lap that's the difficult one. It's the third lap when you need to keep up the concentration and increase the effort even more just to stay with it. And it was the third lap where it slipped. The call was 3:01 and I thought "Shit, I'm really going to have to dig in here". The trouble was I was running Cooks Gardens as if it was a normal 400m track, where usually you have a good 100m run to the line. So I wound up my pace and went for it down the straight, trying to overtake Mike Molloy, but before I knew it I'd crossed the finish line, the straight was so short. I sort of knew I hadn't got there and there was quite a long wait for the official results.

John Walker won in 3:54.65 with Tony Rogers second in 3:57.19. Mike Malloy and I both dipped out with 4:00.24 and 4:00.38 respectively. Still I thought there would always be another day.

Sunday 27 February 1983 - Round the Bays

I wouldn't normally run another race just hours after having run a four minute mile but there was a lot of peer pressure from my workmates at Challenge Computers to be part of the team for the Round the Bays. But not only did they want me to be part of the team, they expected me to win it.

I'm not too certain of my memory but I think in those days the course was a bit longer than it is now, with the start being past the Railway Station on Aotea Quay. The field was enormous, as it still is these days, and it was very difficult to get into a decent position at the start line. I stuck with the rest of my team for the start and had to work my way through the throngs before getting into the lead after Point Jerningham. I was fortunate that none of the really top Wellington runners turned out and I managed to win comfortably in 23:55. Kapiti club mate Rob DeBique took second place in 24:23 and Alan Cox was third in 24:27.

Triple Wellington Champion 1983

A week after the disappointment of the Cross Country Trial the Wellington Track Champs were held.

On the first day of competition I was preparing to take on the 800m, 5000m double. I had run the 800m plenty of times but never competed at the championships over 5000m before. To win this double I would have to compete in three races in the one day: heats and final for the 800 and a straight final for the 5000.

Brian Turnbull had been the Wellington 800m champion for as long as I'd been competing but on this occasion he was a no show. Brian had such speed he could run the first lap of the 800 in around 52 seconds. If I'd tried that I would've been running a PB, so I'd be left floundering way back in about 56. The difference was I could do another lap at around the same pace whereas Brian would be running around a minute. This meant I'd catch him on the home straight but he'd dig in and hold me out. So with no Brain I sensed an opportunity.

I successfully negotiated the heats in 2:02.7 and in the final Alastair Leslie made the pace around the first lap in just under 56 seconds (much more comfortable than Brian's normal pace). He didn't slow down either and we both kept up the same pace, leaving the rest of the field behind, until the home straight. I then lifted my pace and eased past Alastair to win in 1:52.5, which was a personal best by nearly two seconds. Alastair also clocked a PB of1:52.8 (I suspect these times remain our best).

Winning the first of my 1983 track titles, the 800m from Alastair Leslie.

40 minutes later the 5000m final was due to be held. Knowing I wouldn't need much of a warm up I just tried to keep my legs moving by doing an inverted bicycle. I swapped my spikes for a pair of racing flats and I was ready for the 5000.

Winning this was never going to be easy as in the field contained Dallas McCallum and Derek Froude (who had gained selection for the cross country team after the trial the previous week). Derek's tactics were sensible: make the pace too hot for me and the title would be his. I knew that's what he'd be doing so just hung in there. Try as he might, he couldn't shake me and once into the home straight I sprinted away from him to win in 14:25.3. Derek clocked 14:26.4 and Dallas came home in third with 14:33.4.

A few years later I was approached by sports statistician Peter Heidenstrom who suggested it may have been the fastest 800m/5000m double ever run in New Zealand. I never did find out whether he was able to confirm that.

The second day of the championships was a week later. Buoyed by my double success of the previous week I foolishly attempted another: the 400m/1500m double. This would mean running four races in one day.

The 400m was not a success. I drew lane eight and had nobody to run off so just went as hard as I could. Barry Mayo and Stu Hildreth both slipped through inside me off the final bend and I finished third in 52.3 (which incidentally is a personal best). Barry, who I'd beaten many a time over 800, won the race in 51.7.

In the 1500m final Steve Walshe made the early pace, completing the first lap in 60 seconds but the pace was not to last. Alastair took up the pace with just over a lap to go and I confidently went with him. Once we reached the home straight I called on the legs to deliver their usual finishing burst but something was wrong, they weren't responding. I suspect it was the effects of the 400 allied with the pace of the 1500 that had finally got to them (curse my arrogance). But I was not to be outdone, I kept on as hard as I could and finally over the last 20m Alastair's legs had come to the end of their run whilst mine were still functioning. I crept past to win in 3:48.9. Alastair was given 3:49.1 and with Steve Walshe third in 3:52.4 this was the fastest Wellington Champs 1500m I'd been in.

Just got there. Pipping Alastair in the 1500m.

National Cross Country Trial 1983

Just after the start. Dan O'Connell leads Barry Ellis and Tom Birnie

In 1982 and 1983 the selection of the New Zealand team to contest the World Cross Country Champs was based on a trial held in the Wellington area, supposedly central for everyone in the country. In 1982 it was over my least favourite course at Trentham Memorial Park and although I contested it I didn't run well. One person who did unexpectedly well in that race (probably to everyone but himself) was Barry Ellis. We hadn't heard of him before but there he was up with the leaders and gaining selection for New Zealand.

Later in the year at the Wairoa to Gisborne Relay I lined up with Dallas McCallum against Barry for the first lap. Both of us were determined to beat him and, from memory, we did. I think Dallas may have come out on top again that day.

After our trip to Rarotonga and party at Tauranga on the way home I got to know Barry quite well and he came and stayed with me for the 1983 trial which was held at Queen Elizabeth Park.

I've always had goals in my running which shift as one is achieved. By 1983 I had two goals. One was to break four minutes for the mile and the other was to represent New Zealand. With the quality of track runners around at the time I really couldn't see myself gaining representative honours there but thought the cross country should be manageable. Also the course was over my favourite stomping ground so, although it was in the midst of the track season, I thought my fitness should be good enough to get me into a position to challenge the selectors.

However, being the height of summer, the course was baked hard and mindful of the way my legs responded to the hard track the previous year, I elected to run in spikes.

The pace from the start was furious and, although I was up with the leading bunch which included Rex Wilson, Gary Palmer, Tom Birnie, Paul Ballinger and Euan Robertson, I was really struggling and not feeling at all free in the legs. Not long after that I decided to pull the plug, deciding there was no way I could keep up that pace for another eight kilometres. I was admonished after the race for this by Rex Wilson who said they deliberately ran fast at the start to sort the men from the boys, then slowed down. Obviously I was one of the boys. Looking at the times run I can see that Rex spoke the truth. His winning time of 38:47 was more than a minute slower than what I had run in the Wellington Champs, over the same course, the previous year (mind you with the pace it started at you'd expect that).

Barry didn't manage to make it this time but he ran his guts out. One enduring memory I have is of going out on a run the next day and Barry saying he felt like a shell. I'd relate to that feeling later in the year.

At least Alan finished the race.

Round Rarotonga Road Race 1982

The Kapiti team ready for the start. Clarence Marter, Derek Rivers, Bill Raymond (serious as usual), Bryn Kempthorne, me and Des Woods.

The starting lineup.

It had been a pretty good year and with the airfares to Rarotonga paid for as proceeds of winning the teams event the previous year, it was a no-brainer that we should make the trip again. Out of the winning team only Steve Bullock didn't go back again and we were joined, for the running at least, by Des Woods, Clarence Marter and Derek Rivers.

Unusually the flight over went via Fiji. We had the company of a team from Tauranga Ramblers on the flight and although they were staying at the Edgewater and we at the Rarotongan, we ended up socialising a lot during the trip. We even called in at Tauranga on the way back home for a party.

Also entered in the race were a team from New Balance Track Club which consisted of talented runners from around the country including Rex Wilson, Chris Pilone and Max Cullum. A lot of muttering went on about this with those of us in club teams considering them a load of ring-ins. There was also a team from Scottish which included Dave Hatfield.

The race was a different kettle of fish from 1981. There was no hot favourite and there were a few of us, including me, who thought they could win it. I ended up going much faster than the previous year, probably with the confidence of knowing I had done it before and that I had some good preparation behind me.

From the start there was quite a bunch with all the guys mentioned above plus Nick Helms from Tauranga (Nick was a bit of a mess having fallen off his motor bike during the week). It gradually whittled down until there were only Rex Wilson, Chris Pilone and me left. I had got into a mode where I was sort of entranced, seeing only Rex's bottom in front of me. Rex was insidiously increasing the pace. I was tenaciously hanging on. Then with about 10k still to run I had my doubts as to whether I could get to the end at the pace Rex was setting so I eased off. Rex ran away from me and beat me by three minutes in 1:43 and Chris was another minute back.

All the talk of a jack up team amounted to nought when Tauranga took out the teams prize. Their team consisted (I think) of Nick Helms, Duncan Reid, Malcolm Taylor and Roy McGregor who didn't fill any of the top placings but were consistent enough to take the prize. New Balance were second and our Kapiti team finished third with Des finishing 9th, Clarence 10th and Bill 15th.

Even though we didn't win the cup I still got to drink out of it.

Wellington Road Champs 1982



Running with Steve Denholm early in the race.

I don't remember much about this race apart from it being a typically hot Masterton day. After having won Wellington titles over 1500 metres in summer and cross country I was keen to add another title to my haul. It wasn't to be. A gutsy young Wellington Harrier by the name of Dallas McCallum (probably in his first year as s senior) threw down the gauntlet and put the pressure on early. In the end he won comfortably in 48:47 with Steve Hunt second in 49:02 and Steve Denholm third in 49:55. I held on for fourth in 50:08 which remains my fastest time over 10 miles.

The photo above was obviously taken early on in the race as I'm looking pretty comfortable. Both Steve and I seem to be looking ahead probably to Dallas and Steve Hunt who had taken off up the road from the start.

A week after this I ran in the 20 Mile Gold Cup again and did my best time ever there as well to finish fifth in 1:54:11. Steve Hunt won that day in 1:50:47. This would pave the way for my second attempt at the Round Rarotonga Road Race.

Wellington Cross Country Champion 1982

Despite the good run at the interprovincial cross country I wasn't particularly confident heading into the Wellington Champs. The course was at the beach end of Queen Elizabeth Park from McKays Crossing and it was a course I was familiar with and suited my speed. But from my experience at the Vosseler I knew that I could easily overdo things early on and pay for it later in the race. So for the first half of the first lap I sat with the leading bunch which contained Steve Hunt, Graham Macky, Tony Woodhouse, Dallas McCallum and Peter Arkwright.

My favourite part of the course was at the far end where there were a series of small undulations like a mini roller coaster. I found that I could use my leg speed on the downhills to boost me up the following uphill and in this way roll almost effortlessly over the country. It seemed that none of the others could quite manage the same technique and as the course flattened off a bit afterwards I glanced around to find I had a good 20 metres on the rest of the bunch. Thinking it was way too soon to be making my move I eased back to let them catch up again but the gap remained the same for the rest of the lap.

Still feeling good at the end of the lap and having had a bit of a rest I thought I might as well run my own race from there so just let the legs do what they felt like doing. The gap got bigger and bigger until at the end of the race I was 50 seconds ahead of Graham Macky with a time of 37:40. Tony Woodhouse a further 12 seconds back in third.

It was one of those rare days when feeling good corresponds with the day of a race. This is what coaches strive for but don't always deliver.

The people from the press seemed fascinated that I had won the event in bare feet, even though I'd been doing it that way my whole career (and still am). The photographer wanted me to pose with my foot up and I was finding it a bit difficult to keep balance, hence the grimace.

Aftermath

With a time that was fastest over all centre championships that year, and with my performance against Paul Ballinger in the interprovincial there were many (myself included) who gave me a good chance for, if not a title, at least a placing in the National Cross Country Champs. But my inconsistency came to bite me.

Maybe I should've given it a miss, but on the Sunday before the champs we had a social football match arranged for the crew at work. Being the fittest on the field I ended up sprinting up and down the field for the whole which left my legs rather stiff and sore in the days to follow. The Cust course was quite flat with a few gentle undulations and underfoot was really hard. Running barefoot in these conditions just didn't work. My legs tied up and I finished well down the field in the mid 20s.

Interprovincial Cross Country 1982

By the winter of 1982 I had moved from Paraparaumu to a flat in Island Bay. I was flatting with a couple of young women from work and since they worked shifts they were usually able to take my clothes into work so I could run there for my morning training.

It was here that I settled into my regular training pattern which wouldn't change too much for the rest of my career. The training was simple, based around Lydiard concepts, with an easy jog every morning and a varying Tuesday and Thursday run depending on the phase of training. In the base phase these would be a long run of around 20km (although we always talked in miles back in those days), hill springs in the hill phase and repetitions in the anaerobic phase. Because I didn't have to travel so far every day, the training felt much easier, and as a result I got much fitter than in previous years.

This didn't help much when it came to the Dorne Cup though and I put in my usual mediocre performance but by the time the Vosseler Shield came round I was in a better space. Unfortunately the Vosseler is a very unforgiving course and will exact payment in the second lap on those who are over exuberant on the first. I was one of those. I led through the first lap but then paid the price and faded to fourth, with Steve Hunt taking the honours from Peter Arkwright and Joe Radich.

The following week the interprovincial cross country was back at the location of my breakthrough run of 1979. Unlike that year I was more confident of my ability to keep up with the pace and once Paul Ballinger, Russell Edmonds and I had established a break on the rest of the field I felt good enough to push the pace along myself. This was the first time I'd ever raced against Paul and he didn't know me from a bar of soap so must've been quite confident in taking the victory. As it was he didn't push the pace until the last lap and got a comfortable gap on me. I am plagued by a bit of a stitch which comes on around about 8k if I'm pushing it hard. This makes it hard to breathe and on that day I just had to try and relax as best I could in the hope that it would go away an I could stage a late challenge. This didn't happen and Paul beat me by 20 seconds in 37:52. Russell faded badly on the last lap but was still third in 39:18.

Molenberg Mile, Queen Street 1982

I'm not quire sure how we did it but Steve Walshe and I managed to get invitations to compete in the Molenberg Mile down Queen Street, Easter 1982. Possibly the reason was that we'd both competed at the Nike track series after the nationals. There'd been a few weeks between these events so I was definitely past my best but such an invitation was not to be sniffed at as it gave me the opportunity to compete against some of the best in the world and to post an awesome time.

The race started in Karangahape Road at 8:00 in the morning and I remember seeing people emerging from some of the bars up there, looking exceedingly seedy and wondering what was going on. Not being a morning person myself I was wondering if I could get the body into race mode at that hour.

The steepest part of the descent was the top quarter mile and I think we went through faster than I can sprint one on the track. We passed the half mile in 1:44 and at that stage the field was still quite bunched. It was also at about this point that my feet became blistered.

However, the road begins to flatten out over the last half and this began to separate the better runners from the rest of us. In the end it was Steve Scott who won the race in 3:31.25 from Michael Hillardt (3:32.20) and Ray Flynn (3:32.75). Then came John Wlaker (3:33.93), Tony Rogers (3:37.23) and Russell Haswell (3:39.15). I finished just behind Steve Walshe in eighth place with a time of 3:39.37 (to Steve's 3:39.32). Ken Moloney (3:39.97) and Ross Thurlow (3:41.69) completed the field.

Track 1981 - 1982. A Change of Attitude

It's very hard to trust your memories of a season from the distance of more than 30 years. I kept a diary for a couple of years over 1979 and 1980 but neglected it when things weren't going so well. The 1980 - 1981 track season I could pick up because the memories of that one were quite significant and I had a few newspaper clippings to help me out. However there are only two clippings from the 1981 - 1982 track season.

What I remember from this season was a change in attitude. No longer feeling the nervousness I had in the previous track season and having a certain cockiness in believing I couldn't be beaten, at least in Wellington, I felt free to go for faster times. This isn't always an easy task in Wellington conditions as the wind at Newtown Park is seldom benign. The main aim was to break 3:50 for the 1500 metres so I pushed the pace along on my own at less than 62 seconds per lap and usually nobody could stick with me.

But I still wanted to make sure I won the Wellington Champs so played it more cagey on that day which this article shows.

Then a couple of weeks or two later I finally managed it. The conditions were far from ideal on the day but having tried many times during the season it had to happen eventually.

At the National Champs I made the final of the 1500 and again broke the mark running 3:49.7 for sixth place.

A week after the Nationals an Auckland promoter set up a series with the aim of getting athletes personal bests. There were two meetings planned, both at Mount Smart, one on Wednesday and the second on Saturday (where Anne Audain was to make a record attempt on the 5000 metres). I drove up to Auckland on the Wednesday and competed in a 1500 that night. After the drive the legs were feeling just a little on the stiff side but the races were so well set up with pacemakers that I still managed to win and run a PB of 3:48.32 (just ahead of Alastair Leslie who ran 3:48.76). Not much off but still better. By the Saturday I'd loosened up nicely and finished second in the mile behind Tony Rogers (3:59.50) in 4:04.10, another PB, so the trip was worth it.

I may well have got noticed at this event because, come Easter, I was invited to compete in the Queen Street Mile.

Round Rarotonga Road Race 1981

At the start line. Joy and Mike Savage from Hawera are next to Steve Bullock, Bill Raymond, me and Bryn Kempthorne. Jack Foster and Kevin Ryan are next in line.

A couple of years prior to this a few runners from Kapiti decided it would be nice to have a bit of a holiday in Rarotonga and have a race at the same time. It didn't take too much encouragement for me to decide that would be quite a good idea too so we got a team together. We had a party of eight on the package tour with only four of us: Bill Raymond, Bryn Kempthorne, Steve Bullock and me running. There was a four person team's race involved so with very little margin for error we never considered that we might have any show of winning it.

As part of the package we stayed at The Rarotongan Resort and had events such as a Hash run and an 8km fun run (which I won) to participate in leading up to the big race.

The field for the race was probably the strongest they ever assembled for the race. Kevin Ryan, the race record holder, was there along with John Dixon, Jack Foster and Terry Manners. So the rest of us were running for fifth place.

The race started outside the Banana Court Bar in Avarua at 6:30 a.m. just as the sky was beginning to lighten. Right from the start Kevin Ryan disappeared up the road, obviously out to challenge his own record. The other three ran together at a more reasonable pace still well ahead of the rest of us. Kevin never did break his record, I think the conditions were against him, but he was well clear of John Dixon in second, Jack Foster and Terry Manners. I managed to beat all of the bunch I was running with to finished fifth, Bill and Bryn were eighth and ninth respectively and Steve came 11th. This was good enough to earn us the team prize, part of which was four air fares back for the 1982 event. This was the start of a six year relationship with Rarotonga.

Bill epitomises how draining it is running 31.1km in heat and humidity.

The winning team. Me, Bill, Bryn and Steve.

Takahe - Akaroa Relay 1981. Kapiti Takes the Cup

The Kapiti team of Nigel Power, Des Woods, Daryl Clark, Rob DeBique, Steve Bullock, Alan Handley (crouched), me (with the cup), Bill Raymond, Trevor Walker, Clarence Marter and Bryn Kempthorne (squatting). We seem to have 11 members for an eight man team. The cup was from the Motel room and we put it back.

The Takahe to Akaroa Relay is the last of the classic road relays left in the country. It is still run on an annual basis for local Canterbury clubs, but every four years it was opened to every club in the country. Once the National Road Relay Champs were established, this relay became a championship event every time it was open.

At Kapiti Harriers we never considered we had any show at delivering a decent placing in the champs so our attitude was that we were away for a weekend of partying with a bit of running thrown into the mix. On this occasion we took the ferry across to Picton and drove rental cars from there to Christchurch. The drinking for the weekend began on the ferry and continued on the drive (we weren't very responsible about drink driving in those days). 

I don't remember a lot about the relay but do remember running the first lap. I was fairly well up heading up the hill but got overtaken by a couple of guys on the steep descent into Governor's Bay. From Governor's Bay to the lap change there are a couple of wicked climbs which are a real test for the legs rubberised by the steep downhill. I think I may have got the guys who overtook me back again on those hills.

I've got no idea who ran the other laps for the team, nor where we finished, but from the photo below it looks like Alan ran the uphill.

After the race was over there was the obligatory pub crawl back to Christchurch. Some things never change and I hope they never do.

Handley vs Livingstone - Track 1980/81

Winning the 1981 Wellington 1500m Championship

There are seasons in your sporting career that define you as an athlete. It may not be because of exceptional performances but will almost always involve overcoming some difficulty. The 1980/81 track season was a definitive one for me.

I was still living in Paraparaumu at the time which meant I was getting up at 5:45 a.m. for a morning jog and doing another run after about 6:30 p.m. I was nothing but tired. However, the summer wasn't so bad as, with daylight saving, it stayed light enough to get some running in that wasn't on the roads.

By this stage I had formulated a fairly straight up Lydiard program which meant piling on the miles through to December, followed by four weeks which included hill drills twice a week, then another four weeks of anaerobic work (also twice a week) and a couple of weeks sharpening and freshening. I also liked to race every weekend (whereas Lydiard would do time trials). By the end of 1980 I had managed to shake off the shin splints that plagued the previous season and the training was going pretty well.

Keith Livingstone had moved down from Auckland at the end of the winter season and had won the 16km Road Champs, much to Dave Hatfield's dismay as he had thought that without Derek Froude in the field he may have put an end to his string of second places. At the end of 1980 there was an international meeting held as a consolation for those who didn't get to go to the Olympic Games because of the boycott. Keith was selected to run in the 5000m.

Keith didn't appear in one of the earlier meetings of the season where I won an 800m/5000m double but the next week he was there for the 1500. I got terribly nervous before the race but once underway things were OK. Keith was obviously pretty confident in his own speed so let me lead at the pace of my choosing, which was a pretty relaxed 65 seconds for the first lap. This wasn't good enough for Keith and he took over and upped the pace, leaving the entire field, except me, behind. I sprinted past him in the last 100m to and won the race in 3:56.2. Not a stunning time but not a bad opener for the season.

A couple of weeks later Keith changed his tactics. This time he went out fast from the gun, going through 800m in 2:03 but he still couldn't shake me. I overtook him with 300m to go this time and, thanks to his great pace setting, finished with a personal best of 3:51.3. The next race was like a different day, same story, I just wouldn't let him beat me and he tried many ways. But each week I would go to the track and feel sick with nerves. So much so that I considered giving it away but I decided to stick it out for the season then see if I still felt like continuing after that.

I had a good win at the Dorrie Leslie meeting in Christchurch where, after leading the race for two laps, I let Dave McDonald and Bruce Hunter take over, only to outsprint them down the home straight. I ran the last 300m in 41 seconds.

In the Wellington Champs 1500m I was happy to follow Alastair Leslie and kick home for the win in 3:56.4. Keith didn't run in the 1500m champs, preferring to save himself for the 5000m. Unfortunately for him this would be the day when Dave Hatfield broke his run of seconds. Dave sat on Keith as they burned off the rest of the field and produced an almighty sprint in the home straight to win in 14:23.1. I was beaten into second place in the 800m by Brian Turnbull who had a habit of running an opening lap in around 52 seconds (quicker than my fastest 400) and holding on. I did run a PB of 1:54.7 but was more than two seconds down.

So by the end of the season I was no longer getting the nerves before races. Being unbeaten (at least in Wellington and Christchurch) over 1500m meant that the nervousness was supplanted by a certain arrogance and I could shift focus and chase times rather than victories.

Kapiti Running Tour

Gavin Thorley had a "brilliant" idea based around the concept of a cycling tour. What if you were to do the same sort of thing with runners? The short answer could've been "it's too hard" but it had to be put to the test, so he made it reality.

The inaugural event was held on Labour weekend 1980 and consisted of a prologue and five stages over three days covering a distance of  around 69 kilometres.

Prologue

The prologue was a quick "sprint" around the block from the Paraparaumu Domain. No points for tour placings were on offer here but the winner wore the tour leaders yellow T-shirt (a jersey would've been too hot). There wasn't too much racing going on in this stage as we all had in mind the two reasonably lengthy stages coming up later in the day. Steve Hunt took the honours and got to wear the T-shirt for the first stage. However it turned out the T-shirt was too hot for the sunny conditions as well so it was ditched for the rest of the tour.

Stage 1: Paraparaumu - Raumati South

The first stage was 12km from the Paraparaumu Domain down to the Raumati South Hall and was all on the road. Throughout the tour points were awarded for your placing at the end of the stage and also for your placing, on time, over a timed section. On the first stage the timed section was over the last 3.2km so the tactics for this were simple: don't lose too much ground on the leaders and push it over the timed section to cross the line first and also win the timed section. I carried this plan out to perfection running the 9:40 for the last 3.2km and crossing the line first. The photo above is along Marine Parade, Paraparaumu Beach and is before the start of the timed section.

Stage 2: Raumati South - Paekakariki and back

The second stage was 10km  of beach and sand dune running which many people found difficult but I reveled in. Again the timed section was over the last few kilometres so the tactics remained the same. I knew my way around those sand hills pretty well so had no trouble following the course. Unfortunately others weren't quite so intimate with the area and when some wags thought they'd move a few of the marker flags around, many got lost. So although Steve Hunt and I managed to clear out from everyone else on this stage and get the best points hauls, the decision was made to erase the stage from the overall total. This was unfortunate for Steve and I as it gave Kerry Cunningham an opening, and he took it.

Stage 3: McKays Crossing - Reikorangi

 Just like a normal week's training the longest stage was reserved for Sunday. This was a 17.2km run from McKays Crossing over Waterfall Road and Valley Road to Paraparumu, up State Highway 1 to Waikanae then through to Reikorangi. The timed stage on this one was from Paraparaumu to Waikanae (possibly in an attempt to get people off the main road as quickly as possible) which complicated the tactics somewhat. The photo above is on the unsealed part of Waterfall Road.

Kerry Cunningham made his bid right from the start and disappeared into the distance along Valley Road. I picked up the pace over the timed section and managed to get a better time than Kerry but he held on to his lead through to the finish and ended up with the same number of points as me. Steve had a bad timed section and lost ground to all the others in the top five.

Stage 4: Akatarawa Hill Road

The Monday morning stage of 15km on the Akatarawa Hill Road had its timed section as the first part of the journey. The winner of that section was to be king of the mountains. Now I consider myself to be a pretty good hill climber but didn't have it that day. Steve and Kerry took off from the start with Steve reaching the summit first. Unfortunately Steve aggravated a sore knee on the way down and Kerry overtook him before the finish. My two third places meant that Kerry had closed to within one point of me after the stage.

Stage 5: Reikorangi - Paraparaumu

The final stage of 13km, like the first two, had its timed section at the end so it was back to the trusted tactics. Howard Gregory (who was in fourth place) made the pace for the first part of the stage but once we got to the timed section I ran away from everyone to complete the final 3.2km in 9:58. Kerry was second and Steve had nursed himself over the initial stages and finished strongly to hold on to third place from Howard Gregory and Alan.

My overall running time for the (long) weekend was 3:22:21 (which probably excludes the 10k for the cancelled cross country stage)

This picture was taken at the prizegiving and shows me receiving the cup from Dennis Pickup of Armoured Freightways who sponsored the event. Gavin Thorley, creator of the event, is in the centre.

Subsequent Years

1981 saw a repeat of the three day tour, and I won that too, winning all the stages apart form the final timed stage which was taken out by Neil Froude who held well back and really pushed it over the last 3.2km. My overall time that year was 3:52:21.

In 1982 the tour was shortened to two days with one less stage and a reduction in overall distance to 49km. I won all but one of the stages again. Alan was second and Howard Gregory third. It was the last tour I'd run.

Alan should've won the 1983 event but missed the start of the final stage by 16 minutes and had to salvage all he could by passing as many people as possible on that stage. He managed to work his way through a field of about 120 to get up to salvage 5th place. I'm afraid I can't remember who the winner was that year.

Recently Bruce Blair posted a photo of the 1989 tour featuring Martin McDonald, Patrick Ashkettle and Wayne Duckett. Apparently Martin won that year.

The tour no longer runs and probably the reason for this is "it's too hard".