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Writer's pictureTony Him

The Highgate Years - 1982-1999

(by Bob Slowe and others)


In the early 1980s Highgate Harriers formed a Distance Running Section to go alongside the Ladies Section, the Race Walking Section and the (Men’s) Running Section. The main movers in this were Canadian Don de Savigny, Eric Robinson, Guy Ogden, Chris Bould and Bob Slowe. Amongst several innovations by the Distance Running Section was the idea of having a monthly 10km race on a Sunday morning open to all. After considering several venues Regents Park was chosen and a course mapped out and measured by Chris Bould. The Royal Parks administration was not keen on the idea but after some negotiation they agreed to it provided that it was held in Winter months only, when the park was less crowded; the number of competitors was to be kept below 50; and the runners were to be off the park by 11.00. It was agreed to hold the race on the first Sunday of each month October to March. The first race over the chosen course took place on the first Sunday of February 1982


Eric Robinson was the chief race organiser and Jim Evans, a long-time member of Highgate Harriers was the starter and timekeeper. There were to be no prizes, just results and times, but that decision was soon abandoned as Eric always produced some chocolates or biscuits which he handed out to those in a variety of categories as he saw fit.


Several years passed and the Regents Park 10km became an institution. The fields were in fact rarely in excess of 50 or 60. Only one athlete broke 30 minutes for the course and that was the talented Highgate young runner, Karl Palmer. In 1992 it was decided to include a Grand Prix in four categories; Highgate Men under 40; Open Men under 40; Open Men Vets; Open Women Vets. The scoring was based on each competitor’s finishing position in their category.


In accordance with current road running practice the races were from their inception open to men and women (although track and cross-country races were still strictly segregated). Indeed one mother finished the race pushing her baby in a buggy. The baby was credited in the results with a time 0.1 seconds faster than the mother! However, it was the appearance in one of the races by a female athlete, Gwen van Rensberg, that caused the biggest upset in the history of the event. Gwen was a very talented runner and indeed was among the leading male runners in the event. The problem was that Gwen was South African.


In 1977 South Africa had been banned from international sporting competition by the so called Gleneagles Agreement signed by all the Commonwealth countries as an anti-apartheid measure and the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) specifically prohibited UK clubs from allowing South African Athletes to compete. Van Rensberg’s presence at the Regents Park 10kms was controversial and indeed Chris Bould who would not run against her ran alongside her as a spectator for most of the race demanding that she publicly renounce apartheid. She took no notice. The controversy heightened when one Sunday dozens of South African university athletes arrived at the start. At first they claimed to be Australian but their true nationality soon emerged. Several Highgate runners immediately withdrew from the race but Eric Robinson insisted that the race should take place. In the subsequent heated argument Eric claimed, firstly that the race was not a proper Highgate event as the club did not finance it, secondly that he was not prepared to ask for the passports of all participants and thirdly, he did not want politics to come into sport. When the Highgate committee debated it there were strong feelings on both sides and the club Secretary John Wild was asked to consult the AAA. They were adamant; if Highgate held another race with South African participants the club would be expelled for the AAA. That settled the matter but an upshot was that Eric Robinson resigned as organiser. Bob Slowe and David Robertson, both on the side of upholding the Gleneagles Agreement, agreed to continue as joint organisers.


As the Royal Parks were carrying out repairs to some of the paths they asked that the route be temporarily changed. Bob asked Hugh Jones, one of the UKs great marathon runners, and more important, an official course measurer, if he would measure the new course, which he did. Unfortunately, as a gesture of goodwill he also measured the old course which he found to be approximately 100m short! We would rather not have known!

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