By Rob Cole
As 40th birthday parties go it was certainly a bit different. Yes, there was cake and beer in the end, but everyone who turned up had to run for the pleasure.
But it was worth all the sweat on one of the hottest nights of the year at the wonderful new blue track at Cardiff Met, where James Thie marked his move into the Vet 40 category by adding another record to his impressive collection.
The ultimate dream a few years ago may have been to crack the 4 minute barrier at 40, but he was still entitled to feel very proud of taking over as Welsh Masters V40 record holder with a time of 4.24.71 in the seventh and final race of an exceptional night.
The second edition of the Cardiff Met Miles attracted more than 50 athletes to Cyncoed and it was fantastic to see Welsh Commonwealth Games runner Tom Marshall taking on pacemaking duties with other athletes coached by James.
The athletes who turned up, ranging from U13 to over 70, had near perfect conditions in which to race and the night was brought to an end with a community mile in which everyone took part – athletes, coaches, officials and even journalists!
The sight of more than 50 athletes completing the final mile in order to raise further awareness and money for the charity of the night, Pancreatic Cancer, was a fitting ending to an occasion of which James and his family – his children handed out the medals and water – can feel incredibly proud.
The backmarkers, two of the Welsh Athletics officials and yours truly, completed the community event in a life-time best of 15 mins, 30 sec. Not bad for a trio of 60+ year olds, one with two replacement hips and a pacemaker!
Everything built up to the ‘Birthday Bash’ in Heat 7 with James attempting to crack the 4.28 barrier to add the Welsh Masters record to his many accolades. Marshall paced his Team Thie teammates Sam Blake and James Henegan to big pbs at the front of the race with a big final 200 metres enabling James to finish fourth in 4.24.71 to strip almost four seconds off the previous Welsh record. Job done!
He may have run much faster in his younger days – he first cracked the magical four minute barrier in San Francisco in 2002 when he clocked 3.58.24, ran seven sub-four times and went as low as 3.57.71 indoors in New York – but it was a significant achievement for a man who had organized almost everything for the event and had actually first celebrated his 40th birthday on the motorway the night before as he drove some of his athletes back from a meeting in Stretford.
This is what he Tweeted on Tuesday night: “Worth the 8 hour round journey to see @jakeheyward7 win 800m 1:48.6 PB @mattwilliams_12 1:52 SB & @stevemorrisT20 1:56.2 SB & European T20 Lead. Now to hit the big 40 in a car somewhere in the midlands!!”
It is his love of his sport, and his deep investment in all his athletes, that makes James stand out from many other coaches. His reward is seeing his charges develop and in Heyward he is developing a real star of the future.
Both athlete and coach will be in Helsinki in July for the World Junior Championships – Heyward is running in the 1500 metres and James is one of the Team GB coaches.
Another athlete heading to Scandinavia is the New Zealander Chris Dryden. He was in the ‘Birthday Mile’ and picked up a four seconds pb in seventh place in 4.29.91.
It was that sort of night – something for everyone who loves running and loves athletics. The perfect way to celebrate a 40th birthday!
Cardiff Met Miles Results
Heat 1
1, Karen Powell (Archers) 6.18.61; 2, Dave George (Les Croupiers) 6.20.86; 3, Angela Champion (Les Croupiers) 6.26.42
Heat 2
1, Jack Robinson (Archers) 5.43.95; 2, Sophie Knoyle (Archers) 5.46.27; 3, Mike Murphy (Les Croupiers) 6.04.92
Heat 3
1, Dan Lloyd (CDF) 5.37.03; 2, Simon Harding (CDF) 5.40.54; 3, Tim Fry (Cardiff AAC) 5.44.66
Heat 4
1, Lauren Cooper (Bryn Bach) 5.13.97; 2, Tom Phillips (CDF) 5.23.09; 3, Ian Bird (Port Talbot) 5.27.46
Heat 5
1, Lee Aherne (Bryn Bach) 4.57.20; 2, Mark Horsman (Cardigan) 5.04.72; 3, Adrian Lewis (Aberdare) 5.06.25
Heat 6
1, Paul Graham (Pontypridd Roadents) 4.39.51; 2, Dog Nicholls (Les Croupiers) 4.40.63; 3, Charlotte Taylor-Green (Team Thie) 4.43.91
Heat 7
1, Sam Blake (Team Thie) 4.18.27; 2, James Henegan (Team Thie) 4.22.69; Jackson Mountford (Newport Harriers) 4.23.92; 4, James Thie (Team Thie) 4.24.71; 5, Alex Crossland (Highgate) 4.26.67; 6, Olie Williams (White Rock Runners) 4.29.24; 7, Chris Dryden (New Zealand) 4.29.91; 8, Tom Jenkins (Newport Harriers) 4.37.74; 9, Spencer Smith (Newport Harriers) 4.47.88