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Chris keeps running hard
At 45 years of age Chris Birch decided to return to his earlier enjoyment of running and in the intervening six years he has been involved with the TROTS (the Towy Running and Orienteering Team) and completed the 2008 and 2009 London Marathons, to go with his other attempts as long ago as 1988 and 1992.
Chris was also a more than useful goalkeeper in football in his younger days and played cricket for a long time, including a successful spell at Pembroke during the 1990s, followed by some coaching of juniors at Cresselly before he packed up his bat and pads.
Moving indoors, Chris was also a very good table tennis player and still plays darts at the Jeffreyston Inn, whilst also using his wealth of experience as a DJ in taking on the role of MC at the Tenby and District Darts Finals over a number of years!
Running from an early age
Chris started out his interest in running during his school days in Great Harwood, in Lancashire, which is equi-distant from Blackburn and Burnley, and then whilst at the City of Liverpool College. A sustained spell of running between 1986 and 1989 saw him complete a number of 10K and half marathons before completing his first marathon in Abingdon and then the London Marathon. For those interested in statistics his best times were 36mins 56 secs (10K), 1 hour 22 mins (half marathon) and 3 hours 22 mins (marathon) but when the family moved to Pembrokeshire in 1990 the regularity of his running decreased and after completing the 1992 London Marathon took a break – which lasted 12 years!
Hard work – but worth it
It was 12 years later that Chris decided it was time to give running another, and possibly final, shot but he hadn’t realized how difficult it would be just to jog for a while since he had enjoyed life and put on two stone in weight. After an effort lasting 200 metres through his home village he returned, very disheartened to the comfort of his favourite armchair and footstool!
But he didn’t give up and after a hard time he found he could run to Templeton Airfield and then around the Hackett Farm 4-mile circuit. He also enrolled, with young sons Matthew and Andrew, at the Harkett/John ‘torture sessions’ that passed for training at Carew AFC – and thanks to this doughty pair the weight began to fall off Chris to such an extent that he decided to enter the Mayor’s 5K race at Carmarthen the following Easter.
He was successful and also completed other similar runs before deciding to join the St Clears TROTS, easily the best running move Chris has ever made since running can be a lonely business and he has enjoyed the great support and joviality that exists there which has provided motivation and real incentive to keep going. One of their ventures was the ‘Castles Relay’ where he joined others in a relay event where the team started out at Caernarvon Castle early on a Saturday morning and finished at Cardiff Castle on the Sunday evening!
‘Capped’ at cricket!
Chris started out his cricketing career at St Mary’s College and Blackburn Schoolboys, where he received his cap at 14 but soon swapped it for another when it fell on his wicket during an innings and he was not best pleased to be given out! He also played for Great Harwood Cricket Club as an early-order batsman and leg-spin bowler in the Ribblesdale League, with West Indian all-rounder Keith Barker as the club professional. In 1975 he arranged for Gary Sobers to bring a team to play Great Harwood and Chris’s involvement was to be the DJ and supply Barbadian music for the players – and a year later the full West Indian team over here on tour came for Keith Barker’s testimonial match and Chris enjoyed playing in that match.
College days and a happy spell at Treleet
Chris then went on to captain the City of Liverpool College cricket team where there was so much enjoyment that it once took the team two days to get back from an away game! He then played in Oxfordshire and when his work brought him to this county he joined Pembroke and enjoyed a successful spell at their Treleet Ground alongside great characters like Kevin Jenkins, Spencer Harries, Mark Fraser, Keith Johnston, Nigel Phillips, Gwyn Griffiths and Hughie Davies. He had a spell as fixture secretary and took Pembroke on a tour to Great Harwood and played his part in a side which did well – and finished off his cricketing days at Cresselly, where he was also involved with coaching the junior teams. Chris really enjoyed his cricket in Pembrokeshire and still turns out occasionally in charity or friendly games.
Blackburn football fan
Football was Chris’s other sporting love as a youngster and although Great Harwood is between Blackburn and Burnley he always wore the blue rosette of the former, rather than the maroon and blue of the latter. He started out as a goalkeeper at St Mary’s College, Blackburn, where his team mate was Mike Duxbury, who went on to play 350 times for Manchester United and for England. Chris played in goal and as a striker for Great Harwood and Blackburn schoolboys, moving on to play between the sticks for Great Harwood FC in the old Northern Premier League. He also played in college and in his stint in Oxfordshire, where he turned out in every position except left back!
Other sports
Arguably his best sport during his schooldays was table-tennis and he represented Lancashire before moving away to study. He says that he has won every holiday camp tournament he has entered and laughingly says that he is still unbeaten in Europe!
Chris has another sporting string to his bow because for the past 14 years he has played darts for the Jeffreyston Inn in the Tenby and District League and now the Kilgetty and District League. He once lost to Trina Gulliver (the Ladies’ World Champion) at an exhibition game at the Jeffreyston Inn and this season has achieved one maximum of 180 and a 148 checkout.
He has also dabbled in golf but jokingly says that he only needs three clubs – a one iron, three wood and four strimmer to find the ball!
Good time – and getting lost!
But it has been running that has kept him busy and he is rightly proud of the fact that he completed the London Marathon in April 2008 in a time of 3 hours, 59 mins and 52 secs (despite stopping for a brief chat en route with his wife Sue) to achieve his aim of getting around in under four hours and celebrating his 50th birthday in some style! In the immediate aftermath he firmly resolved never to put himself through the pain again but a year later he was lined up again at the start and raised an amazing total of over £2,800 for the ‘Action for Children’ Charity after writing about the build-up on a blog in the ‘Western Telegraph’.
One of the funnier moments in his blog came when he admitted his propensity for getting lost:
“Because I run without glasses, until recently when I got contact lenses, I am often going the wrong way. Once, on the Fishguard 10K I followed a green arrow to find myself at the coarse fishing place! I also went the wrong way at Bridgend Cross Country but hopefully all that is now in the past!”
Family pride
Chris is also rightly proud of the family involvement in running because as well as his considerable achievements, running has become something of a family affair, with Matthew (23) recently winning a race in London, and Andrew (21) having done the Great North Run half marathon, and wife Sue is preparing for the ‘Race for Life’ at Scolton Manor this year - her very first run.
We suspect that her taking part will give Chris as much satisfaction as his own achievements and we at PembrokeshireSport.co.uk wish Mrs Birch every success on her running debut – and Mr Birch a continued involvement because we couldn’t have met a more modest and likeable gentleman!
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