Jimmy Huddart
Born: 3.6.1947
Date Joined 1982 Re-Joined 2013
Personal Bests:
3 miles Victoria Park, 17 mins 25 secs
5 miles Victoria Park 27 mins 30 secs
10k Walthamstow A.C 36 mins 09 secs
7 miles Woodford Green A.C. 42 mins 31 secs
10 miles Bishops Stortford 57 mins 06 secs
Half Marathon Roding Valley 1 hr 19 mins 27 secs
Marathon Canvey Island 3 hrs 12 mins
First Club Race: Ilford 4 mile X country
Favourite Race: Chigwell 10 miles road races / Orion 10 miles road races
Notable Performances:
1st Veteran 40 Barkingside Half Marathon 1986 (8th overall)
Being awarded Silver & Bronze medals Essex X country league 2019 & 2020
Biggest Disappointment: Not breaking 3 hours for a marathon
Typical Weeks Training at your peak .
Monday rest,
Tuesday a.m 5 miles road tempo, p.m 4 miles Hainault Forest,
Wednesday 6 miles tempo,
Thursday a.m 5 miles p.m 3 miles speed work,
Friday rest,
Saturday 5 miles X country H.F. Worked the hills,
Sunday 8 miles X country Hainault Forest easy running.
Favourite Sessions: 6 miles running around Victoria Park at different speeds
Favourite race distance 10 mile
Favourite event – Track, Road or Cross Country Road running and Cross Country
What advice would you give our current crop of youngsters
Enjoy your running, work hard towards your goals & listen to the advice given by your coach.
How would you improve the sport
Schools to encourage youngsters to take up running
Favourite Athlete or Sportsman: Paula Radcliffe
What other sports do you follow: Fishing and football
Best Country Visited U.S.A
Favourite Food & Drink : Steak, Egg & chips & glass of shandy
Favourite TV Shows: The Sweeney, Inspector Morse, Strictly come dancing
Last Film Seen : Bridge too far
Last Book Read 75 years of history of Ilford A.C
Favourite Band Singer: Rod Stewart and Mowtown music
Last Album Bought or Downloaded Rod Stewart singing soul music
Last Concert Attended: The Tina Turner musical, Aldwych Theatre
Any Pets: No
What are your aims for next season To get fit so I can run The Elvis Road races &’park runs
Tell us a Joke:
“What do you call a man with a seagull on his head”
“NO not cliff”
“His name is poo face”
RODING VALLEY HALF 1986
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JIMMY ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS
Why did you initially join Ilford AC and then leave and then rejoin again in 2013 and what happened in the intervening years ?
I initially joined Ilford A/C to run round Hainault Forest & to be a member of a running club. After 12 years of competitive running I was working 6 days a week & with pressures of work I couldn’t commit myself to training 5 days a week. Therefore, for a number of years I only trained couple of times a week to keep fit & gradually drifted away from the club which I regretted. By chance I bumped into Gerry Pells who encouraged me to rejoin the club in 2013. I started to run park runs.
Favourite Park Run and PB ?
Raphaels park run. P.B. 27 mins 45 secs. To date I have completed 110 park runs.
I see you like Rod Stewart, when was the first time you saw him live and where and did you see him with THE FACES ?
First time I saw Rod Stewart was many, many years ago in 2 East London venues.
Worst Injury ?
Worst injury was when I severely twisted my ankle on a tree root around Hainault Forest & ended up having a week off work.
What was your job and how did you fit training around that ?
I was fruit porter in Spitalfields Market worked early mornings & finished lunchtime so I was able to train from midday onwards. I was also a London Cab Driver.
Did you get a big trophy for winning First Vet 40 at Barkingside half marathon and where is it now ?
I received a gift voucher to spend in Athletic East in Wanstead & I spent it on Ron Hill vest & shorts, which I outgrew.
Favourite Race ?
Favourites – any 10 mile road race
Where were you born and what school did you go to and did they encourage athletics for pupils?
Born in Newcastle & came to London when I was 5 years old. I went to Daneford Street secondary school. We did go to Fairlop Oak playing fields for various sports. Run 100 yards sprint on sports day.
Some impressive times Jim especially as you seem to be carrying your glasses during your runs. I am amazed that you enjoyed the Orion and Chigwell 10s as they were very tough, hilly races especially Chigwell, which I remember as always being on a hot day. I bet you wouldn’t run a marathon in a heavy sweat shirt these days, it would weigh a ton. Well done mate, inspirational
I really enjoyed the Orion & Chigwell 10 mile races. Although they were tough courses. My plan was to run the North Weald 10 as that was a flat course, which would help me to break the 60 mins. I would wear lightweight kit now.
Did you run the Orion 10 when runners under an hour were awarded a commemorative Orion wall tile?
Yes, but Yvonne definitely won’t let me display it on the bathroom walls.
When was the last time you ran a marathon?
My last marathon was the Brighton in April 2018. I was at golf fund raising event which my nephew Phil organised to raise funds for The Renal Unit at Gt. Ormond St. Hospital as a few years earlier he donated his kidney to his 15 year old daughter, Charlotte. £31,000 was raised at this event. Nurses from G.O.S.H attended & mentioned to Phil they had 2 tickets for this marathon. He came over & asked me to run with him & be part of the transplant team. Of course, I said yes & with only 10 weeks training we completed the marathon to raise further funds. It was a tough course & the hardest marathon I have ever run. I finished in 7 hrs & Phil finished in 5 and a half hours. I would not recommend running a marathon with only 10 weeks training. It was a great & emotional experience to be able to run with Phil for a charity which is so close to his heart.
I have heard many tales of the ‘Market boys’ or ‘Barrow boys’ (?). Can you tell us more about this and the other members?
I was approached to organise a run to raise money for a sunshine coach. To be presented to Toynbee Hall youth club, Spitalfields to mark the 300 years history of Spitalfields Market. 8 of us run to Southend Pier & back to Spitalfields Market. We run relay of 10 miles each. We raised £3,000 towards the cost of the coach. The group expanded to 40 members from various London wholesale markets & that is when I formed Spitalfields Market runners. Of which a number of us were members of Ilford A.C.
You have been known to give out certificates on occasion. When did this originate?
Early 1980’s. The certificates were given to the members for what they had achieved by running half marathons & marathons & recently I gave certificate to my great niece for her first 5k run who started running during pandemic whilst working on Covid ward although she not fully qualified nurse yet. Also, certificate was presented to a member who has completed over 450 park runs.
Runners today have fancy performance boosting trainers, expensive watches and all kinds of gels and dietary advice yet your generation was so much quicker on average (you describe your 56 min 10m PB as good, but nowhere near the top Ilford runners at the time). Have you any theories as to why this is?
If a member chooses to buy this hi tec equipment & it gives them confidence & makes them feel better, that’s fine by me. I personally only pay £50 for my trainers when they are in a sale. I still wear my faithful Casio running watch, but if hi tec watches were cheap enough I would probably buy one. I do not feel qualified to make judgement on past & present runners, but there is no reason if they are dedicated & train hard enough that they shouldn’t achieve their goals.
Joining when you first did you must have met some of the clubs original founders and members. Have you any stories you can share about them and the time.
When I joined the club Edgar Moon was one of the original members of the club. I can recall Big Jim (Jimmy Pollock) and I went up the club to run 5 miles around Hainault Forest & he got us to load a 5 ton trailer with bundles of paper, which took us 3 hours & the money from the sale of the paper went into the club funds. Dear Edgar & Betty invited the Market boys for cream tea in their garden at Chigwell & also at their home in Shenfield. I apologise to all those older members who have not been mentioned in this write-up.
The club must have changed enormously since 1947 when you first joined. Apart from being in Black and White what are the big differences you can see
To put the record straight, I was born in 1947 & joined the club in 1982. With the Harriers group & with the coaches & run leaders if we can encourage more park runners to join the club it can only help the future of the Club.
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