North East Pentathlon Championships – 21st September 2024
by Alex Hird.
Saturday saw the curtain come down on the 2024 Track & Field season with the Pentathlon at Monkton Stadium in Jarrow.
I’ve always wanted to give it a go, and for once I was free to enter. In the men’s competition, we had: long jump, Javelin, 200m, Discus, and 1500m. I threw a Javelin once in PE about 20 years ago, and I’ve never thrown a Discus or taken part in the long jump. What could possibly go wrong? The 12 strong field was mainly made up of masters athletes who specialise in the throws.
First up was the long jump. My goal aim was just to record a score on my first of three jumps. To make matters worse, I was first up, so didn’t get the opportunity to watch others for tips, and it was actually very nerve-wracking as I had no idea what the standard was. I managed 3.91m on my first attempt, which I didn’t better on my other two attempts. After my first attempt, it must’ve been quite obvious that I’d never done it before, so one of my ‘competitors’ immediately came over to introduce himself and asked if I’d done this before, and would I be ok if he gave me some tips as he’s a coach. Others overheard, and came over to offer their tips too. I thought this is odd as we’re competing against each other here, and they might be helping me beat them 🤣 but then again it’s no real shock, as I’ve found track & field to be such a welcoming discipline of running. I finished 6th from 12 after the first event.
Second up was the Javelin. Before we’d even started the guys we’re all chipping in with their tips, which was more than welcome, and again I was first up. Unfortunately I really struggled in this event. It was soaking wet, and I only had my running spikes to wear. I had no idea such things as Javelin spikes existed, but they were a necessity in these conditions. I basically had no grip when planting my foot, so had to pretty much throw it standing still to avoiding fouling, or falling flat on my arse. I only managed a measly 16.70m as my best score which was the 11th/12 best score in this event.
Next up came the 200 meters. Much more my cup of tea, despite never doing it before. I managed a time of 24.90s, which was the 2nd quickest, very marginally missing out on first place, who I was closing in on. This made up alot of points on the rest of the field.
The fourth event was the Discus. It was now standard crack among the group that they’d all come and give me a tip. I really needed it for this event. I couldn’t believe how far back the throwing circle is in the nets. Again I was up first, and could only think of the absolute embarrassment of not reaching the grass. I managed to get a legit throw in, and reached the grass! And got a lovely round of applause from my ‘competitors’, who soon turned to laughter as I explained to them all that I’m now leading! Unfortunately I only managed 14.69 meters which put me in last position for this event.
The last event was the 1500 meters. Now we’re talking. One of my strongest distances, but I wasn’t sure how I’d go after a long day. I normally run about 4:20 for this, but I’d done a parkrun as a warmup and been competing for the past 5 hours. So it wasn’t my usual preparation. Anyway, I still managed a fairly respectable time of 4:25, which I was content with due to the preparation and I’d ran it completely solo, winning by nearly 40s. I knew I’d clawed alot of points back in this event.
You need multiple degrees to understand the points system of a decathlon, but thankfully ours scores were updating live on the app. I noticed I’d finished in 6th place, which was ok I thought as it was my first attempt. It was such a long day so wanted to get away, but as I was leaving, one of the officials shouted me back, and said I needed to stay for the presentation to pick up my award. I showed him the table of the app, and pointed out I was 6th. He explained that the points on there were the age graded points, where in basic terms athletes in other age categories score more points for the same result, but for the senior competition these points are un-adjusted. And to complicate it even more, in the Javelin and Discus, those over a certain age throw a lighter weight, so their scores again get adjusted in my favour. Told you it was complicated!
So after all that, I was shown the senior results which had me in 2nd place overall, and because the guy in first was from outside the area, I was also 2024 North East Champion. Couldn’t believe it. A lovely trophy and medal to add to the collection. Pretty much down to my 1500m winning margin.
I’ll certainly do this again. It was great, and such a laugh. The other competitors couldn’t be more welcoming and helpful.
