We all walk our own path through life. Each has a starting point and it is here that we, as runners, put on our running shoes for the journey ahead. Our entire history is made up with snapshots of reality, memories stitched together by a fine thread of fate and these fragments are pieced together in one enormous communal jigsaw. There is such a diverse range of characters within the running community it means that we are almost a team of individuals. In this episode of “Harriers ReMember” I asked some of our runners to recall the most vivid memory of their earliest run. In doing so, it gives us an insight into the path each individual has taken and how their journey has resulted in them being part of the same team.
I recall my own initiation quite vividly. I was 21 years old and looking to the Army to supply me with a future, as it had my father. I had been told that the fitness test was a 1.5 mile run that had to be completed under 12 minutes. I convinced my younger, fitter brother to help me out and we mapped out a route around the hospital perimeter in Millfield. Our first attempt saw my brother destroy me as I struggled to hang on to his shoulder, clapping out under the hot summer sun and finishing in a time of around 15 minutes. At this point I realised I wanted to be better and fitter.
My memory is merely a single piece in the Sunderland Harriers jigsaw.
Steve Tiltman recalled, ‘My first proper run was with my wife who had already been running for a couple of years. It was in Herrington Country Park where I still love to run today. If I tell you I weighed 19 stone at the time you’ll understand both why I took up running and also how that first run felt – awful! I managed a mile with stops and starts. I’ve come a long way since.’
At the other end of the scale, Nathan Reed - a seasoned runner and racer from a young age – was more inclined to detail the first race that stood out in his memory.
"The one that really stands out for me,’ says Nathan, ‘was a Harrier league at Farringdon in November 2003. I finished 33rd out of 36 and over 4 minutes behind the winner. I had beaten my school mate in P.E so decided to enter the same race as him, however he turned me over in the event. Races seem to stand out in your mind more but I am sure my first ever run would have been with my dad as a youngster."
I put the same question to some of the club’s female contingent and Alice Smith recalled her first memory. Alice, who once ran for Claremont Runners and joined the Harriers in Autumn 2015 after several years away from the sport, reminisces fondly; ‘I remember bounding through cow fields, and reaching the trough felt like no small triumph. As a twelve year old, living in Geneva, we spent the summer holidays in Somerset. That day myself, my brother and two male cousins were holding our own Olympics. I couldn’t beat the boys in the combat events they insisted on, but I did beat them in the running!"
Paul Pickford did well to dredge up his first memory, as he was only 7 years old; running in the 50m dash at his school sports day and helping his house to win the trophy. Not much older, Ian Ritchie leapt back to being 12, “I ran to the bottom of my street. I was overweight and asthmatic. My P.E teacher had suggested I take up running to improve my asthma. I remember wheezing, feeling sick, and burning muscles! It took months to be able run a 12-minute mile but I have always had a love for running since.”
Al Knebel also took up running for health reasons, “after years of excess lager and takeaways I was 4 stone overweight! Dave Savage took me out for an “easy” 3 mile evening run but after 0.75 mile I had to stop, ironically right outside a Chinese takeaway!”
It was not just the club’s current runners who were asked to evoke their tales as I put club Chairman and all round top guy Michael Hill on the spot. “My first run was as an 8 year old in September 1974. I watched Brendan Foster decimate the 5000m field at the European Championships in Rome and as soon as the race ended I ran from my home in Roker to Seaburn and back via Roker Park. I was completely inspired by that one race.”
It was interesting to discover so many different yet similar memories from a vast array of members and one of the most interesting came from my female counterpart, women’s captain Colleen Compson.
In what is an empowering statement, Captain Courageous tells us, “My first entry into an organised run came while I was serving in Bosnia in a military organised 15km. Ten man teams wearing full kit tackled the run based over Mount Igman. For me, it was my great escape from the base which I hadn’t left for almost 4 months! As the only female to put my name forward, I was asked if I would ‘like to reconsider the challenge’ so as to not let the men down. My response was unprintable! After 3km team members were flagging. An American soldier dropped off due to blisters and he was soon joined by a Dutch soldier. By the crest of the next hill, even my British team members had been reduced to walking yet I carried on running. I was loving my freedom and my surroundings. As I passed other teams I assumed my team would catch me up. I remember receiving shouts of consolation as others assumed I had been left behind. I was elated but exhausted when I got to the finish but I refused to cross the line without my team. 40 minutes later the team had been reunited and I finally crossed the line with a great sense of pride and satisfaction that after all… I hadn’t let the team down!”
The idea behind “Harriers ReMember” is to provide insight into the individual lives of our team-mates and more specifically, to provide proof of just how far people can go with the right dedication and inspiration. I hope any newcomers to the sport who read “Harrier’s ReMember” can take confidence from the memories of our members. After all, to paraphrase Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu; "Every mile starts with a single step"!