The 2006 Tour of Telford brought in a few new changes. Firstly, a new Race Director in Mick Owen, after Tour Founder Alan Jenkins stepped down after four years. Mick took on the job with great enthusiasm, and was on the case from early Springtime, preparing new forms, always coming up with new ideas, and quite often he could be seen wandering round town with a big file of papers, maps, and numbers!

this is what makes the Tour a truly fun, social event with true sporting values. It's certainly not one which attracts the pot-hunters..

Early signs in terms of entries were not encouraging; after the problems we had in 2005, when the Tour almost did not go ahead, we had hoped that earlier advertising would lead to a greater take-up of places. However, slowly but surely, the numbers came in.

The Tour kicked off on Monday 10th July at 7.09pm.

Race 1 - Wonderland 5k, Telford Town Park

The race starts outside the gates of 'Wonderland' in the Telford Town Park, then runners run down the slope , bear right on to the Silkin Way by the Ampitheatre, then follow the Silkin Way all the way to Chapel Lane, Aqueduct - and then back the same way. There is a gentle but definite climb on the way back, and because it is out & back is mentally tough.

The weather was cloudy, but humid, with a slight breeze moving the trees but we knew there would be little or no breeze down the old railway cutting.

Straight from the off, made it very clear that if anyone wanted to win the Tour they were going to have to beat him, with a strong start that soon put a gap between him and the rest of the pack. Older wiser heads were worried as Jon sped off into the distance and it took some time for a chasing group to form. Sara Rex was concerned before the start but quickly settled into a comfortable lead over her nearest lady rivals. By the turn, manned by Colin Tart (Hello Colin) Jon had relinquished the lead and it became a very tough run back up the slope for him, as the lead pack powered past. Andrew Davies surprised the whole field with a strong run for home from about 300m out, it was certainly enough to get him up the steep climb back to the start, and give him the first Stage Winner's award, of course putting him in overall lead. Just behind him Steve Watkins, Graham Machin & Hugh Jobber all finished in the next 20 seconds. This was shaping up to be an exciting contest. There was a cluster of quality men's finishing times just before Sara came in. Top picture of the night must go to the posy Sue Williams, waving wildly as she finished!

Race 2 - Club Handicap Night 3k race

In a "stroke of genius", Alan decided to combine the Tour and the Handicap "because it saves time and people". That may be the case, but hey, it's a nightmare to organise. Nevertheless, the new Queen of the Handicap Lisa Yeomans was in town to help organise, give out handicap times, argue with disgruntled Handicappers, and generally organise us.  With a field swollen to 55, we made our way up to Stirchley Grange for the legendary 2-lap, 3.09k course which is the graveyard of many an athletic ambition at the Club. The Handicap results are added into the overall Tour results - not the actual time it takes to run, but actual time plus handicap time. This evens up the event and gives some of the club's slower runners their chance to shine. Good handicapping and grim determination made the whole field finish within the space of 2 minutes, meaning the support crew were really working hard - and the new gizmo was at full stretch!!

Unfortunately it wasn't enough to close the gap to the overall leaders, as Andrew once again had a fantastic run down the hill and through the trees to increase his lead over Graham Machin and Hugh Jobber, who at this stage were separated by a mere 4 seconds. Steve Bajic & Tim Smith both had a wonderful Handicap run to move into the top 10 results; in the Ladies' race Jo Cox and Louise Steel were both putting pressure on Sara's lead. Stage winners for the Handicap were Dave Samuels and Jane Staite. Cries of 'cheat' were definitely heard during the race as at least one competitor (...who knows who he is) went inside the post on the hairpin bend, but that was all taken in good humour and certainly made for an interesting talking point afterwards (just how fast WOULD I have been if I'd done that?) On a sad note, Alan Jenkins had to quit the Tour at this point due to a knee injury, no doubt brought on by the desperate - but ultimately successful attempt to catch and pass Dave Arnold in the last 200m.

Race 3 - Stirchley Miles

2 races in one night! After clearing up, and after the formalities of presentations we retired to the Stirchley Rec field - to take on the Stirchley Miles. Mick & Alan had graded each of the Tour runners in an attempt to give us 3 evenly matched races. In addition, we had a few runners attracted by the prospect of becoming the Club's Mile Champion, as we were running the Mile Championship during this race as well. Martin informed us that we were to be joined by a press photographer to help him get some publicity for the Tour and also Specsavers.

The mile race was on the School track, 1609m marked 'accurately' with cones. We were treated to the Colin May Ding Ding Cow Bell for the last lap, and in true Tour tradition, we started with the slowest race first.

Race 3a - was an all- ladies' race. Despite a close 3 laps it was Jo Cox who had enough left to kick on the last bend, she only narrowly beat a fast-finishing Gwen Jones. Louise Steel, who looked like she might be in contention right up to the last lap, had to settle for third. Little Rebecca Rex (Sara's daughter) guested in the race and certainly put up a brave fight! Finally there was a tough battle at the back with Cynthia Lewis just not having enough of a sprint to get past a strong Karen Bailey

Race 3b - arguably the classiest last lap of the night as Dave Samuels took off from within a group of runners. There was no-one to catch him as he powered to the finish. Tim Merryweather had to settle for second, just holding off a speedy attack from Chris Lewis. Jane Staite continued her good form with an excellent victory over Sara Rex. This race was extremely controversial as several of the marshals claimed it was only 3 laps and not the regulation 4 !! - ask the runners how many they did !

Race 3c - after what seemed like an eternity, with the Tourists making cheesy grins in the fading light for the photographer, the faster gang lined up at the start. Hot favourite for the race was Mark Griffiths, reigning Wenlock Triathlon Champion and soon-to-be GB international, but for the Tourists, it was going to be close. Again though, no-one reckoned on Jon Mahoney, as from the gun he powered after Mark, keeping a strong pace and pulling the field round in his wake. For three tough laps this looked like this was going to be the story, with Jon having run the sprint out of his rivals, but halfway down the back straight Steve Watkins made his bid for glory, coming from 4th in the group to a clear lead, pouring on the power as he ran toward the line. Jon was agonisingly out-sprinted on the line by Ant Pinson but he was by this time already the Tour's 'Cult hero'.

Overall, Andrew Davies was now holding just a 20- second lead over Steve Watkins, with Hugh Jobber in 3rd, just 2 seconds in front of Graham Machin. Thanks to a good mile run, Sara stretched her lead in the ladies race over Jo Cox.

Race 4 - Wrekin Whiz

The run up the Wrekin is usually where it's all made or broken. It's the traditional run from the gate at the bottom, up the path past the Halfway House, all the way through "Hells Gate" and "Heaven's Gate", round the white trig point and then back to the start. No short cuts (More on this later). It was relatively cool at the foot of the Wrekin though no doubt it would be a little warmer further uphill. There were lots of mountain bikers around so care was needed, also horror stories of falls served to worry those who were feeling a little apprehensive. Tim Merryweather said he had been worrying about it all day...Once again the usual suspects set off with Jon Mahoney leading the way. Once they made the turn at the top, however, technique began to pay off. Although Andrew tried to shake Steve off, he sprinted away, and finished in an excellent 22.44 to Andrew's 23.16. Surprise of the night was Martin Skehan's excellent 4th place, celebrated with punching the air with a triumphant 'yes!' as he just managed to hold off an almost unstoppable Gareth Bellamy. Gwen Jones was among others who looked like they weren't going to stop as they powered through the gate at the finish! Ant Pinson managed to stay on his feet this year ......much to his relief. Biggest loser of the night was Dave Samuels who couldn't repeat his success on the grass. His "Shin Splints" meant his descent was a very, very careful one. Tonight's controversial moment came when Graham Machin confessed to having taken a short cut on the descent; he was rewarded with a 20-second penalty for his trouble.

Jane Staite had kindly provided some Wrekin Cheese for the stage winners in addition to the normal t-shirts; stuffing their faces tonight - were Steve Watkins and Sara Rex.

Race 5 - The Britannia Burn 5k

This is a new Tour event, replacing the Last Day 3k. We always struggled for a 5th race in the Tour, there are only so many routes you can make in the park before you either need to cross a road or you need a marshal to point the way - both of these, of course, being a Tour no-no. So it came as a pleasant surprise when Jeff Wright came up with the idea of reviving the Holly Hop 5k route, an old Harriers' race from the late 80s - early 90s. We took part in this as a trial run at Xmas and decided to build it into the Tour schedule, the added bonus being that we could start and finish at the Brit Inn, with our friendly hosts putting on chip butties, sausages, and generally let us have the run of the lounge.

From the off, it was clear there was a lot at stake; Steve only had a 12 second advantage over Andrew and of course, Andrew had won the first 5k on Monday. The ladies' race was all but won by Sara ....but she still had  to complete the course to claim the title.

We were visited by the Shropshire Star photographer tonight, after an article in the evening paper, when one of those cheesy photographs from Tuesday made an appearance! It felt like a very important occasion. Things didn't go smoothy though. First, we lost Graham Machin.  We waited for 10 minutes, but no Graham. Presumably he's at Stirchley? Hugh Jobber must have breathed a sigh of relief, safe in 3rd at last.

The race got underway and true to form, Jon Mahoney was up at the sharp end again, with Hugh Jobber, chasing guests Paul Ward & Scott Lewis. Three times, Andrew Davies tried to get away from Steve Watkins but each time he just had enough to hang on, saving his own decisive attack until Stirchley Lane (800m to go) and finishing his Tour in an excellent 19.20. A very worthy runner up, Andrew wasn't going to give in easily as he chased his younger rival all the way down the path and only gave him a 3 second race-winning margin . Hugh was back in 3rd, Ant a comfortable 4th, and a fast improving Gareth Bellamy in 5th. For the Ladies, Sara had to give in to Jane Staite on the night, but as Jane hadn't completed the series, 22.52 and a dead heat with Dave Arnold was enough to secure the title and a picture in the Star.

Controversy continued when, with 3 competitors to go - Mick turned off the gizmo. Aagh! Luckily we were able to get Jenny, Ann & Cynthia's times in manually.

To the pub, after a suitable period to clean up, for a drink, a chip butty, a natter and lots of celebrations. Martin had an aching hand after he had given out all the prizes & goody bags, Steve also gave away some of his honey products to the WInners of the race. The biggest cheer of the night was for the efforts of Jon Mahoney who had run his socks off all week !! - but our congratulations must go to all the runners for making it such a memorable - but tiring - week.

Tour of Telford Thanks to:

Mick, Alan, Steve, Deb, Matt, Michelle, Ann, Lisa, Brenda, Martin, Specsavers, The Britannia Inn, anyone else I've missed, it's not intentional, honest!

Telford Harriers -  Tour Of Telford 2006