Published: Wednesday, 23rd April, 2008 12:00
A stuttering start, then off to a flyer
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Record breaker: This old black and white newspaper photograph shows Dick Hodelet winning the half-mile in the Scottish Championships in a new record time of 1min 52.6secs.
Dick Hodelet of Glenpark Harriers brings the second instalment of a three-part series which looks back on his considerable achievements in athletics.
MY big breakthrough year on the track was 1963 — but it did not start off well.
I was eliminated in the heats of the Scottish 800m at Westerlands at Anniesland Cross, a track that was to be the scene of some of my best races in the future.
However, three days later at the Glasgow Transport Sports at Helenvale, I ran a heat and a final of the 800m in 1min 53secs within an hour. I felt that I was now getting somewhere.
At the end of the season I beat Hugh Barrow, the Scottish boy wonder of the day, who had broken the world mile record for a 16-year-old, in an 800m at Anniesland.
As part of my chartered accountant training I had to do an academic year at Glasgow University, and in 1964 Westerlands was now my home track and training centre, along with the Stevenson Building gym, where the dreaded circuit training was done.
I had a good cross-country season prior to the university track season, starting in May.
The Uni had matches all over the country every week, and I would run up to four events in a match, as I just loved racing so much.
No doubt if I had a coach he would have restricted the amount of races I was running.
I ended up with season bests of 11.2s for 100m, 23.2s for 200m, 49.6s for 400m and 1m 51.9s for 800m when I won the Scottish Championship at Meadowbank in a new record.
This was particularly pleasing as Englishmen were second, third and fourth! I was also in the Uni relay team which broke the Scottish 4x400m relay record, running the third lap and passing the baton to one Menzies Campbell — who is now the ex-leader of the Liberal Democrats.
The fastest 800m in the world in 1963 was run by an Irishman, Noel Carroll, who was studying at Villanova University. I beat him at an international at Ayr in July — the Scottish weather was a great leveller — and at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels in August.
Later in the year, he reached the semi-final at the Tokyo Olympics, so I knew I was doing something right.
1965 was a poor track season as I had changed jobs in the winter which involved a lot of travelling every day, which cut back on the training, mainly the circuit training. However, I managed to put up a spirited defence of my Scottish title, being narrowly pipped by my great friend and rival Graeme Grant.
In 1966, I still did not have a coach, but by now was working in Glasgow. I started training with Graeme at Westerlands.
He was coached by John Anderson, the Scottish national coach, now best known as the referee on the TV show Gladiators. So, effectively, I was also being coached by John Anderson too.
John coached athletes to Commonwealth, European, World and Olympic medals, and his philosophy was simple.
By the time February had arrived we changed from stamina to speed training. Speed was everything in our sessions. But we had to learn to run fast when we were tired, very tired.
A typical session was 30 x 200m in 30 seconds with a 90-second rest. The real killer was 20x20-second sprints with a 75 second interval.
As most sessions were done on the grass at Westerlands as straight runs, you had to turn around and get back to the start and be ready to go again in the 75 seconds.
In June 1966, I ran 1m 49.7s for the 800m on a cinder track at Pitreavie, breaking the Scottish national record, having gone through the first 400m in 52.3s, then hanging on for grim death in the home straight to fight off a sprint finish from Mike McLean. John Anderson’s sessions were paying off.
I just missed selection for the Commonwealth Games in Jamaica. Scotland could only afford to send 12 athletes from a short-list of 15. I was one of the three who stayed at home. As a consolation, Scotland sent a team to Reykjavik for a two-day match against Iceland. I was in great form, winning three golds and a silver.
I won the the 800m, second in the 400m and was in the winning 4x400m relay and 4x100m relay teams.
The sprint relay was the last event of the match and one of our runners took ill just prior to the start and I took his place. Not many runners can say they have competed for Scotland in the sprints and cross-country.
I also ran my fastest-ever 400m that year, 48.7s in Dublin. The Irishman Noel Carroll also ran in this race and he was clearly worried about me as, just prior to the start, I saw him in conversation with the lane steward.
Lanes were drawn by the steward, offering each runner a choice of numbered sticks, which were a bit like an ice-lolly stick. Mr Carroll was first up and he picked the stick on the extreme left which, lo and behold, gave him the lane inside me.
1967 was another poor track season. I had a lot of injuries and was also studying for my final exams.
As far as studying and training was concerned I always felt the one complemented the other. All work and no play, as they say, makes Jack a dull boy.
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McGuffie goal rounds off long week
