Running Archives - Page 3 of 3 - The Casual Observer

Poisoned Chalice or Fool’s Errand?

By Dean McCleland in Personal, Running 1 June 2014 0 Comment

Report back on the Dawn to Dusk 80km Running Race in August 2013

A few weeks ago [July 2013] I became aware that Nigel was becoming concerned about my running ability. Normally when one has a running mate and one beats them convincingly without even trying, one has no compassion. One just feels elated at thrashing one’s competitor.

Then it struck me. It had nothing whatsoever to do with empathy or even sometimes a mock show of compassion, but real unadulterated concern: the Dawn to Dusk was drawing neigh!

Nigel definitely had a Poisoned Chalice!

My Mid-Life Crisis: How did I attempt to regain my lost youth?

By Dean McCleland in Personal, Running 2 May 2014 0 Comment

What did it take me to get over my mid-life crisis in my early forties?

Maybe the whole world was not aware that I was having a mid-life crisis but I certainly did. I was forced to confront the fact whether life was slipping me by when I received an invitation to the 25th Reunion of the 1971 Matrics of the Alexander Road High School in Port Elizabeth.

Up until that point I would have rated my Personal Satisfaction Index as fair to good. I would never have rated it is as excellent because intrinsically I realised that I could have done better. That feeling was certainly more visceral than intellectual. But now I was forced to confront the issue from a practical point of view rather than in some indecisive way.

Ashley Wood – In Memoriam

By Dean McCleland in Personal, Running 30 April 2014 4 Comments

The Meeting

Like plenty of other great people in my life, I met Ashley Wood on a run. It was a half-marathon in Hammanskraal. Through dusty streets & past ramshackle shacks we scurried. I tried my level best to catch a runner in the pink vest in front of me but he would not slacken his pace. His speed never varied as he strided effortlessly in front of me with his long legs. Then at the 15km mark, his pace slackened off for the first time. Now was my opportunity. I kept on pushing until I drew level with him and then slowed to his pace.

IoT: What impact will it have on Road Running?

By Dean McCleland in Running 20 April 2014 0 Comment

The next wave of technology is currently is the process of being born. Its impact will be profound, touching all of us in unimaginable ways.

Being so novel, even the name of this technology has not yet been agreed upon. A tentative proposal is the prosaic Internet of Things – IoT. Other suggested appellations are: machine to machine [MtM], machine to infrastructure [MtI], the Internet of Everything [IoE], the Internet of Intelligent Things or the totally trite & unimaginative Intelligent Systems.

A Drab and Unremarkable Race with Pretensions: Gauteng Sports Challenge

By Dean McCleland in Running 19 April 2014 0 Comment

Gauteng requires a big city marathon on the scale of the London Marathon but the Gauteng Sports Challenge doesn’t fit the bill

With all the hype & a large dollop of prize money, one would expect world class organisation, a stunning route a la the Two Oceans & the excitement of a large-city marathon.

Instead the Gauteng Sports Challenge of 2013 had none of these attributes.

A Running Experience: A Hill too Far

By Dean McCleland in Running 18 April 2014 0 Comment

On this day, the Loskop 50km ultramarathon running race had one hill too many, Faraday’s Hill. It was to be my nemesis.

Prologue

A Bridge Too Far is a 1977 War film based on the 1974 “A Bridge Too Far” book of the same name by Cornelius Ryan and directed by Richard Attenborough, brother of David Attenborough.

The film tells the story of the failure of Operation Market Garden during World War II, the Allied attempt to break through German lines and seize several bridges in the occupied Netherlands, including one at Arnhem, with the main objective of outflanking German defences.

The First Time

By Dean McCleland in Running 18 April 2014 0 Comment

Even 30 years later one can remember every detail, every nuance, every careless whisper. Despite the intervening years, all the feelings & emotions are remembered as if they were yesterday.The first time that your eyes met hers, the first surreptitious kiss. They are engraved in one’s mind never to be forgotten.

Andre Hydenryck – In Memoriam

By Dean McCleland in Running 18 April 2014 2 Comments

The Challenge

Having a goal or objective always serves as a great motivator whether it is at home, at work or in one’s sport. It always seems to compel one out of bed at 4am in the morning even on the coldest and wettest mornings.

Andre certainly needed one; and if truth be told, I did too. After running for 30+ years, Andre just went through the motions, so to speak, and had long since ceased to put any effort into his running.

The Opinion Pieces are an eclectic bunch on current affairs & history often with a human interest aspect. The Movie/DVDs reviews are mainly on documentaries with a smattering of movie reviews.

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