Gaymer's Olde English Cider 10k series 1985 Cardiff

Gaymer's Olde English Cider 10k series, Sunday 12 May 1985, Cardiff.
Most of our members will have run the Cardiff 10km, which is a mass participation race. It’s been held annually every Autumn since 1986.
However – this tape predates that. In 1985 and 1986 ITV showed a three race series sponsored by Gaymer's Olde English Cider. The sponsorship deal terminated in 1986.
The format of the races were a 3 km for ladies and a 10km for men. This Cardiff race was the second in the 1985 series. Glasgow held the first race the preceding week.
I haven’t included the ladies race because ITV did not show it all. However, the men’s race shows the civic centre at its best.
Unlike today’s event, this was (approx.) 10 laps of a kilometre, which of course was great for spectators. It’s an Elite race with 76 starters. Road running was exceptionally strong in the UK at this time, so all of the field was British, apart from 3 invited Americans.
There was no qualification to enter the race – but there was one proviso – if you got lapped, you had to drop out. Intimidating eh? It certainly was. 61 of the 76 runners finished, and the 61st athlete was Cardiff’s Dave Lane in 31:19!
When the race starts you will see a familiar figure off the back of the pack. That was completely intentional – I went through the first km in 3:02 (or 30:20 pace), 20 yards off the next runner. It was important to do this to avoid being lapped. Many athletes over-reached themselves. In the event, Croups had 3 runners, Paul Wheeler, who’ll you see on the back of the lead pack for 4 laps was a brilliant 25th in 29:07, I was 56th in 30:31, and my good friend Huw Roberts 57th in 30:48.
There is a nice preview to the race, with interviews with Jack Buckner (aged 23, a 3:51 miler who was to win the European 5000 metre championships the following year in 13:10), and Steve Jones, who had won the London Marathon 3 weeks earlier. Naturally Steve was at the height of his powers, but it was going to be a tough task trying to outrun such a field.
The race was on 12 May 1985 and the weather was cold. I would recommend trying to watch the race without reference to the result – it truly is road running at its best, and the depth of ability is amazing. It’s also hard to pick a winner, and the finish itself is hugely impressive. 10 runners sub 28 minutes, 8 of them Brits!
Given that the UK Allcomers record prior to this race was 27:59 to Steve Jones, a finishing time of 27:46.7 was spectacular. However, that meant the mandatory measuring of the course to check its validity. And with the inevitable result – the lap was 12 metres short – meaning 120 metres in total! That equates to around 20 seconds.
Such happenings just go to show how important course measurement is. Please remember that this involves hours of painstaking work, which is for everyone’s benefit and the sport’s credibility. --Mick McGeoch--