Let's go to Dungeness

 Dungeness on the Kent coast has a famously bleak beauty, a shingle headland between Romney marsh and the Channel. Taking advantage of the September sunshine, we went down at the weekend.  A couple of intrepid members of our party swam in the sea but I contented myself with a run around the area - flat for miles around with the only real hazard apart from the occasional car  being stretches of running on pebbles. 

Other than than the nuclear power station there is a stretch of mainly wooden low houses in unfenced plots facing the sea, two lighthouses and a couple of pubs.  It is very much a working stretch of coast, with fishing boats pulled up on the shore as well as the decaying remains of previous seaside industry. Sea anglers certainly outunumber sunbathers, in fact I didn't see any of the latter.

We had a drink at the Britannia Inn, and food from the Fish Hut Snack Shack which is just what it sounds like. Freshly caught fish served up with salads, rolls and wraps with a vegan alternative for those so inclined. We also popped into the End of the Line cafe, located at the local train station at the end of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch light railway (where there are clean public toilets incidentally).

Dungeness has its own micro-climate with lots of wildlife. I saw a couple of black redstarts which are fairly rare.

Prospect Cottage, pictured below, was the home of film maker Derek Jarman (1942-1994) in the later period of his life. His Dungeness garden, built around driftwood and other beach finds, became quite celebrated and still attracts visitors.  

Jarman was one of the most outspoken public figures talking about living with HIV in the early 1990s, a period when I was working in the AIDS sector. I like the fact that a plaque was recently placed to mark the 25th anniversary of his death at another place he lived, Butlers Wharf by Tower Bridge (close to my work and which I often run past)

Derek Jarman plaque at Butlers Wharf  'film-maker, artist and gay rights activist'

I looked back at his Dungeness diary from September 1992 (published in 'Dancing in Slow Motion') - 'Swallows swoop low around the house... The garden has never looked better'. He mentions a visit by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (drag nun AIDS activists) who had annointed him a queer saint -'we all walked to the sea where the most intrepid paddled in the waves' with 'nuns changing in the loos of the Britannia Inn'



'here comes another winter of long shadows and high hopes'



Dungeness has featured in numerous films, videos and photoshoots because there is nowhere else quite like it. The Prodigy  (Indvaders must die) and Nicki Minaj (there's a funny film of her being carried down the boardwalk while making Freedom video) have shot there, while Athlete and Trembling Bells are amongst those namechecking it in songs. I particularly like the fact that the cover of joyous noughties album ‘So much for the City’ by The Thrills was apparently shot there. The album is essentially a fantasy of West Coast USA as imagined from Ireland. The band even got to appear in the OC - let’s just say that Dungeness is a long way from the Orange County.





'These forms who hasten by' - ghosts and runners on the Pilgrims Way (1923)

The Pilgrims Way

Along the Pilgrims' way.

The yew trees sigh and sway,

They stand a lasting line,

On ancient days a sign.

The monk and minstrel gay

With prayer and roundelay;

The pedlar with his load;

They took the Pilgrims' road

And when the sun is low,

They sometimes seem to go

Along the same old track,

By yew trees, gnarled and black.

When folks say what they've seen,

Well, WE know what they mean;

These forms who hasten by,

Are really you and I!

(RMH, South London Harriers Gazette, November 1923)

Pilgrims Way,  Kent, 1950 - Bill Brandt

The Pilgrims Way is a route between Winchester and Canterbury, at least part of which follows ancient trackways on the North Downs even if its name and conception as a single continuous route probably goes back no further than the 1870s. It is popular with walkers and runners - including those taking part in  The Pilgrims Challenge 66 mile ultra marathon in the last couple of years.

The notion of following in the footsteps of ancient pilgrims is an evocative one, and in a certain light quite haunting. In the 1920s, when this poem was written, there was upsurge of interest in both the great outdoors and in ghosts. Robert Macfarlane notes that in this period 'people, traumatized by the war, took to the paths in search of ghosts  - setting out on the tracks of the lost and left-behind. Old paths became mediums in two senses: means of communion as well as means of motion. The convivial pilgrimages described by Chaucer became tinged with a morbid historicism: spectres stepped from the verge or hedge, offering brief address' (The Old Ways: a journey on foot, 2012).

This would seem to apply to this poem, which I found in an old South London Harriers newsletter, but  I like the twist  - that what others see as ghosts may in fact be runners hastening by.

I wonder who 'RMH' was?

[update - South London Harriers have identified an R.M. Harrison who ran for the club in this period, so he is possibly the poet]

Hamish Fulton's The Pilgrims Way features in the current 'Conceptual Art in Britain' exhibition at Tate Britain gallery in London. In  April 1971, Fulton conceived of  'A 165 mile walk' on 'Ancient paths forming a route between Winchester and Canterbury' as an art work leaving no trace other than this photograph of  'A hollow lane on the North Downs'.

More running related literature:

Jack Kerouac running down a mountain

'You just had to run' - Karl Ove Knausgaard

Morrissey - List of the Lost

Burns Night Running Thoughts

Running in the Railway Children

A Midsummer Night's Running

Running to Paradise - W B Yeats

The Sky of a Saturday Morning - John Updike

The Road is a Strange Country - Rebecca Solnit

The Runner - W H Auden

Once a Runner - John L Parker jr

Louisa May Alcott - 'A Joy to Run'

Kent County Cross Country at Brands Hatch

Last Saturday was a big day in British cross country. There was the Great Edinburgh International Cross Country in Holyrood Park, with some fine performances including from Alex Yee (a member of my club, Kent AC) who won the junior race for Great Britain. On the same day, various 2016 County championships were taking place across the country. I took part in the Kent Cross Country Championships held at Brands Hatch.

The course was set up in fields next to the famous motor sport racing track, and while the speed might not have have been quite up with the golden age of Barry Sheene and James Hunt, there was some good running.

Start of the women's senior race (photo from extensive gallery at Kent & Sussex Courier)

The men's senior race was won by John Gilbert (Kent AC), with Max Nicholls (Tonbridge AC) in second place and Chris Greenwood (Kent AC) in third. As Max sometimes joins in the training sessions at Kent AC I am taking that as a clean sweep for the Ladywell track crew. In the women's senior race, Ashley Gibson (Tonbridge AC) was the winner, followed by Amy Clements (Kent AC) and Bryony Proctor (Aldershot Farnham & District).

Men's top three: Chris Greenwood, John Gilbert and Max Nicholls

Almost as glamorous, Motorbike champion Barry Sheene and Formula One driver James Hunt at Brands Hatch in the 1970s,  with Sheene's partner Stephanie Mclean

In the men's team competitions there were two trophies up for grab: the '6 to score' (i.e. based on position of first six finishers for each team) and '12 to score'. The results were the same in both - 1. Tonbridge AC; 2. Kent AC; 3. Medway & Maidstone AC.

In the women's team competition, Tonbridge won the 'three to score' followed by Paddock Wood AC and Blackheath & Bromley Harriers, while in the '6 to score' Tonbridge were followed by Blackheath & Bromley with Kent AC in third.  There were also various Junior races - full results here. So well done Tonbridge, a club to beat for the rest of us.

The course

The course was over four laps (for the men) of a grassy/muddy field, at the top of a hill so fairly exposed to the elements. There was a stinging shower just after the start that was one of the most intense I've endured, and it was raining on and off for most of the races. Although there were no spectacular hills, there were a couple of long grinding ascents which took their toll. I finished towards the back but wasn't quite as sluggish as on my previous outing in the South of the Thames.

Anyway everyone has their personal race to run, and on the particularly muddy finishing strait I overtook a Beckenham runner who I had been gaining on, and hearing his efforts behind me to regain position spurred me on to a final sprint overtaking a Dartford Road Runner almost on the line. When I got my breath back I realized that the Beckenham guy was Paul who does the excellent Running Past blog, so it was a bit of a South London running bloggers face off! Of course from reading his blog I know that he would no doubt have beaten me at full fitness, given that he was almost killed when run over last year. Paul has written his own account of the race here. 

Kent AC's race report here

The course was just to the north of the motor racing track

History

I believe Saturday was the first cross country race to be held at Brands Hatch for some time, but in some ways it was a return to the early days of sport at that location. As Paul mentions at his blog, Brands Hatch started out as a cycling venue in the 1920s and several accounts mention that the first proper race held there was a four mile race between cyclists and cross country runners.  Racing Circuits Info dates this to 1928 and says that 'Rather surprisingly, the runners won, although they did have the advantage of having Australian world champion Jackie Hoobin among their number'. I'm slightly sceptical about this - the only Jack Hoobin I can find is the Australian 1950 cycling world champion

But there's no reason to doubt that a cyclists vs. runners race took part. There's some great Pathe news footage of just such a race in Walsall in 1925. On that occasion the cyclists won, but watching the film it is clear that it wasn't a foregone conclusion as the cyclists had to carry their bikes through some of the muddier patches and over obstacles.

South of the Thames Cross Country Championships 2015: 7.5 miles at Somerhill

The 2015 South of the Thames Cross Country Championships took place on Saturday 19th December, hosted by Tonbridge Athletic Club in the grounds of the schools at Somerhill, outside of the town.

242 runners completed the tough 7.5 mile course, with the men's and women's races taking place together. The men's winner was Kent A.C.'s John Gilbert in 42:29. For much of the race he was neck and neck with Tonbridge's Max Nicholls, the 19-year-old Team GB junior mountain runner, but Gilbert pulled away on the last lap and Brighton and Hove's Stephen Ferroni squeezed past Nicholls on one of the final hills to take the silver ahead of Nicholls in third place.

Amy Clements (Kent AC) won the women's gold in 50:40, twenty seconds ahead of Nicole Taylor (Tonbridge AC), with Sammi Amend (Belgrave Harriers) in third. In the veterans categories Kent AC's Chris Greenwood and Cath Stibbs won the M40 and W40 medals, Tunbridge Wells Harriers' Alex Howey and Dulwich Runners' Clare Elms won the M50 and W50, with the M60 and W60 won by Michael Thompson (Tunbridge Wells Harriers) and Maggie Statham (Holland Sports AC) respectively.

In the men's team competition the big prize  - in every sense of the word  - was the Dewar Championship Shield for the six-to-score (i.e. team with the lowest combined points for their first six finishers wins, with one point for winner, 2 points for second place etc). Kent AC won by a six point margin from Tonbridge, with Belgrave Harriers in third. In the 12-to-score competition, positions were reversed with Tonbridge AC first, Kent AC second, and Brighton and Hove AC third.

Kent AC's winning men's team - Neil Phillips (8th place), Chris Greenwood (4th),  John Gilbert (1st), Ken Pike (manager/coach), Owen Hind (9th)m Ben Harding (18th) James Connor (12th).

Detail from the Dewar Challenge Shield, presented to the South of Thames Cross Country Association by whisky magnate and MP Thomas Dewar (1864-1930). Note the image of runners heading towards a gate.

The women's race was won by Dulwich Harriers, with Kent AC in second place and Belgrave Harriers in third position.

Kent AC women scorers  with their silver medals: Cath Stibbs (7th place), Amy Clements (1st) , Kate Williams (26th), Sarah Young (31st), Victoria Buck (20th), Teresa Murphy (14th).

The course

The map and the territory

The course, which had been very well laid out by Tonbridge AC, was essentially set on one side of a large hill in the grounds of Somerhill House. Built in the 17th century, the building and its estate have a rich history including a period as a World War Two prisoner of war camp and a link to the wonderful stained glass windows by Marc Chagall in the neighbouring village of Tudeley. Since the 1990s Somerhill has been the home to several independent schools.

Somerhill was painted by JMW Turner in 1811, and the hill shown in the painting was the one we ran up, down and across at the weekend, with three significant ascents on each of the three laps. The ground was soft, and fairly muddy/slippery in places. A few tumbled and most were fairly drained by the end - I know I was, coming down with a cold I considered getting round without stopping an achievement in itself.

I bet Turner didn't run up that hill nine times in an hour

Film of the race from Tonbridge Athletic Club

History

Kent AC (my club) have been doing really well in cross country in recent years,  winning the men's Surrey League and men's and women's races at last month's South of the Thames Team Race (a shorter race previously known as the South of Thames Junior race).  But the club have not won the South of Thames Championship since 1907, when the team came first in the race held at Bromley. J. Keywood won the race for Kent AC that day, followed by R.H. Backshall (Eastbourne) and J.S. Satch (Kent AC) in third place.

Kent AC's Albert Aldridge, one of the country's top distance runners of the period, won the South of the Thames in 1902, though on that occasion the club finished second to Brighton and County Harriers. The location again was Bromley - 'Mr A C Norman's park' - which as today's Norman Park Recreation Ground hosts Bromley parkrun and the running track used by Blackheath and Bromley Harriers.

See also:

South of the Thames Team Race 2015 at Polesden Lacey

Report of 2014 South of the Thames on Wimbledon Common 

Kent Vets Cross Country 2015 at Sparrows Den

The Kent Veterans Cross Country Championships took place last Saturday (5 December 2015) at Sparrows Den, West Wickham.  The Kent County Athletics Association event was hosted by Blackheath & Bromley Harriers, who are based locally. 

There were three races - men's 40 to 49, men's 50 to 59 (both run over about 6 miles) and a third, shorter race that combined the women's competition and the men's 60+champs. In total there were 313 finishers from clubs across the Kent and South London area.

start of men's 60+/women's 35+ race

Results

My club, Kent AC, won the men's V40-49 headed by Chris Greenwood who finished first by a 90+ second margin - he has won the British Masters V40 XC three years in a row, so no great surprizes there. Tunbridge Wells Harriers were in second place, followed by Medway & Maidstone AC.

The men's 50-59 race was won by Ben Reynolds (Tonbridge AC), whose club also won the team competition, ahead of Blackheath & Bromley Harriers and Tunbridge Wells Harriers.  With 'three to score' (i.e. results of first 3 for each club determining team score), and only three Kent AC finishers the team were dependent on me as third scorer - not a great omen - and we came in at a respectable fifth (out of 13).

The men's 60-69 race was won by Jeremy Carnell (Cambridge Harriers), with Blackheath & Bromley Harriers winning the team competition ahead of Cambrige Harriers and  Kent AC.

Vernon Thomas (Greenwich Tritons) was first home of the eight 70+ runners, including the only 80+ runner, Richard Pitcairn-Knowles (Sevenoaks AC), who incidentally I also came across running recently at Hilly Fields parkrun

The women's race overall was won by Clare Elms (Dulwich Runners), with Kent AC the winning club in the 35-44s. Runners up were Dulwich Runners with Blackheath and Bromley Harriers  in third place. 

Petts Wood Runners won the women's 45-54 ahead of Folkestone Running Club (2nd) and  Kent AC (3rd), though the first finisher was Maria Heslop of Paddock Wood AC  who unfortunately for them did not have the required three runners to feature in team results.

Barbara Wenman, Canterbury Harriers, won gold in the women's 55-64 and Anne Unseld (Bromley Veterans AC) in the women's 65+.

(full results here)

Winning Kent AC men's team (35-44) - Chris Greenwood, Phil Sanders, Stuart Beaney, Che Compton

Winning Kent AC women's team (35-44) - Cath Stibbs, Theresa Murphy, Victoria Buck

The course

The first part of the course was a charge into strong winds and a lap of an open field - not my favourite terrain - before heading into the woods, with a couple of fairly short uphill sections and a nice technical descent (i.e. watch your feet or fall over, or in some cases watch your feet and still fall over). Much of the woodland section is along narrow paths with limited room to pass, so runners need to pick their moments to overtake - the flat section along Woodland Way giving one such opportunity. There were only a couple of patches of serious mud, and many of the runners managed fine with trail shoes rather than spikes.

The pub

Afterwards we retired to The Swan in West Wickham for post-race refreshments and to compare medals. While some left in a worse state than they came in, I don't believe anybody did as badly as a hapless Blackheath Harrier returning from cross country here in 1896 and falling off the train at Lewisham!

Chelmsford Chronicle, 25 December 1896

First World War Cross Country

The cross country season started for many of us this month, for me on Wimbledon Common in the Surrey League Division One (men). Around 200 runners took part, with my team Kent AC - last year's champions - coming out on top (not that I scored - we had 29 runners, with only the top ten counting to the final result).

A hundred years ago, as the First World War raged, combatants on all sides were facing a far more serious muddy and bloody ordeal. But in training camps and elsewhere there was still some cross country running...

Cross Country Team, 2nd Officer Cadet Battalion, Cambridge, 1917

Cross Country Race, Somerset Light Infantry 1918

Southern Cross Country Association 1916 (ebay)

flipside of above Southern Counties medal - 18 November 1916, Bandsman B. Mayson, 11th Reserve Battalion
 - 5 mile race at Shorncliffe (barracks near Folksestone, Kent)

Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, Cross Country Team 1915

Allied cross-country race at the Auteuil racecourse. The mound. Paris, on October 29, 1916. Photograph published in the newspaper "Excelsior" of Monday, October 30, 1916.

Paddock Wood Half

The start of the race - eventual winner Toby Lambert (right with headband) already in front

(photo from Sussex Sports Photography)

2,061 runners finished the 26th Paddock Wood Half Marathon last month (March 29th), a good race through the Kent countryside on a mostly flat course (other than one hill just after the first mile). The forecast was for heavy rain and strong winds, but it wasn't quite that bad even if it was getting a bit wet and blowy towards the end.

Toby Lambert (Winchester and District AC) won the race in 1:07:09, followed by Tom Collins (Medway and Manchester AC) and Robert Jackaman (Cambridge Harriers), while the unstoppable Clare Elms (Dulwich Runners) was first woman home for the third time, coming in at 1:22:30 ahead of Tina Oldershaw (Paddock Wood AC) and Una English (full results here). I was happy enough to duck beneath 100 minutes.

The finish line

This is Paddock Wood Athletic Club's big annual event, raising funds to keep it going throughout the year as well as for Kent Surrey Sussex Air Ambulance. It's a friendly and well-organised event, with the support of various local community groups such as the Girl Guides helping out with the baggage.

The course starts on an industrial estate in Paddock Wood before heading through country lanes, passing farms and yes oast houses as featured on the rather wonderful medal.

 The oast houses were built to dry hops for the beer trade, and in heading down to this traditional hop-growing area from SE London our Kent AC crew were of course following in the footsteps of all those who went down there from the capital in September up until the 1950s for working 'holidays' harvesting the hops. We didn't sing this traditional ditty which was recorded at a Deptford hop-pickers’ reunion in the 1990s:

'We are the Deptford girls, We are some of the lads

We know our manners, Spend all our tanners

We are respected wherever we go.

We go marching down the Old Kent Road,

Doors and windows open wide.

If you see a copper come, Hit him in the eye and run

We are the Deptford girls'.

 (source: Hilary Hefferman - The Annual Hop: London to Kent, Chalford, 1996)

Hop pickers in Kent, 1948

Friday Photos (14): 1930s Athletics

Some vintage athletics photos found from spending too much time on Ebay and elsewhere... lets call it digital rescue archaelogy.

These two are from Sunbeam Photo Ltd, Margate, Kent in 1936:

'Erik Sjvall, Norway's 100 yards Sprint Champion, training at White City, London' Issued by the Makers of Wayfarer Tailored Clothes, around 1937.

Photo from B & W Fisk-Moore Canterbury, Kent - date unknown, the firm was going from around 1913 until late 1960s , I would guess this was very early on in that period.

Previously in the Friday Photos series:

New York High School Runners 1970s

Lilian Board, 1948-1970
Running in Tel Aviv 1942
Alan Turing the Runner

Marilyn Monroe the Runner
Tom Longboat, Canadian First Nations Marathon Runner
Runners in Space: an image from Munich 1972 on NASA's Voyager spacecraft

Jim Peters collapses in Vancouver 1954

Anita Neil - Britain's first female Black Olympian?

Running in the Streets of New Cross 1953

Running tracks from space

Running with Madonna

Ron Hill