EUROPEAN MASTERS [Ian Leggett Blog].

Updated: 2010-07-30
Blog from Ian Leggett.
After a nightmare 3 hour train journey from Budapest with no airconditioning we arrived at a very warm Nyreghaja in temperatures of 38 degrees.

It is always a big buzz to be part of an event that caters for the older groups and compare the standards that can be achieved by looking after your fitness.

Typically entry dates closed in March and I got a bad injury in April I was determined to get a run for my entry money even though I had only 2 weeks training in 3 months.

First up was the 10k but the heat and humidity was too much for me and I dropped out half way. A few days later I ran 5k and this time managed to finish in 11th place in a time i would like to forget!

The Hungarian people were warm and friendly and my wife and I had a lovely holiday. The camaraderie of all the athletes from all walks of life and standards is heart warming and you make friends for life.

There was one exception. there always is, the Health and Safety judge (in a red baseball cap) who handed out red cards in the 10k’s the Steeplechase and 5k.s was the most unpopular person on the planet.

The biggest cheer of the championship came when this super officious guy gave a 90 year old a red card on the last lap of his 1500m and the 90 year old hit the clip board and paper out of his hands and carried on and finished even though disqualified.

I have a lot of respect for officials but this one obviously was not a runner and common sense was not his forte so beware of the Red Baseball Cap!!!


Shane Fenton