Top to bottom: Andy Duncan is cheered on by his Cambridge University teammates during the 2009 IOM Easter Festival (photo Murray Lambden). Kevin Loundes and Ed Gumbley feeling the heat at the end of the Half Marathon in Rhodes in 2007 (photos Ian Astin)Three more of the men’s team will be sampling the Island Games experience for the second time in Aland, having debuted in the stifling heat of Rhodes 2 years ago.
Andy Duncan will be challenging for places in both the 800m and 1500m events - my guess is that he will contest the 1500m along with Ryan Fairclough. He will also stake a strong claim for a place in the 4x400m relay team, although competition for places in that event looks like being fierce. Andy did very well in Rhodes where the standard was extremely high in the middle distance events. He finished 6th in the 800m, 7th in the 1500m and showed impressive speed in the 4x400m relay. I recall that he took a bit of a battering during a very physical first lap of the 800m final, nearly falling on a couple of occasions – all part of the rough and tumble of middle distance running. Get those elbows sharpened, Andy!
Andy has had a slightly different preparation for the Games than the rest of the team, spending most of last winter living and working in India where he has family connections. An injury problem caused him to miss a period of training on his return to the island, but he has worked really hard over the past few weeks and looks to be coming back into good form at just the right time. Andy is a more than useful long distance runner too, and may well challenge for a place in the longer distance events in the future. He is a good supporter of local athletics, and has brought a big party of his Cambridge University colleagues over to the island to compete in the Easter Festival for the past 2 years. Their distinctive pink shirts (that’s the boys as well as the girls!) have quickly become one of the iconic images of Easter on the Isle of Man!
Andy has had a slightly different preparation for the Games than the rest of the team, spending most of last winter living and working in India where he has family connections. An injury problem caused him to miss a period of training on his return to the island, but he has worked really hard over the past few weeks and looks to be coming back into good form at just the right time. Andy is a more than useful long distance runner too, and may well challenge for a place in the longer distance events in the future. He is a good supporter of local athletics, and has brought a big party of his Cambridge University colleagues over to the island to compete in the Easter Festival for the past 2 years. Their distinctive pink shirts (that’s the boys as well as the girls!) have quickly become one of the iconic images of Easter on the Isle of Man!
This time 4 years ago, Kevin Loundes had never competed in an athletics event (other than walking round the cross country course during his school days and being labelled ‘a disgrace’ by the sports master!) After making his cross country debut in the Manx Gas League during the winter of 2005, his progress was so rapid that he gained selection for the 2007 Island Games in which he contested the Half Marathon and 5000m events. He struggled in the intense heat during the last 4 miles of the Half Marathon (as did many others) but still finished well in the top half of the field. He had a great run in the 5000m, finishing 6th and showing a blistering turn of speed over the last 200 metres which he covered in around 28 seconds.
Since 2007, Kevin’s improvement has been spectacular and relentless across the whole range of distances and terrain. Guided by his coach Andy Fox, his structured and thoughtful approach to both training and racing has been rewarded with a series of outstanding performances on road, track and country. Like all good athletes, he probably learns more from his very occasional bad races than he does from his many good ones. He is a completely dedicated athlete who has now reached a level that must put him in with a great chance of success in Aland. I believe he is entered in the Half Marathon, 10000m and 5000m, but personally I hope he gives one of them a miss (preferably the midweek 5000m) to give him the best chance of success in the Half Marathon on the last day. Kevin is considering having a crack at a 3000m steeplechase later in the season once the Island Games is out of the way, and I’m quite sure he will be very good at that too!
Since 2007, Kevin’s improvement has been spectacular and relentless across the whole range of distances and terrain. Guided by his coach Andy Fox, his structured and thoughtful approach to both training and racing has been rewarded with a series of outstanding performances on road, track and country. Like all good athletes, he probably learns more from his very occasional bad races than he does from his many good ones. He is a completely dedicated athlete who has now reached a level that must put him in with a great chance of success in Aland. I believe he is entered in the Half Marathon, 10000m and 5000m, but personally I hope he gives one of them a miss (preferably the midweek 5000m) to give him the best chance of success in the Half Marathon on the last day. Kevin is considering having a crack at a 3000m steeplechase later in the season once the Island Games is out of the way, and I’m quite sure he will be very good at that too!
Teaming up with Kevin and Darren Gray in what looks like being a very strong Half Marathon team will be Ed Gumbley, who will also go in the 10000m event. Ed has been taking part in running events for several years, but only really started training seriously 3 or 4 years ago when he realised that he wasn’t too far away from the standard required for selection for the 2007 Island Games. This he achieved, thanks to a great deal of hard work, grit and determination. Both his events in Rhodes took place in the full heat of the morning sun, so he will be hoping to find much kinder conditions this time around. Ed favours the longer distances, and ran a superb Marathon in Berlin last September. His time of 2.36.53 was the fastest marathon time recorded by a Manx runner since 1994, and who is to say that he can’t dip under the magical 2.30 barrier in the future?
Since competing in Berlin last autumn Ed has not quite been at his best having had a few niggling injury problems over the winter, but he seems to have been shaping up nicely over recent weeks. He has done a few shorter races lately to help ‘sharpen up’, and he looks to be running well. Ed perhaps doesn’t have the natural athleticism and speed of some of the other team members but makes up for it with masses of commitment and determination, willingness to learn and a genuine love of running. An individual medal is probably out of reach at the Games, but he must be in with a decent chance in the Half Marathon team event – and it would be thoroughly deserved. Aland will be just the latest stop on Ed’s worldwide travelogue too – he is almost certainly the most widely-travelled member of the team!
Since competing in Berlin last autumn Ed has not quite been at his best having had a few niggling injury problems over the winter, but he seems to have been shaping up nicely over recent weeks. He has done a few shorter races lately to help ‘sharpen up’, and he looks to be running well. Ed perhaps doesn’t have the natural athleticism and speed of some of the other team members but makes up for it with masses of commitment and determination, willingness to learn and a genuine love of running. An individual medal is probably out of reach at the Games, but he must be in with a decent chance in the Half Marathon team event – and it would be thoroughly deserved. Aland will be just the latest stop on Ed’s worldwide travelogue too – he is almost certainly the most widely-travelled member of the team!
The next entry will feature the 4 members of the women’s team who debuted in Rhodes in 2007 – Charlotte Christian, Gail Griffiths, Gemma Astin and Rachael Franklin.
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