Читать книгу Running Crazy - Imagine Running a Marathon. Now Imagine Running Over 100 of Them. Incredible True Stories from the World's Most Fanatical Runners - Helen Summer - Страница 11

Probably the biggest change the 100 Marathon Club has faced in recent times is the formalisation of its constitution, which includes becoming affiliated to the South of England Athletics Association and the engagement of an official chairman in the shape of Roger Biggs.

‘Roger has really brought the Club into the 21st century,’ declares Dave.

By his own admission, Roger is ‘a bit of a stats man’ and as such, had been collecting and collating results, as well as keeping members informed of races, results and any other newsworthy matters in an unofficial capacity for some years prior to becoming chairman in 2005.

With Roger at the helm and following lively discussions among its members, the Club finally settled on its constitution, which was primarily to provide a focal point for runners in the UK and Ireland who had completed 100 or more races of marathon distance or longer, to share knowledge and experience and encourage newcomers to the sport of marathon running and to promote road marathons in the British Isles.

It was further agreed that only official races with at least three participants and official results could be included in a member’s total number of marathons run, and that the runner must have completed the whole race entered (e.g. if it’s an ultra-marathon – a race longer than marathon distance – the full race distance must be completed but this would only be counted as one marathon). All road races must also be officially measured and stated to be 26 miles 385 yards or 42.195 km by the race organisers; for trail marathons, where accurate measurement is not always possible, the distance must be rounded down to those distances.

Consideration was also given to making comparisons between marathons run on road, trail or as part of an ultra-marathon event. Eventually it was decided to split these statistics into three separate groups (road, trail and ultra), so allowing like to be compared against like.

Of course, the UK is not the only country to have its own 100 Marathon Club. Such clubs also exist in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, USA, the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovenia, Netherlands and Finland. Unfortunately, not all of them are governed by the same rules as the UK Club. For example, in Germany it is acceptable to step outside your front door, take yourself off on a 26.2-mile run and include this in your total number of marathons run.

This in turn makes it impossible to compare world performances or to accord performances World Record status – unless, of course, they are verified by the Guinness World Records. Therefore, unless otherwise stated, all national records within this book should be viewed as potential World Records.

Two other important changes Roger has brought to the Club are the introduction of a website (originally designed by his son) and the more recent addition of Facebook. For a club whose members live the length and breadth of the British Isles, this is vital for keeping members informed and in touch with each other.

‘It is also the Club’s window for the world,’ says Roger. ‘As such, it is essential that any performances should be officially ratified and recorded as accurately as possible before being displayed on the site as any false claims or mistakes would be instantly picked up and could discredit the Club’s reputation and credibility.’ The address is www.100marathonclub.org.uk.

To that end, anyone applying to join the Club or existing members wishing to update their performances must provide a list of all the races they claim to have run, complete with dates and times. Roger will then check the validity of such races, making sure they have been run in accordance with Club rules and verifying the results.

There are a few things that haven’t changed, though, such as the engraving of new centurions’ names on a cup, although The Cup soon became full and a special plinth has now taken its place; a medal (bronze in colour and inscribed with the Club logo on one side and a personal inscription including name, place and date of the individual’s 100th marathon on the other) is still awarded to each new member; pins are also awarded for the first 100 and every subsequent century.

There is also the Club kit. Only full members are entitled to wear the Club colours – royal blue with a luminous yellow side panel and the Club logo, ‘100 Marathon Club’, the ‘100’ set within a laurel wreath and displayed quite modestly just below the shoulder strap. The back of the shirt is a different matter, though – get behind one of these guys in a race and you’ll know it, for here the Club logo is proudly – almost arrogantly – displayed in large, bold, luminous yellow letters that could only be missed by a short-sighted, illiterate mountain goat. Becoming the owner of the kit is understandably a matter of great pride.

‘It cannot be bought like a university T-shirt – there is only one way to attain it and that is to have completed 100 marathons,’ says Roger.