From the archives – AW in April 1976
Just 18 women took part in a marathon from Feltham Arena on Good Friday with a loop around Heathrow Airport and Christine Readdy became the first British woman to break three hours with 2:50:55 which moved her to ninth all-time in the world. The world best then was 2:38:19 by Jacki Hansen set in 1975.
Steve Williams equalled the world 100m record with 9.9 in Gainesville and then a week later 18-year-old Harvey Glance also matched it at Columbia to become – in an era of non-automatic timing – the eighth man and seventh American to run 9.9!
Gateshead Harriers were clear winners of the National 12-stage relay at Sutton Park as Brendan Foster smashed the short stage leg record (3 miles 100 yards) with a time of 13:37.
The Gateshead team included fellow internationals of past or future such as Charlie Spedding, Dennis Coates, Dave Lowes, John Caine, Max Coleby and Dave Cannon and Lindsay Dunn.
Dave Black (25:00) and Bernie Ford (25:08) – both destined to make the Olympic team – were the fastest long legs. Runners-up Liverpool had beaten a weaker Gateshead team at Gateshead in the earlier Northern 12-stage though Foster was again fastest on the short leg.
Tipton had won the Midland 12-stage with Nigel Gates – now a top M65 – setting a record short leg of 13:52 and European and Commonwealth 5000m champion Ian Stewart the fastest long leg (25:03). Aldershot won the Southern 12-stage and Ford was fastest with a record 23:21 5.25M long leg.
Mike Turner won the Cambridge and Coleridge 10 in a course record 47:29. John Batchelor, now into the M80 category and the 2018 British masters indoor 800m, 1500m and 3000m champion, was seventh in 50:32.
In the Welsh Schools Cross-Country Championships, Kirsty McDermott – eventually to become a three-time Commonwealth gold medallist and Mrs Wade – won the junior girls race.
Keith Penny won the Southern 10,000m title at Crystal Palace in 29:03.6 ahead of Merv Brameld while at the same meeting 19-year-old Seb Coe won the BMC Mile in 4:07.6. Other notable events in the SCAA Open meetings (that took place every month throughout the year) saw Judy Oakes, destined to be greatest ever women’s shot putter second in her speciality with a UK junior record 15.05m.
Allan Williams, now a top vaulting coach and equal second best ever UK M65 vaulter and multi British masters champion, won the vault with a 4.65m leap.
Commonwealth medallists and two of Britain’s future greatest ever throwing coaches, Mike Winch (54.76m) and John Hillier (51.30m) went one-two in the discus.
Bob Holt (main image above) was adjudged the winner of the Maidenhead 10 though third across the finish line after being misdirected by a marshall two miles from the finish while well clear. Top current coach Bud Baldaro was 15th in 53:55.
Olympic 1500m runner Ray Smedley won the Chris Vose 10 mile in 47:57 from European marathon medallist Trevor Wright (48:39).
Bob Richardson won the Finchley 20 in 1:41:34 just eight seconds ahead of Don Faircloth. John Temperton, now a top British Athletics administrator was fifth in 1:45:29 while now coach Mick Woods was 11th in 1:48:20.
In a busy period with athletes building up to the Olympic marathon Trials in May, European marathon fourth-placer Bernie Plain won the East Hull 20 in 1:41:58.
Joe Patton won the Invicta Canterbury 6 in 27:58 with 27:58 with future London Marathon winner Mike Gratton third in 29:00, one place up on prolific AW letter-writer Ian MacMillan (29:14) and future 2:11 marathoner Nick Brawn (29:23) in fifth.
Future Olympic medallist Mike McLeod won the Jarrow 6.25 mile race in 32:23. Steve Cram, nine years before his record breaking season, was second in the boys' two miles in 10:00.
Jon Wigley, the AW assistant editor at the time, won the Tonbridge 10 in a record 47:22.
Future European Indoor 800m champion Jane Colebrook sharpened up with a 18.8/40.2 150m and 300m double at a meeting in Worksop.
In Belfast, Brian Hooper set a British pole vault record of 5.29m.
Luton won the Croydon Harriers relay at Crystal Palace aided by European silver 10,000m medallist Tony Simmons being fastest with a record 8:40 for the two mile leg.
In the April 24 issue, there was a three page list of all the books available in the AW book department and it numbered over 80 publications available.
There was news of an upcoming Olympic TV series on BBC1 running for eight weeks called the Olympiad where the producer Bud Greenspan had examined a staggering 2.5 million feet of film to make his series which was predominantly on athletics.
There was a feature on Roy Fowler, who had just won the National Vets Cross-country, 13 years after winning the International cross-country title in an epic battle in 1963 with future Olympic steeplechase champion Gaston Roelants.
Nick Lees won the English Schools senior boys cross-country title at Havant by over 200 metres. Other future internationals competing included 2:09 marathoner Tony Milosorov (4th) and Commonwealth steeplechase medallists Roger Hackney (17th) and Graeme Fell 33rd.
Colin White won the intermediate event ahead of future world junior champion Mick Morton.
The 1983 world steeplechase medallist Colin Reitz was 14th and Cram was 35th.
Future English National senior champion Dave Lewis won the junior boys' race.
The 1986 European 5000m champion Jack Buckner was 35th and 1982 Commonwealth 800m medallist Chris McGeorge was 48th. Janet Lawrence won the senior girls race at Leicester with future internationals Janet Prictoe 17th and Jill Clarke 22nd.
Ruth Smeeth, mother of Lily Partridge, won the Intermediate race with future internationals Jane Furniss (Shields) fourth, Wendy Smith (Sly) tenth and Shireen Samy 58th. Pauline Clarke won the junior race.
White and Smeeth won the Schools International match at Coatbridge which was dominated by England and then just had the single age group. Scot Graham Williamson was the best known name in eighth.
Race entries were cheaper 45 years ago. The Isle of Wight Marathon which started at 2pm on Saturday, cost all of 45p.
Bob Sparks revealed the photo-finish of the 1948 Olympics women’s 200m which he had recently discovered that showed that Shirley Strickland should have been placed third. The Australian already held the record for a woman of the most Olympic medals with seven but the picture revealed it should have been eight.
