as fast as today’s sorry bunch.“Ah! Good morrow, Mister Blackford!” At least Norman managed a semblance of cheery bonhomie. Harry just grunted at the dog, and Big Ron barely raised a grimace.“You’re slow today,” I replied as I tagged on to their flank

Why I should have imagined that a 14-mile run along the Cleveland Way in August might be good training for the 105-mile Jordan Desert Cup, remains a mystery. Perhaps I reasoned, not unreasonably, that August = Summer = Heat

, but what little self-esteem I still possessed was seriously eroded. Here was I, living a life of blameless purity – and far from enjoying a sort of athletic Indian summer, a swansong of blistering times and smashed records, I was relying upon my dog, Oscar

, but they still hurt like buggery if I so much as get out of bed in a hurry.Not that it’s made much difference to my training, since the Alpine 78K last summer turned my hamstring into a sort of pain-sensitive stalactite. In any case, I’ve joined The Gym. All

summer, a particularly fine specimen was strutting his stuff on our lawn. I woke our young daughter – it was early morning – and pointed out the bird to her. Next day, at 5am, our curtains were ripped wide, and I awoke to see her peering sleepily

, hero) has done his back in again. And my Achilles is playing me up something rotten.”“I can just picture it,” mused Sandra, drily. “Like an episode of Last Of The Summer Wine.” The course encompassed the whole of Dartmoor in a wide, sweeping circle

painter, David Hockey Knee).I suspect that the term ‘Tennis Elbow’ was coined by cricketers in order to discredit their only credible rival in the summer sports sector. If so, it certainly worked.The great Tennis Elbow scare of 1953 resulted in a 79 per