Alf Tupper, NCTJ and the pain of training

Comic legend: Fictional athlete Alf Tupper

"I'll run 'em all." This iconic quote from fictional athlete Alf Tupper was his reference to beating the posh boys at the noble art of running despite his many disadvantages. 

The adventures of Tupper were popular during in the 70's, regularly included his night shifts at the factory, traveling by train to the championship races, eating Fish n Chips en route and against all the odds pulling off incredible victories against his public school educated competitors, 

In a world where sport has been professionalised and is fuelled by the latest science and technology, the story of Alf Tupper seem perhaps a little far fetched.

However for those of us working and studying, his never say die attitude, balancing work with training and competing still has relevance in the amateur ranks.

As I get back into competitive training, eating bigger and better, I think of Alf and his "run em all" saying.

At the moment every rep hurts, every long run is a chore.

Don't get me wrong, running is a truly liberating experience.

You think on your feet, work off your stresses or a puzzle that is bugging you from your study course.

But what drives a competitor is racing and ultimately putting one over your peers and fellow athletes.

I've made excuses in the past for a lack of training. But this year I have to train well and complete my NCTJ to give me the life I want as a journalist.

Although running is a lonely place to be most of the time, the team spirit and craic with the other athletes you race and train with is second to none.

You understand eachother in a way that no one else does.

And you feel privileged to be around some of the higher flyers competing at national and international level who have families, train as hard as any professional athlete and get no money or fame for their exploits.

As a real lifeTough of the Track, the late great Steve Prefontaine once said:

"A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more."

-Pictures found originally at http://www.toughofthetrack.net/index2.htm Please visit to find out more about the great man. 

Falling in love with Non-League football

It's Saturday afternoon, 2.55pm.

We've all felt it; that nervous air of anticipation as you clutch your cup of tea, soup or bovril waiting for your home team to step out onto the green turf to do battle for the vital 3 points.

Except today when you look a round there is no huge screen or multi-terraced football stand with 30,000 cheering and jeering.

About 150-200 are huddled into a tiny stand and in thick black country tones, the chant is: "C'mon Bilston."

This is Queen Street stadium - the home of recently promoted semi-professional side Bilston Town (2007) FC.

     

Bilston Town FC at night - pic: Bilston Town Twitter

Battling it out in the West Midlands Regional Premier against in form side Peagsus Juniors may not sound glorious but the competition is fierce from the first kick.

Going 4 - nil down in around 35 minutes is a tough blow for the home side who struggle to deal with the superior pace and quick passing of Pegasus.

However the Steel Men of Bilston (the historic name given the team to reflect the town's industrial heritage)
are unbowed and their persistence is reward with a penalty.

The goalkeeper jogs up the pitch and confidently dispatches the penalty, smashing it high into the back of the net.

Bilston ride their luck in the second half with the Pegasus centre forward proving too hot to handle with near misses from a set piece effort rattling the woodwork and volley just wide of the post a little earlier.

But the Steel Men, having made 3 changes showed renewed vigour in attack and with some nice passing in midfield, in the 81st minute substitute James Machin is through on goal, guiding the past the hapless keeper, into the far left corner.

As the full time whistle blows for a 4-2 defeat for the home team, Steel Men Chairmen Graham Hodson admits to me that the goals "put a shine" on a game where they were well beaten.

Walking around the stand, checking out the bar and the little kiosk selling home made rolls and cuppa soups for the fans, a real community atmosphere was apparent.

Paying a fiver to get in and a solitary pound for a programme, the fans are treated to afternoon of good quality football and all around inexpensive entertainment.

This is a far cry from the Premiership where tickets break most families bank's and half time refreshments are out of the question.

And if avid football fans are determined to keep their season tickets going for all the trimmings at half time, they are having to cut back in other areas of their family life.

With the recent exorbitant record transfer fee spending in the British Premier League, non-league and lower league football offers a return to the old fashioned days of the beautiful game, days we imagined we'd lost to the billion dollar game.

Welcome to my new blog, the Running Reporter.

Over the coming year, I will be posting thoughts, pictures and articles on sport in the community, including my own experiences in competition.

The inspiration for this blog comes from a personal frustration with celebrity dominated coverage of sport, particularly the recent saga surrounding multi-million pound transfer deals and celebrity gossip around the Football Premiership in Britain.

Like so many, I am interested in sports at the grassroots level, what it can do to improve individuals' lives, how it can bring community together and make a positive contribution to society as a whole.

Yesterday I attended the West Midlands Regional Premier League match between my local team Bilston Town FC and Pegasus Juniors.

A report will follow as well as an extended interview with the chairman at the earliest opportunity to look into what the club is doing the community.

Cheap tickets, decent standard of football and a good community atmosphere were just some of the highlights from yesterday's match, which unfortunately the Steel Men lost 4-2.

These under reported stories along with others will feature on this blog in the coming days and weeks as well as a few no doubt cutting and hopefully amusing comments about my own running exploits at the club and county levels.

Stay tuned and keep active!