Oh behave! ........It's Friday, so back easing the legs with a gentle pace recovery run on the grass. Despite a tough week, all went well, music on, avoiding the rabbit holes then......a bright light in the sky in the east....rapidly approaching. Was it Halley's Comet? A supernova?
Or was I about to be whisked up to heaven by the star of Bethlehem? The bright light morphed into concentrated landing beam guided by the floodlights on the all weather pitch and as it hovered overhead forcing me to divert my planned route and the noise increased I knew it was an approaching helicopter. The point for the end of the run coincided with the landing spot for large helicopter bringing Sir David Jones back to Ilkley from Wigan. Minutes later a Bentley swings in to take him the last mile to his £2m mansion on the hillside (it's up for sale).
In case you don't know, Sir David Jones is in the same line of business as me. Sports retailing. Except
his company JJB Sports have a few more outlets than the Complete Runner. We, however, do a make a bit of a profit. He is executive chairman of the Wigan based company JJB who posted losses of £42.9 million in half a year. Whilst I'm semi -retired and easing down, he at about the same age, and suffering with Parkinson's Disease, has the task of trying to "rescue the troubled company" (Daily Telegraph). I did ask him on another occasion why? His response was something on the lines of....what else would I do? I know where I rather be at 11.30 each morning. Of course if he ran home instead of using a helicopter then the losses of the company wouldn't be so great!
Nostalgia note.....the run recorded for 25 years ago .....Friday Nov.23rd 1984.......was 4 mile easy as today. Final taper for the Barnsley marathon the following Sunday. It was to be the 5th of the year and only
4 weeks after the Leeds marathon. How bad could it get?
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