Monday 7 December 2009

spelling it out

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, December 07, 2009 with
As part of the 2010 Canberra Marathon negotiations, it has been pointed out that 2010 would be the 2500th anniversary of the battle of Marathon after which the marathon is named, and therefore we have to have a Canberra Marathon.

While we do have to have a Canberra marathon, the reasoning is spurious. 2010 is NOT the 2500th anniversary of Marathon

The anniversary is 2011, not 2010. Let's spell it out:
490 BC battle of marathon.
489 BC the 1st anniversary
488 BC the 2nd. Note - the two numbers add up to 490, when it's BC.
...
2 BC the 488th anniversary. Still adding up to 490.
1 BC the 489th
1 AD is therefore the 490th. The year after 1 BC is 1 AD.
2 AD the 491st
3 AD the 492nd. Note - when it's AD you add 489 to the year
...
2010 AD the 2499th anniversary. Still adding 489 to the year
2011 AD the 2500th.

So I don't know who is suggesting 2010 is the anniversary, but it would be stupid to "celebrate" in the wrong year, wouldn't it? Don't be confused by what year is what, changes to calendars, and so on. Regardless of what labels we may or may not put on the years, Marathon was 2498 years ago and it will be the year after next when the 2500th anniversary occurs.

Speaking of the Canberra marathon, its ownership has gone to court. What do you think about that? My thoughts are, I think we should recapture the spirit of amateur, volunteer, sport. That’s what I think. And I would like to think I practice what I preach, in this regard.

Coming up this week for the speedygeese:
Monday 7/12 4:30pm Parliament house early run; 5:30pm Parliament House interval training
Tuesday 8/12 6:15pm ACTCCC Christmas Relays Lennox Gardens 6:15 pm Teams of 8, or 10 for A Grade. 1.6km Leg for each runner
Wednesday 9/12 5:30pm BBQ Stakes Christmas relay, teams of 2 self-handicapped, closest to 40 minutes wins. Followed by a real BBQ and presentations. No lunch time race this week.
Thursday 10/12 6:00pm ACTVAC track; note several changes.
6:00pm 3000m
6:15pm short hurdles
7:00pm 400m
7:15pm 800m
7:40pm 100m
8:00pm 4 x 100m
8:15pm spiral 4
Saturday 12/12 8:00am Pialligo interval training

More shots from Weston Park


Look how high Ruth is off the ground! That's Ewen's bounding training, making a difference already!


Not only Charlie and Helen but also in the background Craig and Andrew.

"Life is short... running makes it seem longer."- Baron Hansen