David Emanuel
BIRTHDAY: 16th November
FIRST CLAIM CLUB: Royton Road Runners
FAVOURITE RACE: The much-missed Tour of Tameside - great atmosphere & camaraderie throughout the week.
TOUGHEST RACE: Wuthering Hike/Haworth Hobble, 1998. 33 miles, with 4400 feet of climb over the moors around Haworth, Todmorden & Hebden Bridge, run in pairs. My partner & I proved totally mismatched - he was strong on the downhills, I was better going up. We broke the 6 hour barrier by precisely one minute.
FAVOURITE TRAINING RUN: Endless variations around Watergrove Reservoir, Wardle.
MOST MEMORABLE/PROUDEST RUNNING MOMENT: My last Tour of Tameside in 2000. Just missed the 5hr 30mins barrier, and only 61st overall, but it included some of my best ever individual races (1hr 21 for the half marathon, sub-42 mins for 7 miles).
FUNNIEST/MOST EMBARRASSING RUNNING MOMENT: Decided to have a weekend away in Melmerby, Cumbria, taking in a 10K race on the Sunday. Morning of the race, and no indication that there was anything happening. A check of the race entry details confirmed that it was the right time & date...but the wrong Melmerby! Since I'd already entered, I jumped in the car & drove the 80-odd miles to the right place (near Ripon), arriving about 10 minutes before the start. Didn't even have a very good run!
FAVOURITE PRE-RACE MEAL: Night before - pasta, pasta & more pasta. Morning of the race - bread & honey. Still haven't really worked out what to do for evening races.
PRE-RACE SUPERSTITIONS: Latest pair of 'lucky' socks. Tuck shoelaces in. Numerous toilet visits (although this might be a weak bladder rather than a superstition).
RUNNING AMBITIONS: This year - to go under 3hrs 15 for a marathon & beat Bryan Lawton in the Vet 40 rankings.
IF YOU WEREN'T A RUNNER, WHAT WOULD YOU BE? Overweight & miserable.
TELL US SOMETHING NOBODY IN THE CLUB KNOWS ABOUT YOU: I'm a frustrated journalist...during my time working for Nationwide Building Society I spent a couple of years as editor/writer-in-chief for the in-house magazine.