THE FINCHLEY TWENTY A/on Chidley The Finchley Twenty / ALAN CHIDLEY r|THIS year the Finchley 20 completes fifty unbroken years on the long A distance fixture list, a i'eat of which we at Hillingdon A.C. are rightly proud. The race was founded in 1933 by the then Finchley Harriers,, who along with Ruislip and Northwood A.C. were the two clubs involved in the 1966 amalgamation, that produced Hillingdon A.C. Despite the Finchley Harriers name disappearing, it was decided that as the race was well established it should remain known as the Finchley 20. For a race which in 1978 attracted a record entry of 432, it had fairly humnle beginnings when just 22 runners faced the starter on 1st April, 1933, from the British Legion H.Q. in South Ruislip. During 1973 I was fortunate enough to speak to several people who either took part in or were involved in some way with that first race. 1. George Shipp, Finchley Harriers (Co-Founder and original organising secretary) " In those days there were no races between 10 miles and the Marathon, and so we decided to hold a race at an interim distance to act as a build-up for the Marathon. Vic Sellars was aiming for a marathon standard of 3 hours 15 minutes, and we agreed to organise a 20-mile race. There then followed a big publicity campaign handled by the famous Finchley Harrier A.A.A. timekeeper, Joe Turner, which included canvassing at the 1932 marathon. The original race started from the H.Q. at The British Legion, South Ruislip, and the course was in the vicinity of 3J laps on an out and home basis ". 2. Frank Stephens, T.V.H. " I well remember that first race in 1933. Jack Sheppard and I were train- ing partners, and decided that the Finchley 20 was an ideal training run for the marathon. In those days a 7-minute-a-mile pace was sufficient for a marathon The standard for that first Finchley was 2 hours 18 minutes, and I have a bronze medal showing that I completed the course in 2 hours 18 minutes. Jack Sheppard and I tied at this time, and the odd 17 seconds was over- looked, because a pointsman had misled us as to the time available for us to finish inside standard time. About 200 yards from home someone shouted to us to buck up as there was less than half a minute to go, so we both sprinted and finished together". 3. Jack Sheppard " Though the times seem poor, we were the pioneers of that day, cross country men trying something big (to us). Like a Serpentine swimmer suddenly having a bash at swimming the channel. Up to then there was only the Poly Marathon and a few 10 milers. 4. Les Golding, Finchley Harriers Recalls that during the 1933 race George Shipp became so thirsty that he stopped and tried to borrow some money from a pointsman to buy ice cream. This story was confirmed by George, apparently it happened on the third lap when he was leading. A report of the race appeared in the Finchley Harrier magazine as as follows— " Last Saturday the club held the 20 mile open road race over four laps, commencing and finishing at the club H.Q. The day was dull, but fine with a slight wind prevailing, but this did not present a very great handicap to the competitors. Twenty-two men lined up at the start. At the end of the first lap an An Force competitor named Hutton was in the lead, and on the return of !In- second lap the same competitor had made a fairly substantial lead for him self. A change of leadership came about however in the third lap, just IH-I.I,, the turn V. B. Sellars hot on his heels, and A. Coombes of Queen's I'.nl Harriers and T. F. Lalande of H.H.H. following close behind. On the rein in of the fourth and last lap, V. B. Sellars had taken the lead, A. Coombes second and T. F. Lalande, now running strongly, third. At the finish Sellars held off Lalande and Coombes to complete the lull course of 20 miles in the splendid time of 2 hours 9 mins. 1 sec.". Here are the first ten men. h. m. 1. V. B. Sellars Finchley H. 2 9 1 •2. T. F. Lalande Herne Hill H. 2 9 40 3. A. Coombes Queen's Park H. 2 12 51 4. I. F. Pocock Essex Beagles 2 17 4<i 5. F. C. Stephens Thames Valley H. 2 18 17 0. J. F. Shepherd Thames Valley H. 2 18 17 7. G. A. Shipp Finchley H. 2 18 42 8. W. C. Powell Surrey A.C. 2 34 (I 9. F. Norris Finchley H. 2 34 30 10. H. W. Mackay Heston H. 2 40 0 The start of the first race in 1933 22 is Vic Sellars (the winner) and tho i organiser with No. 21 George Shipp, 7 is Tommy Lalande, and 4 Pococ i. Bl Essex Beagles. The programme for this race has not been found. THE EARLY YEARS Between 1933 and 1939 there were two different courses, up to 1936 the original course, which included crossing Western Avenue (A40) three times was used, and then in 1937 a new course round Ruislip Aerodrome, was established. Bert Norris, winner in 1934 and 1936, recalls that the new course caused some disappointment, as after the 1937 race it was found to be a little short of the official distance, something that no doubt was quickly corrected the following year. In addition to Norris two other men chalked up two victories in those early years, Tommy Lalande, 1935 and 1939, and Francis O'Sullvian 1937 and 1938, both of Herne Hill Harriers. The fastest time recorded was O'Sullivan's 1937 win in 1-53-46. MOVED TO RUISLIP In 1940 the race was moved to the present course, since when it has started and finished in different places, but the basic lap has always remained the same ensuring an accurate 20 miles. The new course retained the traditional four laps with the official literature describing it as undulating, something which many competitors might contest as they struggle up the hill to the clubhouse on the final lap. The changing accommodation was originally at St. Martin's Hall at the bottom of that hill, but in 1949 Finchley Harriers opened their clubhouse, on the site where the present Hillingdon A.C. clubhouse stands, to bring first class changing accommodation to the race. Nineteen-forty and a new course meant a new record, which was supplied by the current A.A.A. President, Squire Yarrow, with a time of 1-56-47, a record which stood until 1947 when Jack Holden, then at the peak of his powers, lowered it again to 1-53-42. Holden subsequently reduced the record, when in 1951, despite nearing the end of his amazing career, he ran 1-50-48. THE RICHARDS ERA During this period the great Tom Richards began his incredible run of eight victories, starting in 1941 he had six successive wins until 1947, when he managed only 4th, but then had a further two wins in 1948 and 1949. The following year's result sheets show that Tom only managed 15 miles, but 1951 saw him back with a time of 1-58-30 to gain 15th place. There followed 1953, 1-55-2, 7th; 1955, 1-59-29, 16th; 1956, 1-56-39 17th; 1958, 2-2-0, 50th; 1960, 2-3-6, 38th; 1962, 2-16-26, 115th, and 1964, 2-15-23,' 91st. These times illustrate as well as anything the way standards improved over those years. And shows Tom Richards to be arguably the greatest single figure in the history of the race. Associated with the Finchley 20 was the familiar figure of Arthur Newton, who attended every race until shortly before his death in 1958. Newton the modern pioneer of ultra runs lived at near-by Ruislip Manor. He did much to encourage the sport, and his home became a meeting ground for distance runners, not just from this country, but from many countries. His Sunday afternoon gatherings were especially memorable. Sam Ferris was also a familiar figure at Finchley 20. RECORD TIMES THREE YEARS IN SUCCESSION The record set by Jack Holden in 1951 was destined to last just one year, when in 1952 Jim Peters, then one of the world's leading marathon runners, took over a minute off with a time of 1-49-39. Peters had run second to Holden the year before, experiencing the ' killer' technique of Holden's bursts of speed, and that day had trailed him by 1 minute 36 sees. However, in 1952 there was no Holden, and Peters' main rival seemed to !»• his great friend Stan Cox. Peters led all the way to finish with a winninr. margin of 3 minutes 39 seconds over, not Stan Cox, who had faded to 4th pl.in- but Geoff Iden of Victoria Park Harriers, but more significantly in third pl.-in was Billy McMinnis of Sutton, Lancashire. Just how significant was not shown until the following year, when the record was lowered for the third year in succession, now down to 1-47-44. ;incl McMinnis was the man who achieved it. Geoff Iden again filled second spni with Stan Cox third. A further two years were to pass before the record was lowered :I»;;HM two years in which Peter Goodsell, later to become the Honorary Genri.il Secretary of the R.R.C., finished first, and 1955 Stan Cox fiinally ran mil .1 winner after three times finishing in the top four.