It has been a good four years or so since I have written one of my ‘RJ Sports Memory Lane’ blogs and now I’m a 35 year old sporting veteran, I thought why not look back at some old sporting stories? I thought this time I would go way back to my high school sporting days. I have two short stories for you here - enjoy!
1500m
In 1999, which was Year 9 for me in high school, I was 14 years old and this was our last official Sports Day we were able to compete in so it was a big event for our year group. After Year 9 we weren’t allowed to compete. I’m not sure why? Maybe it was due to our Mock Exams and GCSE Exams in Years 10 and 11?
Anyway, this was my third Sports Day at Abbey Grange High School and I was both excited and nervous. Sports Days were always a big event in school where Years 7, 8, 9 and all the teachers watch the races and events. The big races were always the sprint events and the 1500m.
I was elected to run the 1500m for my Form Team JPM and this was to be the second year in a row I ran this race for my team and I also won the 1500m in 1998 the year before. I won the race in my Year 8 comfortably and within my school mates and year group, there was a lot of hype around this 1500m race. I was unbeaten in the 1500m in my year group. In 1998 I had beaten favourite Tom Naylor in the 1500m on Sports Day, which was a scalp as he ran for a good running club outside of school.
In 1999 I was up against another great sportsman called Andrew Woods. He was also a small lad like me, maybe a tiny bit taller and even though I had won in 1998, he was billed by many of the other kids as favourite. Woody as he was known was one of the best footballers in our year group and also one of the fittest in the Beep Tests. It was always me, Woody and this other lad Jamie who were in top 3 for the Bleep Tests in our side of our year group. We all always got levels 13 to 15 every time.
So I was billed as second favourite to win this race, despite my great record in the 1500m. A few of the lads who were good mates with Woody kept telling me he will beat me and win but I was quietly confident in myself and my fitness. I also did some training a couple of weeks leading up to the race. I would run around my block at home seven times and sprint the last lap. I did when I got home from school as I really wanted to win.
The reason why I trained running 7 laps around my local street block is because our school running track is as on grass and as a 200m running track which meant we had 7 and a half laps to complete for the 1500m.
THE RACE:
So, my tactic was always going to be I will stick behind Woody and kick with a couple of laps to go and go for the sprint finish. Usually in most races I would race very tactically and stick behind the leader until the last lap. This was the last race of the Sports Day, the 1500m always was, so the school kids crowd watching were all buzzing.
So we began the race and I was at the front Woody for the first lap, then Woody dropped to the back, which I found very tactical. I stayed at the front and it was so steady and easy, I got to lap 3 and I thought ‘let’s go for it’. I took off and just ran and ran and ran. I was running my heart out, like Forest Gump haha. I kept looking back and I was by the 4th lap about a lap ahead of everyone else. My form tutor and the PE teachers were telling me to slow down as I ran past them (they were in the centre of the track) but I didn’t listen to any of them. I knew what I was doing and I was so fit and confident I knew I wouldn’t tire out. By the 6th lap I was easy a lap and a half ahead of everyone and had loads left in the tank.
As I was approaching the lap and a half left, I could see that Woody was kicking really hard, trying to make up the ground but I was far too in front and I wasn’t really worried. I pushed on and won by about a lap. I was buzzing and the euphoria was amazing, one of the best feelings ever. When I look back at it now it doesn’t seem like a big deal but we all know that in high school, Sports Day was always a big deal, it was the climax of the summer and especially for the sporty kids in school. I was never academically that great so for me, it was a great feeling to excel at something in school and get some nice positive attention.
I had so many great comments and people praising me over the next week or so in school. Teachers were coming up to me too and telling me to join a running club. I particularly remember Mr Hobson really making a big thing about it to me and telling me I had to join a club or I’ll regret it. Other kids in other year groups who had watched the race recognised me, it was a great couple of weeks and I felt great.
With a lot of the lads who thought Woody would win, they probably didn't give me the credit I deserved as a few of them said afterwards that Woody timed the race wrong and didn’t use the right tactics rather than I got my tactics right.
To cap off my Year 9 Sports Day in 1999, we also won the Team Athletics Event to become Sports Day Champions where we won a huge shield for our Form Room and on top of that, my sister Melanie also won her 1500m Sports Day Race (she was Year 8). It was unreal and an amazing day for us Joycey’s. Melanie was always naturally fit too and had a lot of potential in sport I felt, although she was into her dancing not sport. Anyway, I was watching her race and she was near the back for most of the race and then in the final 2 laps I shouted ‘what are you doing Mel, come on, come on’ and then all of a sudden she just overtook everyone one by one and eventually won - I was so proud of her.
MY SPORTS DAY RACE RECORD:
YEAR 7 - 1997
400m Sprint: Runner Up
YEAR 8 - 1998
1500m: Winner
YEAR 9 - 1999
1500m: Winner
Team Competition: Champions (JPM Team)
YEAR 7 400m Sprint... this race was won by Mark Macintosh who was ridiculously quick, he blew us all away. I remember being really nervous as I started on the inside lane and it felt like I was at the back mentally. The school support teacher Mrs Conner was near the start and kept telling me that it’s the same distance and you’ll overtake on the bend. She wasn’t wrong. I overtook everyone including the very fast Alex Dickinson who finished in 3rd place. I was very happy at finishing 2nd. None of us had a chance of beating Mark Macintosh he was lightning in the sprints. I was always pretty average in the 100m and 200m sprints, not due to acceleration but my stride simply wasn’t big enough compared with taller fast runners. But I was very good at 400m sprint because I could sustain a very high speed where as most sprinters find it hard to keep it up over 100m to 400m distance. Anything over 400m is widely recognised in Athletics as middle distance, particularly 600m and 800m.
I then joined Leeds City Athletics Club...
Following the encouragement from some of the teachers at school and the enthusiasm that my Grandma Maureen and Grandad John had for the sport of Athletics, I ended up joining Leeds City AC for a couple of months. My Grandma and Grandad took me a few times and once or twice my Mum and Dad did. I was only there for a couple of months and quit. I wasn’t really enjoying it to be honest and it was the other side of Leeds at South Leeds Stadium.
To begin with I was winning a lot of the training races and doing really well but I never got selected for a race event at the weekends, maybe I needed to bide my time but anyway, my interest fizzled out and I ended up leaving. Also I never liked the thought of my Mum and Dad watching me playing sport, it would make me embarrassed and nervous so I told them not to watch from the stands, I’m sure they did though secretly watch from the corporate windows in the stands though, haha.
MY COMEBACK RACE IN YEAR 10:
The year after in Year 10 I was involved in a 1500m race in one of our Athletics PE sessions and I really wasn’t feeling too great on this day. The race started and it was 7 and a half laps for 1500m. I was actually struggling and near the back for most of the race and some of the lads were asking what’s wrong and shocked I was so far behind. I then thought to myself, I’ve never lost a 1500m race within my own year group so I used all my ounce of energy that I had left, pinned my head back, a little like Paula Radcliffe’s nodding head style and I overtook everyone to end up winning and keeping my unbeaten record. It was a close call but I knew then that I could also dig deep when I needed to.
This then lead onto my next adventure in running, which you can read in my next story below...
1500m
I was in Year 10, I was very fit but wasn’t doing much running any more outside of my football and PE but our School Sports Coach Mr Wilson was running some Trails on the school field for places in the very talented Leeds High School Athletics Championships. Mr Wilson kept telling me to come down for the 1500m Trial races. I was ummimng and arming but I decided to go race.
It was a Trail Race for 1500m at lunch time at school and there were some decent and fit runners I was up against. I didn’t blow anyone away but I won the race and stayed unbeaten and Mr Wilson said I was selected to run the 1500m on the track at the South Leeds Stadium. I was very excited but also nervous.
I was used to running 1500m on a 200m running track and not a 400m Olympic size running track, so I was a little apprehensive about it. Instead of 7 and a half laps I was to run 3 and a half laps. I was also lining up against club runners who ran for Leeds and other top Yorkshire junior clubs so I was really in against it and inexperienced too.
I turned up with a basic Abbey Grange PE t-shirt and the other runners were all in proper running vests. I guess there was no pressure on me in a sense but within my own school team there was, they were expecting me to do really well and maybe win. I was so nervous beforehand and needed loads of wees. I had a Mars bar to boost my energy from a vending machine for 30p, I remember that, don’t think it would cost just 30p now haha.
It was quite daunting too as every school and their spectators were all sat in the huge giant stand so there were atleast 1,000 other school kids watching in the stadium.
I remember being at the start line and for the first time ever there was a gun fire so start the race, something I’d never experienced before, only whistles had started my previous races. So the race started and everyone were way taller than me and looked like pros. I thought my tactics would be to stick close to the leaders and try and kick on the last lap, which I was generally good at. I thought I would let them pace it as they were experienced after all.
I was doing really well the first 2 laps and I could see Mr Wilson (who I really looked up to in school) by the high jump event and he was keeping an eye on my race. He shouted ‘you’re doing really well but slow down’. I was just behind the leader and to be honest it was hard work keeping the pace up but I felt I could do it. I listened to Mr Wilson and took a step back on purpose but then disaster struck, I got a stitch and it was very painful. I kept powering through but by the last lap and a half I had fallen back a few places, I think I was back to 6th place. I needed to get a good position for my own confidence and to do our school proud so I found my energy and dug deep for the last 3 quarters of a lap and in particular the last half a lap I pushed and pushed and overtook two runners to finish in 4th place. Another 10 metres and I’m sure I would have finished 3rd, but it wasn’t meant to be. I just dropped to the floor and laid on my back once I crossed the finish line to get my breath back.
I felt a bit embarrassed that I didn’t finish in the top 3 (bronze position) and that I was so knackered by the end when I crossed the line. It was my first ever genuine loss in the 1500m distance. Mr Wilson made me feel so much better though afterwards and told me that I did really well and was up against top club runners, he was proud of me and I then felt proud of myself that I gave it a good go and was officially the 4th best High School 1500m runner in Leeds for 2000.
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