Top runners' early years

[wheezing donkey]

Another ex-champion that springs to mind is ex Keswick runner Rod Pilbeam. He appeared immediately after Kenny Stewart's domination ('83 - '85) of the sport, from a cycle-touring background. He dominated the championships for 3 or 4 years (IIRC) whilst such figures as Billy Bland & Hugh Symonds were still active. Then "quit at the top" and went back to cycle-touring!

[BigO]

I seem to remember being nowhere near Tim and another Davies at the home internationals during the 90s (as a junior )was this not andy?

[Welsh Harrier]

I seem to remember being nowhere near Tim and another Davies at the home internationals during the 90s (as a junior )was this not andy?

Did a race in 1997 up Moel Famau where teenagers Tim and Andy Davies dead heated for first - they were real young whippets then, and they've not lost their speed now!

Welsh Harrier
http://travellinglightatsixtyplus.blogspot.com/

[RichardAThackeray]

I think most will have been sporting throughout their career in various sports. A fair number seem to come from climbing, Corny came from mountain biking and climbing didn't he?

Going it in the opposite direction;
Didn't Deb Murrell, the MTB rider of the early 90's (rode for 'To Wheels Good' initially, before GB selection) get into riding as cross-training for Fell-Running?

[alwaysinjured]

For those that haven't, I'd highly recommend Matthew Syed's excellent book Bounce: The Talent Myth. Whilst mainly focussing on skill/technique based sports/passtimes/jobs (e.g. table tennis & chess play a big part in the book - Syed was a GB Table Tennis international before becoming a journalist), and how they are all learnt, the last few chapters move on to sports involving less technique and more raw physical prowess - e.g. running and how, whilst genetics do play some role, environment also plays a big role.
well worth putting on your Christmas list - well researched and written and poses a lot of questions.

Didn't Lloyd start running from scratch aged 30? Maybe I started a decade early at 19!

A recent best seller called "the sports gene" makes a cracking read on the nature vs nurture argument, because even "trainability" seems to be a genetic trait. Some people start with a high VO2 but are genetically unable to train it further.

. Some issues are fascinating like the way the ethiopians, kenyans and for example sherpa have adapted their oxygen transport systems to altitude are actually very different - so training achieves different things for them in bio terms.

But in the end, if you start as a cart horse, there is no career progression path to race horse.
I Well remember the runner paul evans 2.08 marathoner around when I first started running. On zero training at all, (other than kicking a ball round a park) he entered his local 10K , did 32 mins and thought "maybe I have a talent for this" and started training. Genes are needed.

[Mike T]

Somewhere in "Bounce" there is a comment where Syed makes it clear that the 10,000 hour rule applies to complex motor skills, and not simple ones, such as running. In many sports, it also helps if you are at the extreme end of one or more normal spectrums - structurally or physiologically - height in basketball players, big hands and feet in swimmers, and a high VO2 max in runners.

See the footnotes at the bottom of pages 49 and 239.

[Daleside]

Another ex-champion that springs to mind is ex Keswick runner Rod Pilbeam. He appeared immediately after Kenny Stewart's domination ('83 - '85) of the sport, from a cycle-touring background. He dominated the championships for 3 or 4 years (IIRC) whilst such figures as Billy Bland & Hugh Symonds were still active. Then "quit at the top" and went back to cycle-touring!

Are you confusing Rod with Colin Donnelly Wheezing? Rod was a very good runner, but never won a British or English championship. If anyone dominated in the few years after Kenny switched to the roads it was Colin.........

[wheezing donkey]

Are you confusing Rod with Colin Donnelly Wheezing? Rod was a very good runner, but never won a British or English championship. If anyone dominated in the few years after Kenny switched to the roads it was Colin.........

Apologies, Daleside, for any inaccuracy. I was working from an aged memory ( The FRM's of that era are boxed in the loft .. I should make them more accessible )

As you say Rod Pilbeam was a very good runner and quite dominant in the Lakeland races of that era, at all distances. The point that I was attempting to make is that he came from a non competitive pastime, was exceedingly good for 3 or 4 years then returned to that non competitive pastime ..... admittedly there is cycle touring and there is cycle touring (e.g.Audax); but it is all rated as non competitive, just a list of finishers and we are talking pre cyclo-sportive days.

[wheezing donkey]

Going it in the opposite direction;
Didn't Deb Murrell, the MTB rider of the early 90's (rode for 'To Wheels Good' initially, before GB selection) get into riding as cross-training for Fell-Running?

I was out last night with Debs' partner Mike Johnson, having a pootle around Arnside Knott. Debs originated from Norfolk and MTB was her first sport ( 1st British woman to finish in the XC race when MTB made its debut at the Atlanta Olympics ) and rode for several top pro' teams.
Having been sidelined out of MTB with injury/ailments, Debs is now a proficient orienteer with SROC, as is Mike (FRA 2010 V50 champion) and both their sons are in various regional & national 'O' development squads. Maybe there's something in the genes theory?