Latest / The Folkestone & Hythe Sports Podcast / KEVIN TALKS FOLKESTONE ROTARY HALF MARATHON WITH RACE DIRECTOR RAY JOHNSON

Transcript

KEVIN TALKS FOLKESTONE ROTARY HALF MARATHON WITH RACE DIRECTOR RAY JOHNSON · The Folkestone & Hythe Sports Podcast

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: There ago that was disclosure and waterfall. Now then this
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Sunday sees the nineteenth of Folkston Rotary Half Marathon and
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: I've joined by race director Ray Johnson. Welcome to the show, Ray.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Hi, Kearn, great to be here. Make me feel old.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: We'll have a chat about that and in actual fact,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: before we talk about Sunday's race, let's go back in time.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: If you're like, tell us how it all started. Yeah,
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: it was back in two thousand and six, and having
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: done the London Marathon in two thousand and one and
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: I've been doing it every year since, I wanted to
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: bring an event to Folkstone which would be the half marathon.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: So it's really enjoy the ambience and you know kind
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: of the stuff that goes on in London down here
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: in Folkston. And then since then it's taken off. It's
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: been great.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: I know two thousand and six, Yeah, can you remember
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: who won it the first time round?
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: I can't actually.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: I'm pretty honest there because I did have to look
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: it up myself. Yeah, but in two thousand and six
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: John Crean won the first one, okay, and Rona laps
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: I was the first lady. And can you remember approximately
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: how many runners you got that first one?
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it was about three hundred.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: Odd Yeah, three hundred eleven. Yeah, remember that, And how
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: many are you expecting on Sunday.
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: Well, it's been a record year this year. It's great.
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: So we've already got seven hundred and twenty booke ten.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: We've got another thirty places available. They may be taken
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: up today. So if anyone is listening, you've got to
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: hit the buttons now because I think it'll be a
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: sellout probably tomorrow. So you have a maximum seven fifty. Yeah, yeah,
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: we're all good. So it's all gone.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: Crazy, Okay, yeah, now it's the nineteenth year. But I
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: was thinking, I remember we did one strange race, whether
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: it was just after COVID or not, But did COVID
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: stop you doing a race?
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: No? So we were like the half marathon was one
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: of the very few races during that period. So managed
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: to pull it off. I thought, I need to make
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: this to happen, and luckily we took it all apart
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: and put it all back together again, made it all
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: COVID and implying. So yeah, twenty twenty, we managed to
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: do it. I think that was at the end of September.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Is that that the week we set them off in waves,
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: But it was absolutely poor and down.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: It was bad weather. There was three hundred runners, so
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: we had to close it at that and as you say,
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: we had waves of ten.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: So yeah, it was a bit bizarre and the weather
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: was all for I do remember that looking back.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: I mean, the runners absolutely were thrilled that they could
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: just get to an event. So that was really good.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: Okay. Now, one thing that occurred to me is that
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: you have a children's race, But did you have a
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: children's race back in the day the first one we did?
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we have every year other than unfortunate odyah, and yeah,
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: the kids love it. You've already got twenty five book ten,
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: so you know it's a great little run for them
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: as well. Yeah, get the family there.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: Well, I'm I'm conscious of the time here, so I
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: really want to I want you to tell us we
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: all know, folks them that the Road of Remembrance has
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: closed and been closed for a long time, and a
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: lot of the runners are thinking, of goodness for that.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: I haven't got run back up that well.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: But you can't get down to the promenade without going
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: down a hill, can you? So if you like, tell
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: us about the course and if there's been any headaches
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: where you've been trying to reschedule it remeasuring.
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, So I mean I must say that Kent County Council,
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: folks in Hive District Council have been great. So I
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: leo's of them first thing to see if we can
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: get a possibility of it being open. And then you
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: might recall that they did officially close it. So I thought,
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: this isn't going to happen, so try to work around that,
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: see if there was any way we could do it,
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: and it just wasn't for sure, so I had to
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: reroute it. So I did a few trial runs myself.
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: I did eight runs all different ways and things like that,
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: and felt, you know, what would this be like? And
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: essentially I've moved it where we've rerouted, so it's going
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: to happen, which is the main thing. So we're going
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: to start outside the ground, go down to the town,
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: which is what we've always done. There's a little loop
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: at the top to begin with, but that's fine, get
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: down the town, go round the town. So it's nice
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: to keep the town and I want to keep that
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: involvement going on and when we come to the top
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: of the road Remembrance, we hook a right and go
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: up the Lees again to pass the Lees Lift entrance
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: and then all the way back up and then we
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: turn right into Dick'swell Road onto the two five nine,
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: which people may be familiar with there by the Doctors,
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: and then we hook a left on the path and
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: we go down to Radnecliffe Crescent, so it's where it
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: bends round where the vets are cooling road junction, so
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: it goes round veers round and then goes down to
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: the top of Radna Hill, which we are familiar with
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: because we've done that in the running clubs. Goes down
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: the Radne Hill and then goes through the Riviera and
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: they've been fantastic. The residents there have let us have
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: the rights of access and right away yeah private road. Yeah,
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: they're going to let it all open, open the gates,
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: so it's really good. And then we get onto the
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: seafront onto the promenade, but we have to go left
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: to make up a bit of distance, so effectively we're
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: going to be going up past the Mermaid Can back
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: to and then do a turn round and then come
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: all the way back to Hive, do the loop in
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: Hive and then come back up the Riviera and up
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: that hill, so we do get that little hill which
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: is a little sting in the town.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, sane Gate Hill is not too bad, if anything,
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: is a bit longer, but it's not a shop.
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: It won't actually be on Sandgate Hills actually on Radney Hill. Yeah.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: It's the road that sort of goes sharp, which is
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: where we've done the training, the little sort of shorter
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: bit of present because it's less traffic. We can't we
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: want to get them off that too, Yeah, of course, Yeah,
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: so cancel being great today. They've cut all the trees
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: back for us, which is good. So it's all made
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: it safe and moved all the billiards and stuff. So
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: we're ready to roll, right.
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: I mean, I suppose you might have to wait for
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: feedback from the runners. But do you think if he's successful,
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: you might keep that or you just got it in
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: your mind to switch it back.
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: To I'll got it in my mind switch back here.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: Because some people are a bit disappointed, and the Road
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: Remembrance is such an iconic road and I think to
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: forget absolutely the history and stuff that goes on there.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: People like to connect with that as well.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: So I mean on paper it sounds easy enough, but
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: I'm sure you've had to jump through hoops to get permissions,
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: risk assessments, insurances.
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: Sure. So our team of nice work who assists us
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: have been great, as you know, the people there. So
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: we've liais with UK Athletics to get permission. We've re
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: rooted it, as you know, so we've rechecked it, We've
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: had it all course measured by a guy called Rob Bright.
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: He sorted it and then we had to apply it
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: to Ken County Cancel to get approval which had done it.
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: So they've all gone through the hoops with us to
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: make it happen. So put the word out say look
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: I don't want to cancel this. We need to get it.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: We need to make it happen. And everyone's on board,
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: which is really really good.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: Right excellent, So very quickly, is there anything that you need?
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: I mean, how you fix the volunteers.
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: We've got a strong team of volunteers. If anyone wants
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: to come along, they're welcome to do so. At eight
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: forty five so it's outside the Grand on the leaves,
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: so we're going to be doing a marshall briefing. Anyone
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: is available, just come and see me and then we
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: can put them on the course. So we've got already
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: sixty five out and then we've also got the police
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: cadets coming. Oh yeah, we've been over one hundred and
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: twenty which is amazing, so it's really good. And we've
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: got three water stations this year as well, so we've
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: had to put a lot more out. So it's going
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: to be interesting, but it's exciting and a lot of
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: runners are really keen. A lot of running clubs are thinking, wow,
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: this is going to be an interesting.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, different and it's nice to do the same run
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: every year, but yeah, sure it's nice to do a
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: little different course.
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: So you might be under pressure next year to keep
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: the course absolut but we need to keep that road
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: remembrance as saying, of course, we're losing the Coastal Park
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: this year, so we want to get that back because yeah,
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: it's nice.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: Okay, right now, I know loads of money is going
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: to go for charities, but as so we've only just
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: we're going to have a real struggle to get this in.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: So can you just please name some of the charities
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: you think might benefit and quickly chuck in some sponsors
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: as well.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Sure. So the main charity this year is going
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: to be Touch Based Care. They're based in Tontine Street.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: They do some great work, so they will receive fifty
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: percent of the profit and then the rest of it
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: will go to the Rotary Club, which will also help
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: local charities. Probably too short time to name all those,
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: but we support lots of local charities in the area. Sponsors.
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: We've got a main sponsor which is Alkaline Transport, who
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: are great. We've got a few others which is Tag Trees,
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: Folks in Hive District Council. We've got oh gosh, gone blank,
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: but we've got a few, but they're all on the website.
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: Anyone wants to have a look at Folks and Rotary
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: website and then hook into the half marathon. It gives
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: you all the information and if you can't make it
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: for the run, then come down check it out, have
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: a look. We've got the NHS coming this year with
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: a trailer, so they're going to do free health checks.
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: It doesn't matter who you are, what you are is.
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: You know, if you just want a bit of advice
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: or a bit of a guidance, and they're there to help.
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: Oh brilliant, just good. And you've got a strong connection
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: with the gurkhas are they involved at all this? Yeah,
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: they're coming down. They're going to be marshaling some of them,
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: and we think some of the team. But there's a
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: change in regiment at the moment, so you know it's
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: all happening. So there might be some coming to run
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: as well, so that'd be really good.
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: And in the past I'm not sure if it's this
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: one or the ten k, but you have teams of
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: local runners, haven't you.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: Yes, So this year we've got all the running clubs
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: which we are familiar with, but just to let your
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: listeners know, we've got lots of running clubs coming down
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: in you know, teams, which is really good. We've got
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: a couple of teams from East Again College Running. I
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: think Metro Line Security have got one and yeah, I
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: think they're the main ones. Maybe Church and d White
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: as well.
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: Right, yeah, okay, last thing then, ray ye, finally, we've
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: only got about thirty seconds ago. Tell us what time
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: and whereabouts and what time the kids races.
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: Okay, so it's going to be on the lee's out
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: opposite the Grander Start finish Children's race nine thirty and
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: the main race is at ten o'clock on Sunday.
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: That's coming right, and there are just a few late
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: entries which might go yeah.
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: I don't think there'll be any on the days again
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: online and book now. But thanks to everyone that's supporting
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: and all the runners. Good luck.
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: Okay, right, well we have done it now, we have
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: absolutely crushed it, and thanks for coming in. That's all
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: we can say. And I hope to see you there Sunday.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: Hope the weather's nice and we've done a good weather check.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: It don't look too bad so