pic: WILLIAM MURPHY
sport
DOES 9am Sun 18 Oct ring a bell to you? If it doesn’t,
then you’re probably as lazy as me. If it does, then it
sports
means you’ll be standing outside City Hall, in all prob-
ability next to a man dressed as a chicken, on the start
line of the Cardiff Half Marathon. Since the first Lon-
blag...
don marathon was run in 1981, an explosion in jogging,
fun running, 10Ks and half marathons has occurred in
OK, fans of motorsport have got an
the UK, and this month it’s Cardiff’s turn. The course
exceptional month for them, so it’s
is outstanding, taking in the city centre, the Bay, and
time to grease up and get noisy. And
back along the Taff toward Sophia Gardens as far as
probably start your engines whilst
Western Avenue. From there, it’s a U-turn back to
you’re at it.
City Hall where it all started about an hour-and-a-half
Firstly, the F1 World
earlier if you’re a decent runner, or three-and-a-half
Championship is coming to its
hours if you’re dressed in a chicken suit.
conclusion throughout October
As usual, the event will raise a huge amount for charity
and November in the form of the
and, being predominantly flat, should offer the serious
Japanese (Sun 11), Brazilian (Sun
runner a real chance to set personal bests. Last year’s
18) and Abu Dhabi (Sun 1 Nov)
winning time was an excellent 1:07:48 by Simon Jones
grand prix races. It will surely be
in the men’s race and 1:16:41 by Alice Braham in the
another exciting climax, and Britain
women’s. Despite the lack of hills on the course, de-
(at time of writing) are doing rather
cent weather will still be the hope of all those looking
well indeed with Jenson Button
to better last year’s winning times.
pretty much reigning supreme. And
If, like me, you won’t be dusting down the lycra shorts
of course we have Lewis Hamilton
to take part, then why not give the runners some
defending his crown. This should
support by getting out and supporting them along the
hopefully be a breeze on the British
route. Full details can be found on their site, which will
front. But then again, a lot can
give you a detailed itinerary of the day and course.
happen in three races.
Unfortunately the deadline for registering has passed,
Continuing the motor oil bonanza
so all that remains is for us to wish good luck to all
is the Moto GP, which also runs
CARDIFF HALF
taking part. And try not to throw up a lung half way
closer to its conclusion with the
through. DAVE BRAYLEY
Australian (Sun 18) and Malaysian
MARATHON
(Sun 25) races. The final, by
Info:
www.cardiffhalfmarathon.co.uk
the way, is early November. The
supremely talented Valentino Rossi
seems to have this one in safe
heineken cup rumbles into gear
hands so far. And to be honest, this
guy is like a motorcycle god, so
THE bookies seldom get it wrong, so if you want a pointer to Welsh
you’d be wise to back him.
Regional success in the upcoming Heineken Cup, it’s worth having a
Another World Championship is the
look at the odds. It doesn’t make happy reading.
Artistic Gymnastics (Tue 13-Sun
The 7/2 favourites are Munster, with French giants Toulouse and Stade
18), flouncing its flexi-glory all over
Francais joint second at 6/1. Seven teams lower is the first Welsh re-
London. As with any gymnastics
gion, the Cardiff Blues at 16/1. Just behind them are the Ospreys, with
competition, this will display
the Scarlets and the Dragons way down amongst the rank outsiders.
some truly outstanding physical
Doesn’t bode well, then? Well, frankly, no. But 14 seasons into the
determination, and this time with
Heineken Cup, with Wales’ only final to date being Cardiff in 1996,
added art. A spectacle indeed.
surely our luck must change soon. Predictably, I feel that any chance
Now, equestrian events have had a
we have will come via the Blues and the Ospreys, and I’m going against
bit of a poor show in this column of
the bookies by tipping the Ospreys to reach at least the semis this year.
late so here’s one for you all. Yes,
All matches begin on the weekend of 9 October. DAVE BRAYLEY
it’s the Horse Of The Year (Wed
Info:
www.ercrugby.com
7-Sun 11) show at the Birmingham
NEC. Apparently this is one of the
best in the world, albeit a rather
ENTER THE DRAGON
acquired taste I imagine. If horses
DID you know that people who participate in Karate are called “Karateka”?
do rock your boat, then this is a
Me neither – well, not unti I spoke to Welsh national coach Paul Scott, anyway.
must.
I chatted with Paul regarding the international Wales Karate Open Champion-
And whilst you’re in Birmingham
ships to be held at the Welsh Institute of Sport on Sat 10 Oct, which is the
you may as well check out
premier fixture in Karate competitions in Wales.
the World Half Marathon
The prelude to the event this year was the Welsh Closed Championships in
Championships (Oct 11). Which,
April, and also the Welsh Open Junior event which took place in August. Paul
if you’ve read the piece opposite
is buoyant about the event in October and for the future of the sport in Wales.
on Cardiff’s one, would make this
“I really hope that this important event in the British Karate Calendar will
every half marathon fan’s (or ‘ha-
attract Karateka not just from within the UK, but from further afield too,” he
ma-fans’) favourite month.
said. “In September we took part in Dublin’s Irish Gland Slam, and we’ve just
Which brings us to the end. And
picked the Senior National Squad for an event in Morocco; so, added to the
yes, this month I was going to
Welsh Open, it’s been a pretty busy time”.
run the Cardiff Half Marathon,
With Karate still hoping to become a future Olympic sport, and with partici-
but unfortunately due to a bout of
pant numbers on the rise, now is the time to introduce yourself to a sport that
illness I have had to tap out. Don’t
has much more to offer than initially meets the eye. DAVE BRAYLEY
judge me – man flu is a serious and
Info:
www.welshkarateunion.org
medically sound concept. Trust me,
I’m a doctor. LUKE DEVEREUX
BUZZ 2
october 2009.indd 28 25/9/09 15:15:53
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