INJURIES with Myles Chandler

Trusty tips / catchphrases which have kept me clear of injury over the years include: ’Warm ups? - It’s a mugs game’, ’Cool downs? - It’s for wimps’ and ’Stretching? - Get out of my face’. I find that this attitude combined with a very tough training regime will always see you at the sharp end of good class races.

The one time I did get injured it was more due to accident than anything else. It was the Yorkshire steeplechase championships and my bold front running tactics were stretching defending champion Mick Hawkins to the limit. Then disaster struck at the penultimate water jump, I slipped on the barrier and went plunging into the freezing wetness, twisting my ankle and breaking my leg as I landed. Then I felt Hawkins’ spike plant squarely into my back, tearing the skin and dislocating several vertebrae. After a few seconds of nauseating pain, I managed to will myself to my feet but in my pained efforts to regain the lead I lost direction slightly and found myself in the hammer throwing sector……………….I came round a few seconds later and realised that I had helped to create a new stadium hammer record by adding an extra few metres to the throw, staggering backwards with the hammer embedded in my face. Fully blinded by the impact but still with thoughts of glory filling my mind, I used my acute hearing to get myself back onto Hawkins’ shoulder in the ideal attacking position (by sheer luck I had come back onto the track where I had left it, hence avoiding disqualification). The rest of the race is a pained blur but the gold medal above my mantelpiece is a tribute to my ability to shrug off minor injuries.

Within a few days of discharging myself from hospital I was back into my special training regime involving cold baths at 4 a.m. every morning, rubbing hot gravel into my bare chest and running a barefoot marathon (usually the three peaks) all before breakfast.

TOP 20 EXCUSES FOR …….producing a poor performance

- I’ve tried to come back from injury too quickly
- I haven’t been doing enough mileage
- I’ve been doing too much mileage
- I was just using it as training
- I wore a brand new pair of shoes
- I still had Thursdays track session in my legs
- I just had nothing in my legs
- I felt something twinge just after the start
- I didn’t put long enough spikes in
- I fell in that ditch
- My shoe came off in that sticky muddy bit
- I had about five too many ales last night
- I got spiked
- I hate cross country racing in these conditions
- I got off to a bad start and lost interest
- I was just doing it for the team
- It was longer than I expected
- It was not as far as I thought it was going to be
- I didn’t get any sleep last night
- I never really expected to finish anyway



"I hate cross country running"

World Javelin Record attempt by Jon Wilkinson (written by Ron ‘funny man’ Stones)

On 5th June 1993 in our home Northern men’s league match at Spenborough, Jon Wilkinson will attempt a world record in the javelin. The current WR of 91.46 by Steve Backley is well within his reach.

To help Jon the club has been rallying round members & supporters to turn up and provide vocal & physical assistance. Two groups of helpers are needed, one group is to gather outside the fence in line with the start of the run up. The other group will be at the opposite end of the stadium – again outside the fence (we do not want to get Jon disqualified). The first group will be organised by ‘Big Pete’ Crampton (the blowers). The second group at the far side will be the suckers.

The idea is that when Jon releases his spear, the two groups will ‘explode’ into action and cause a movement of air that will carry the javelin those few extra meters needed to create a new World Record !.

Leading up to the big day, Pete’s group which includes other sprinters and some of his big meaty rugby mates will be in strict training culminating, so I’ve heard , with extra portions of beans, gassy ‘pop’ and lashings of boiled egg on the eve of the competition. This will create extra ‘puff’ by way of ‘farting’ and ‘belching’ to blast the javelin on its way.

The other group, as yet without a leader, is a little less organised and in fact is one or two members short . We actually need the same number of suckers as blowers in order to set up an equilibrium. If you wish to become a sucker, would you please contact Jon as soon as possible.